Long-term mortality in miners with coal workers' pneumoconiosis in The Netherlands: a pilot study

In order to investigate whether the prolonged exposure to coal mine dust increases the cancer risk for coal miners, a pilot study in a selected cohort of 334 Dutch miners with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), followed from 1956 until 1983, was conducted. In total, 165 miners had died (49.4%); for 162 (98.2%) the cause of death was traced. In comparison to the general Dutch male population, total mortality in the cohort was statistically significantly increased (SMR: 153). This was in general due to the significantly higher than expected cancer mortality (SMR: 163), cancer of stomach and small intestine (SMR: 401) and nonmalignant respiratory disease (SMR: 426). The lung cancer mortality was within the expected range.