Risk of the dust containing silica in coal miners – a review
Authors:
H. Tomášková 1,2; A. Šplíchalová 1; Z. Jirák 1,3
Authors‘ workplace:
Zdravotní ústav se sídlem v Ostravě, ředitel RNDr. Petr Hapala
1; Ústav epidemiologie a ochrany veřejného zdraví, LF OU Ostrava, vedoucí prof. MUDr. Vladimír Janout, CSc.
2; Ústavu fyziologie a patofyziologie, LF OU Ostrava, vedoucí doc. RNDr. Pavol Švorc, CSc.
3
Published in:
Pracov. Lék., 67, 2015, No. 1, s. 18-24.
Category:
Review Article
Overview
Introduction:
The coal miners are exposed to various risk factors at work. Dustiness belongs to the most serious ones. While the dust containing crystal forms of silica and its thermal modifications was classified by IARC as a human carcinogen 1 in 1997, the coal dust was classified into group 3 based on epidemiological studies. The objective of the review was to summarize existing knowledge in the area of carcinogenic risk associated with exposure to coal dust.
Methods:
The paper processed information from specialist contribution published from the 80ies of 20th century until the most recent contributions published in our and foreign periodicals.
Results:
The reviewed studies deal predominantly with lung cancer, stomach cancer and bladder cancer. Extensive cohort studies aimed at coal miners were executed in Poland and the United States, where no risk of lung cancer was observed even in subjects with coalminer pneumoconiosis, whereas an increased risk of stomach cancer and a significant risk of lung cancer were determined in Great Britain and a significantly higher risk of lung cancer in miners with coalminer pneumoconiosis was observed in Germany and the Czech Republic. A significant risk of stomach cancer was found in Netherlands.
Conclusion:
Although there are a great number of studies following the carcinogenic risk of dust containing crystalline forms of silica in coal miners, available studies cannot confirm or unambiguously disprove.
Keywords:
coalmine dust – miners – cancer
Sources
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