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Industrial Hygiene Digest
October. 196'
grains may liberate a substance which evokes epithelioid granulomas. An etiological relatior
ship between pine pollen and sarcoidosis remains unestablished as disseminated granulomas
uere not produced.
-- J. Am. Med. Assn. References & Review
998 Epidemic Nosebleeds in Apple Packers. C.E. Quinby. J. Am. Med. Assn. J_97, 165-168 (July 18, 1966).
A new disease o apple packers appeared in 1964 in Washington. Blood in nasal discharges rar
from mild staining to dripping hemorrhage. The disease followed chemical changes in the fat
cation of two brands of blue-dyed apple-packing trays made from salvaged newspaper. A thir
tray made of plastic and a fourth of virgin wood pulp produced no such signs of nasal irritatioi
Attack rates of hemoglobin in nasal discharges in the control general population was about 25T
during the same six-week period. All packers dripped blood from the nose in some plants. N
bleeds decreased where newsprint trays were stopped. Bleeding began in packers switched la
in the season from nonirritating to newsprint trays.
-- Author's abst.
999 Right Ventricular Hypertrophy in Bituminous Coal Miners in West Virginia. W.A. Laqueur ar H.A. Wells, Jr. Ann. Mtg. Absts. Intern. Acad. Pathol. Cleveland, March 5, 1966. Lab-. Invest. _l_5, 1127 (June, 1966).
As part of a comprehensive study of the pathology of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in Appalac'. coal miners, hearts from 200 consecutive autopsies performed by the authors were dissected after a method based on the unrolling technique of Batson. (The method is briefly described in the complete paper.) Of the hearts, 150 were from bituminous coal miners, 25 were from nonminers, and 25 were from females. The ratio of right ventricular to left .ventricular mass was determined in each case. Analysis of data shows that the nonminers and females dying without heart disease had total heart weights that were consistent with the normals recorded in the literature, allowing for differences in technique. The total heart weights from coal min> varied significantly from the normal, as did the ratio of right to left ventricular weight. Defini right ventricular hypertrophy (right to left ratios less than 1.20) was present in 38% of miners and in 4% of the control group. Twenty-six per cent of the miners died with clinically diagnose right heart failure (right to left ratios averaged 1.1), compared to 4% of nonminers and femal< The right to left ventricular ratios were compared with the severity of coal workers pneumocoi as judged by x-rays and autopsy examination, and a positive correlation was demonstrated. T1 influence of left ventricular hypertrophy upon right to left ventricular ratio is discussed. Com plete work records allowed plotting of estimated exposure against lung disease and lung disease versus right ventricular hypertrophy. An attempt is made to compare the results of similar studies in England and Wales.
1000 PneumoconioslB Study of Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners. W. W. McBride, et al. J. Occ. Med. J3, 365-376 (July, 1966).
Chest roentgenograms, three-second vital-capacity determinations,and occupational and person
histories were obtained from l, 858 anthracite miners in Pennsylvania. Of the 1, 858 working
and retired miners studied, 759 (41%) showed roentgen evidence of pneumoconiosis. Of the
working men in the present study, 30% showed evidence of the disease. This figure is higher
than the 11% and 25% found in working bituminous coal miners of central and western Pennsylva
The only previous study of Pennsylvania anthracite miners, reported in 1934, showed a pneumo
coniosis prevalence of 23%. Because of conditions in the industry, the group studied was much
older than the general working population and since there is a direct relationship between years
of exposure and roentgenographic evidence of dust deposition in the lungs, the authors' findings
should not necessarily be interpreted as demonstrating that work in anthracite coal mining has
become more hazardous since 1934.
-- Authors' summary
1001 Acid-Base Equilibrium in Pulmonary Silicosis. F.DottaandA. Bianchi. Securitas 50, 61-65 (Oct. 1965). Italian.
The authors describe the modifications of the acid-base equilibrium in 50 cases of pulmonary silicosis. They emphasize the existence of a condition of hypocapnia and respiratory alkalosis in silicosis cases with a functional pattern of restrictive-type ventilatory insufficiency. A con dition of hypercapnia and respiratory acidosis is frequently encountered in cases of silicosis with a functional pattern of obstructive-type ventilatory insufficiency. Five references are give
-- Public Health Eng. Absts.
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