People who live in Appalachian areas where coal mining is prominent have increased health problems compared with people in non-mining areas of Appalachia. Coal mines and related mining activities result in the production of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that is associated with human health effects. There is a gap in research regarding particle size concentration and distribution to determine respiratory dose around coal mining and non-mining areas. Mass- and number-based size distributions were determined with an Aerodynamic Particle Size and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer to calculate lung deposition around mining and non-mining areas of West Virginia. Particle number concentrations and deposited lung dose were significantly greater around mining areas compared with non-mining areas, demonstrating elevated risks to humans. The greater dose was correlated with elevated disease rates in the West Virginia mining areas. Number concentrations in the mining areas were comparable to a previously documented urban area where number concentration was associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

Background Exposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause pneumoconiosis, an irreversible lung disease that can be debilitating. The mass concentration and quartz mass percent of respirable coal mine dust samples (annually, by occupation, by geographic region) from surface coal mines and surface facilities at U.S. underground mines during 1982‐2017 were summarized. Methods Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) collected and analyzed data for respirable dust and a subset of the samples were analyzed for quartz content. We calculated the respirable dust and quartz concentration geometric mean, arithmetic mean, and percent of samples exceeding the respirable dust permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 2.0 mg/m3, and the average percent of quartz content in samples. Results The geometric mean for 288 705 respirable dust samples was 0.17 mg/m3 with 1.6% of the samples exceeding the 2.0 mg/m3 PEL. Occupation‐specific geometric means for respirable dust in active mining areas were highest among drillers. The geometric mean for respirable dust was higher in central Appalachia compared to the rest of the U.S. The geometric mean for respirable quartz including 54 040 samples was 0.02 mg/m3 with 15.3% of these samples exceeding the applicable standard (PEL or reduced PEL). Occupation‐specific geometric means for respirable quartz were highest among drillers. Conclusion Higher concentrations of respirable dust or quartz in specific coal mining occupations, notably drilling occupations, and in certain U.S. regions, underscores the need for continued surveillance to identify workers at higher risk for pneumoconiosis.

Mountaintop removal mining (MTM) is a widely used approach to surface coal mining in the US Appalachian region whereby large volumes of coal overburden are excavated using explosives, removed, and transferred to nearby drainages below MTM operations. To investigate the air quality impact of MTM, the geochemical characteristics of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) from five surface mining sites in south central West Virginia, USA, and five in-state study control sites having only underground coal mining or no coal mining whatsoever were determined and compared. Epidemiologic studies show increased rates of cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and overall mortality in Appalachian surface mining areas compared to Appalachian non-mining areas. In the present study, 24-h coarse (>2.5 µm) and fine (≤2.5 µm) PM samples were collected from two surface mining sites in June 2011 showed pronounced enrichment in elements having a crustal affinity (Ga, Al, Ge, Rb, La, Ce) contributed by local sources, relative to controls. Follow-up sampling in August 2011 lacked this enrichment, suggesting that PM input from local sources is intermittent. Using passive samplers, dry deposition total PM elemental fluxes calculated for three surface mining sites over multi-day intervals between May and August 2012 were 5.8 ± 1.5 times higher for crustal elements than at controls. Scanning microscopy of 2,249 particles showed that primary aluminosilicate PM was prevalent at surface mining sites compared to secondary PM at controls. Additional testing is needed to establish any link between input of lithogenic PM and disease rates in the study area.

ObjectiveThis study examines asthma risk in facilities producing toluene diisocyanate (TDI).MethodsA total of 197 workers were monitored from 2007 to 2012. TDI air concentrations were used to estimate exposures.ResultsThe incidence of cases consistent with TDI-induced asthma was 0.009 per person-years (seven cases) or consistent with TDI-induced asthma or asthma indeterminate regarding work-relatedness was 0.012 (nine cases). Increased risk of cases consistent with TDI asthma was observed for cumulative (odds ratio [OR] = 2.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07 to 4.05) per logarithm parts per billion-years and peak TDI exposures (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.32) (logarithm parts per billion). There was a weak association with cumulative and peak exposures for decline of short-term forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1). Asthma symptoms were associated with workers noticing an odor of TDI (OR 6.02; 95% CI 1.36 to 26.68).ConclusionsThere is evidence that cumulative and peak exposures are associated with TDI-induced asthma.

BackgroundData for the U.S adult population from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used to evaluate risk factors for a restrictive pattern on spirometry and estimate the change in its prevalence from the 1988–1994 to 2007–2010 sampling periods. Several previous epidemiologic studies used the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease fixed forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) > 0.70 criteria for classifying restrictive pattern rather than the age-defined American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) lower limit of normal (LLN) criteria, which may lead to misclassification.MethodsSpirometry measurements from NHANES data for the 1988–1994 and 2007–2010 periods were analyzed to estimate the age-standardized prevalence of a restrictive pattern on spirometry and the change in prevalence over time for adults aged 20–79. A restrictive pattern was defined based on ATS/ERS LLN criteria as FEV1/FVC > LLN and FVC < LLN, and a moderate to more severe restrictive pattern was further evaluated using FEV1 < 70% predicted. The associations between demographic and other individual risk factors for restrictive lung impairment were examined using multivariable logistic regression models for the two consecutive time periods.ResultsThe overall age-standardized prevalence of restrictive pattern decreased significantly from 7.2% (1988–1994) to 5.4% (2007–2010) (p = 0.0013). The prevalence of moderate to more severe restrictive pattern also decreased significantly from 2.0% to 1.4% (p = 0.023). Factors positively associated with restrictive pattern on spirometry included age, female sex, white race, lower education, former and current smoking, and comorbidities including doctor-diagnosed cardiovascular disease, doctor-diagnosed diabetes, and abdominal obesity.ConclusionsThe overall prevalence of restrictive pattern and moderate to more severe restrictive pattern decreased between the 1988–1994 and 2007–2010 survey periods despite a population increase in the proportion of comorbidities associated with restrictive pattern (i.e. diabetes and abdominal obesity). This suggests a decline in individual risk factors for restrictive pattern and a need for future research.

Introduction Healthcare workers are at increased risk for respiratory disorders. The purpose of our respiratory health survey was to estimate the prevalence of current asthma and asthma-like symptoms and their association with workplace exposures and tasks among healthcare workers at a Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center. Material and methods Information on respiratory health and work characteristics, including tasks performed, products used, and exposures, were collected by questionnaire from a convenience sample of workers employed at the VA Medical Center during 2012–2014. Associations of asthma and asthma-like symptoms with cleaning and disinfecting tasks and products as well as exposure to dampness and molds, and construction dust were evaluated using log-binomial regression. Results The prevalence of current asthma was 17.6% and almost half of all workers reported asthma-like symptoms. We observed elevated prevalence of current asthma among the VA healthcare workers compared to the U.S. general and working adult populations. Asthma and asthma-like symptoms were significantly associated with mold, dampness, and construction material exposures; cleaning and disinfecting products; and cleaning or disinfecting tasks. Conclusions Workplace exposures and tasks associated with current asthma and asthma-like symptoms were identified but further research is needed to investigate the temporal association between workplace exposures and current asthma and asthma-like symptoms.

Background: Exposure to respirable coal mine dust can cause pneumoconiosis, an irreversible lung disease that can be debilitating. The mass concentration and quartz mass percent of respirable coal mine dust samples (annually, by occupation, by geographic region) from surface coal mines and surface facilities at U.S. underground mines during 1982-2017 were summarized.Methods: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) collected and analyzed data for respirable dust and a subset of the samples were analyzed for quartz content. We calculated the respirable dust and quartz concentration geometric mean, arithmetic mean, and percent of samples exceeding the respirable dust permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 2.0 mg/m3, and the average percent of quartz content in samples. Results:The geometric mean for 288 705 respirable dust samples was 0.17 mg/m 3 with 1.6% of the samples exceeding the 2.0 mg/m 3 PEL. Occupation-specific geometric means for respirable dust in active mining areas were highest among drillers. The geometric mean for respirable dust was higher in central Appalachia compared to the rest of the U.S. The geometric mean for respirable quartz including 54 040 samples was 0.02 mg/m 3 with 15.3% of these samples exceeding the applicable standard (PEL or reduced PEL). Occupation-specific geometric means for respirable quartz were highest among drillers.Conclusion: Higher concentrations of respirable dust or quartz in specific coal mining occupations, notably drilling occupations, and in certain U.S. regions, underscores the need for continued surveillance to identify workers at higher risk for pneumoconiosis.

IntroductionThis study estimated the prevalence of spirometry-defined airflow obstruction and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP) among never-smoking coal miners participating in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program (CWHSP).MethodsData were from working miners screened by a CWHSP mobile unit who had valid spirometry and chest radiography results. Spirometry-defined airflow obstruction was determined when the ratio of forced expiratory volume in the first second to forced vital capacity is less than the lower limit of normal. Chest radiographs were classified according to the International Labour Office system to identify pneumoconiosis, including the most severe form of pneumoconiosis, progressive massive fibrosis (PMF).ResultsPrevalence of airflow obstruction among never-smoking coal miners in this sample was 7.7% overall, 16.4% among miners with CWP and 32.3% among miners with PMF. Airflow obstruction was significantly associated with CWP and PMF.ConclusionsThere was a higher prevalence of airflow obstruction among never-smoking coal miners with pneumoconiosis compared with those without pneumoconiosis. These findings support prior research on airflow obstruction and smoking and show pneumoconiosis might present with an obstructive pattern regardless of smoking status.