A study of the prevalence of respiratory morbidity among agate workers

Abstract

A random sample of 342 workers engaged in chipping and grinding of agate stones were surveyed in a cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence of respiratory morbidity in the agate industry. The findings were compared with those obtained in controls. The study showed a significantly higher prevalence of lung diseases among agate workers than among controls (63.4% vs 35.5%, P less than 0.001). The respiratory morbidity in agate workers and controls was maximal in the group aged 31+ years (83.3% and 42.2%, respectively). The prevalence of pneumoconiosis in agate workers (18.4%) was highly significant as compared with controls, in whom not a single case was found (P less than 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the prevalence of pneumoconiosis in men and women of the exposed group (17.9% vs 19.6%). Among the cases of pulmonary diseases in agate workers, pneumoconiosis formed the largest group (18.4%), whereas among controls it was tuberculosis (12.1%). The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis was very high in both agate workers and controls (15.5% and 12.1%, respectively), probably because of poor socio-economic and unhygienic living conditions. The prevalence of chronic bronchitis was found to be higher among the control population as compared with the exposed group (6.7% vs 2.6%). It therefore appeared that agate dust had no role in precipitating chronic bronchitis. However, bronchial asthma appeared to have been aggravated due to agate dust, as the risk among agate workers was 7-fold that found among the controls. The prevalence of pneumoconiosis showed a dose-response relationship in both male and female agate workers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

High prevalence of silicosis among stone carvers in Brazil

“…The carving process in our country differs from that described on the few reports about silicosis among lapidary workers [Ng et al, 1985[Ng et al, , 1987Chapman and Tracey, 1989;Rastogi et al, 1991;White et al, 1991;Jiang et al, 2001;Yingratanasuk et al, 2002].…”

“…As previously described by Ng et al [1985] and White et al [1991], we noticed that most of the stone sculptors work at home, in little workshops, without adequate engineering control. The variety of minerals used by the artisans also makes our study different from others that report the use of only one type of stone, such as jade [Ng et al, 1985], agate [Rastogi et al, 1991;Jiang et al, 2001], and tiger's eye [White et al, 1991]. However, most of the minerals used in Petrópolis are varieties of quartz.…”

Accelerated silicosis in workers exposed to agate dust in Guangzhou, China*

“…However, Rastogi et al [1991] reported a silicosis prevalence of 18.4% in agate grinders and chippers in India, and the silica content was 82%. In Chinese, there was no previous report on agate workers.…”

Worker Education Level is a Factor in Self‐compliance with Dust‐preventive Methods among Small‐scale Agate Industrial Workers

“…Long-term exposure leads to development of silicosis and increased susceptibility to tuberculosis 5) and to a higher risk of developing lung cancer 6) . Previous reports 4,7) and recent studies 8,9) continue to report high incidences of silicosis among agate workers. Agate workers are usually involved in various processes, including stone cutting, stone grinding, and polishing work on agate stones for ornamental and jewellery purposes 10) .…”