Historical total and respirable silica dust exposure levels in mines and pottery factories in China

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health Vol. 21; p. no. sul 2
• Main Authors: Dosemeci, M, McLaughlin, J K, Chen, Jing-Qiong, Hearl, F, Chen, Ron-Gon, McCawley, M, Wu, Zhien, Peng, Kai-Liang, Chen, An-Lou, Rexing, SH, Blot, W J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.1995
• Subjects: China, People's Rep
• ISSN: 0355-3140

Historical exposure estimates of total dust and respirable silica were made in a recent nested case-referent study of lung cancer among mine and pottery workers in China. Exposure to total dust and respirable silica was assessed in 20 mines and 9 pottery factories. The average total dust concentration was 7.26 mg times m super(-3), with a range from 17.68 mg times m super(-3) in the 1950s to 3.85 mg times m super(-3) in the 1980s, while the average respirable silica dust was 1.22 mg times m super(-3), with a range from 3.89 mg times m super(-3) in the 1950s to 0.43 mg times m super(-3) in the 1980s. The highest respirable silica dust occurred in the underground mining operations (1.43 mg times m super(-3)), particularly for manual drillers (9.03 mg times m super(-3)). Among all facility types, tungsten mines had the highest respirable silica dust exposure (1.75 mg times m super(-3)), while the lowest exposure occurred in copper-iron mines (0.32 mg times m super(-3)).