Mining Tenure and Job Duties Differ Among Contemporary and Historic Underground Coal Miners With Progressive Massive
Lauren M Zell-Baran1, Leonard H T Go, Emily Sarver
1From the National Jewish Health and University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado (L.M.Z.-B., C.C., C.S.R.); University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (L.H.T.G., K.S.A., C.I., R.A.C.); Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia (E.S.); Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada (F.H.Y.G., A.F.); SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York (J.L.A., S.S.); Health Effects Laboratory Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia (A.F.H., M.S.O.); School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (J.M.); and Histopathology, Lancet Laboratories, Johannesburg, South Africa (N.V.).
Objective:
To characterize differences in mining jobs and tenure between contemporary (born 1930+, working primarily with modern mining technologies) and historic coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF).
Methods:
We classified jobs as designated occupations (DOs) and non-DOs based on regulatory sampling requirements. Demographic, occupational characteristics, and histopathological PMF type were compared between groups.
Results:
Contemporary miners ( n = 33) had significantly shorter mean total (30.4 years vs 37.1 years, P = 0.0006) and underground (28.8 years vs 35.8 years, P = 0.001) mining tenure compared with historic miners ( n = 289). Silica-type PMF was significantly more common among miners in non-DOs (30.1% vs 15.8%, P = 0.03) and contemporary miners (58.1% vs 15.2%, P < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
Primary jobs changed over time with the introduction of modern mining technologies and likely changed exposures for workers. Elevated crystalline silica exposures are likely in non-DOs and require attention.
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