Silicosis among gold miners
Exposure--response analyses and risk assessment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11026152 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kyle Steenland (0000-0001-7873-4678, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), D Brown (0000-0002-9180-5765), David P Brown (0000-0003-3265-4431) |
| Year | 1995 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 1372-1377 |
| Publication date | 1995-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048 |
| Publisher | American Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2105/ajph.85.10.1372 |
| PMID | 7573620 |
| OpenAlex | W2112015166 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 13 |
OBJECTIVES. This study sought to estimate the risk of silicosis by cumulative exposure-years in a cohort of miners exposed to silica, as well as the lifetime risk of silicosis under the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard (0.09 mg/m3). METHODS. In a cohort study of 3330 gold miners who worked at least 1 year underground from 1940 to 1965 (average 9 years) and were exposed to a median silica level of 0.05 mg/m3 (0.15 mg/m3 for those hired before 1930), 170 cases of silicosis were determined from either death certificates or two cross-sectional radiographic surveys. RESULTS. The risk of silicosis was less than 1% with a cumulative exposure under 0.5 mg/m3-years, increasing to 68% to 84% for the highest cumulative exposure category of more than 4 mg/m3-years. Cumulative exposure was the best predictor of disease, followed by duration of exposure and average exposure. After adjustment for competing risks of death, a 45-year exposure under the current OSHA standard would lead to a lifetime risk of silicosis of 35% to 47%. CONCLUSIONS. Almost 2 million US workers are currently exposed to silica. Our results add to a small but increasing body of literature that suggests that the current OSHA silica exposure level is unacceptably high
Cohort · Cohort study · Environmental health · Exposure duration · Occupational exposure · Pathology · Risk assessment · Silicosis · Aluminum toxicity and tolerance in plants and animals · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Occupational and environmental lung diseases · Occupational exposure and asthma
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,16 |
| Citation span | 1995 - 2026 (32) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |