Study links coal dust and emphysema, says current standard not enough for long-term exposure

A new study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says coal dust exposure is directly linked to emphysema severity in smokers and non-smokers, Ken Ward Jr. reports for The Charleston Gazette. The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, provides more evidence about the negative health effects of an industry that has nearly doubled worldwide in the past 25 years.

More than 700 autopsies were performed on miners and non-miners whose lung tissue was examined for emphysema. The researchers found emphysema in miners was significantly more severe than in non-miners among both smokers and never-smokers. Although the miners examined worked prior to the 1972 federal standard limiting legal coal dust concentrations to 2 milligrams per cubic meter, NIOSH says a full working lifetime's exposure under current law would produce a cumulative exposure similar to those autopsied. The results called for more research about the possible relationship between coal dust and other heart and lung diseases. (Read more)