Study of early appearance of skin lesions in coal gasification workers

A retrospective cohort morbidity study was conducted among workers employed at the Kosovo coal gasification plant and a reference population of open-pit lignite miners. The aim was to determine the rate of early skin cancer and pre-cancerous skin lesions. In 15 years of commercial operation of the coal gasification plant, seven workers were diagnosed with benign skin tumors, six with pre-cancerous skin diseases, but none with skin cancer. The lesions were significantly fewer than were reported earlier over a shorter time period and in a smaller population at a coal hydrogenation plant. Compared to the reference population who received medical care in the same clinic, gasification workers had a lower skin cancer rate, but a higher rate of benign skin tumors and potentially pre-cancerous skin diseases.