Document ypVr1gYzxj7y6j012wrmoem7E
FILE NAME State of the Art Literature SAL
DATE 1955 DOC SAL060 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION The Dust Diseases in Great Britain
VOLUME 12 1955
PUBLISHERS AMERICAN MEDICAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
CHICAGO 10
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
A. M. Archives
HEALTH
M. A. chives of
LATOLOGY
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oth
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ATION
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Voseme 12
TABLE
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OF CONTENTS
JULY 1955
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Number 1
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Papers Read at the Mcintyre Conterence on Occupational
Prologue
Saranac Lake N. Y. Feb. 7 8 and 9 1955
Chest Discose
Cargy P. McCord M.D. Ann Arbor Mich
PAGE
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eeeccceccc..
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af.
The Objectives and Achievements of the Mcintyre Research Foundation
Francis B. Trudeau M.D. Saranac Lake N.
ecccee cece. Sen
2
W.W. 35
The Contribution of the Saranac
Laboratory to Research on Chest Diseases
A.
D. For M.E. Toronto Canada
e e ee eee
tteeiecereteeeencres. 4
Comparative Vascular Pathology of Occupational Chest Diseases
W. Schepers M.D. D.Sc. Saranae Lake N.
cece seeesees 7
Occupational Pulmonary The Value of Lung Biopsy in the Diagnosis of
H. S. Pan Ordstrand M.D Donald B.
Diseases
.; :
and John
B.
Hazard
M.D.
Effler Effler
Cleveland Cleveland
M.D
Lawrence
J.
McCormack
M.D.
.
ee
eect
eee
eteneeee ieee, +
26
il
Occupational Chest Diseases in Gold Miners
.
G. IV H. Schepers M.D. D.Sc. Saranac Lake Y. ..,.., en 33
the Accomplishments in
[ Epidemiologic Study of Silicosis in the United States
.; H. Doyle B.S Victoria M. Trasko A.B M.
M.D. Washington D.
Gujafer D.Sc. and E. Miller
... te TTT
eae eee
steer teen
teseesrncas soon 48
Silicosis in Canada
Can ceceada N. F. Parkinson M.E. Toronto
cetecceeseetecceece... 56
CommenStilaircyosiosn PRreofbelreemnciens ObnytaNr.ioF. Parkinson Concerning the
Andrew R. Riddell M.B. D.P.H. Toronto Canada ...... 63
Tolc Pneumoconiosis
M.D. Irving Irving Tabershaw M.D Morris Kleinfeld New
Jacqueline Messite M.D. and
New York bas eteeseecnees
Irving R. Tabershaw M.D.
EE
T
66
Pneumoconiosis on the Kolar Gold Field South India
Geofrey E. Firench ... M.D. F.R.C.P. C Oakville Ont Canada ..... 73
The Dust Diseases in Great Britain
.
A. McLaughlin M.D. F.R.C.P. London
83
Clearance of Radioactive Dust from the Human Lung
Roy E. Albert M.D. Washington D.C. and Laterence C. Irnett M.D. M.D. Brooklyn 99
REGULAR DEPARTMENTS
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Pathological
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237 1934
of Lobar Proc Soc
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The Dust Diseases in
A. I. G. McLAUGHLIN M.D. F.R.C.P. London
tres
BASLE MSs RMON A
The story of dust diseases in Great Britain goes back a long way E. L. Collis in his
classical Milroy Lectures of 1915. quoted Herbert Spencer as saying that the starting point of human progress was the localization
of industries There was such a localization
in prehistoric factories for the making of flint implements at Grime's Graves near Brandon in Suffolk where the flint knappers still use tools like the horn picks of their prehis-
toric ancestors In 1914. Collis showed that
these workers have a high mortality from silicosis He said that is probable that the starting point of human progress was associated with at least one form of pneumoconiosis has been long known that the dust of flint which is nearly pure SiOg is dangerous
health Over 200 years ago Thomas Ben-
son of Newcastle under Lyme was granted a patent for grinding flints by a wet method
At that time it was said that a man who
ground the flints dry could not live longer than
two years
Our greatest localization of industries took
place during the Industrial Revolution and this was really the starting point of our intensive knowledge about the effects of dust on the lung
The first notable contribution was that of
Pearson 1813 who after many autopsies
decided that the black pigment in the bron-
chial nodes and the lungs was due to the in-
Palation of small particles resulting from the
burning of coal wood and other inflammable
materials The German pathologists on the
other hand thought that the pigment cane
inside the body Meiklejohn 1951 has
described the hitherto known and re-
a
Recorded
for
for
publication
publication
April
April 7
11995555
M. Medical Inspector of Factories
Britain__ Great
Britain__
Britain__
markable contributions of the Scottish physi-
cians of the 1800's on the connection between
disease of the lungs and coal dust ; he also tells
how the incidence of anthracosis diminished
with improved ventilation of the mines The Scottish physicians decided that simple coal dust was comparatively harmless and that stone dust was the really noxious factor
Charles Turner Thackrah a physician in Leeds played a major part in the study of occupational diseases including the dust discases in Great Britain In his book The
Effects of Arts Trades and Professions the
second edition of which was published in 1832 he crystallized the idea that the inhalation of large quantities of dusts of any kind can damage the lungs but that some dusts are
more harmful than others His conclusions were based on hand observations of
workers in hospitals in their homes and in
the factories
Two other great Englishmen in the history of pneumoconiosis about the middle of the
19th century were T. B. Peacock and E. Greenhow Peacock first established miners
disease as an entity and distinguished it clinically from pulmonary tuberculosis before
little was known about bacteriology and noth-
ing about rays Greenhow carried out the first large field investigations into the dusty industries of England and Wales including the heavy industries the potteries coal copper and lead mining and even agriculture In the Transactions of the Pathological Society of London 1860-1866 there are to be found excellent descriptions by both of these physicians of th^ disease which was later to be called silicosis by Visconti in 1870. They even iound the dust ai free silica in the hangs
and examined it under polarized light
For long time after this excellent work nothing much was done about the dinst diseases but about the beginning of the 20th
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A. M. A. ARCHIVEARCHSIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH
century new interest began to be taken in the problem not only in England but also in
oflier parts of the world About the same
time the tempo of life in general began to in-
crease and there was an urge for increased
speed of production urge which has gradnally gathered momentum With the replacement of hand labor by the machine dusty processes have become more dusty and methods of dust control have lagged behind output
The result has been a remarkable increase of the incidence of the dust diseases
A noteworthy contribution in 1892 was Arlidge's book on the occupational diseases which was only the second to be published in England
In 1904 J. S. Haldane and his colleagues ascribed the high mortality among tin miners
the inhalation of rock dust A little earlier dust phthisis among slate workers was shown
to be related to the dust of slate particularly when it had a high quartz content
E. Collis 1915 pinpointed the dust of
free silica as the main cause of most of the
dust diseases He also drew attention to the
role that dust inhalation plays in determining the mortality from lung diseases experienced the general population Long ago he showed the influence of air pollution on the mortality from lung diseases in general Though Cailis did this work 40 years ago lie is always date He had and still has an uncanny knack of seeing to the heart of any problem Just now in England there is
controversy about chronic bronchitis and
emphysema and whether they can be held to be caused by the inhalation of dust It true
that the incidence of chronic bronchitis and
emphysema high among the general population and the possible causes are legion It difficult to decide in Arlidge's words how
unich of the malady is made or trade-
made But Collis showed years ago an
which irritates the lung parenchyma can
also irritate the brouchial mucous membrane
At present there is one industrial pulmonary disease of which the diagnosis is made largely
ou the presence of chronic bronchitis and
emphysema and that is byssinosis
oe
In the last 50 years in Great Britain as elsewhere there has been intensive research
into all aspects of the dust diseases such as
causation pathology incidence in various industries and prevention For the first 25 years or so much of the impetus came from H. M. Medical Inspectors of Factories and prominent in the study of the chest diseases
were Collis Middleton and Merewether It
might be said that they played almost a lone hand with meager facilities for investigation However they were helped greatly by hospital physicians general practitioners radiologists and pathologists notably Hall Robertshaw Kettle Gloyne and Cooke During this period much attention was paid to silicosis
and it with tuberculosis was established as
being the cause of disability and death in most
of the industries where there is exposure to
the dust of free silica Pari passu regulations laying down control measures were issued by the Factory Department for most of ue the major industries Notable contributions
an e were Collis's work already mentioned on the
role of free silica and Middleton's field in-
vestigation with E. L. Macklin into the
grinding industry in 1923. In the late 20's
series of brilliant observations by Cooke
Glovne Burton Wood Stuart McDonald and we t
M. J. Stewart on the clinical radiological
and pathological features of a new disease mn
which Cooke named asbestosis led to field in-
enn vestigations by Merewether and Price 1930 TO
These firmly established that the dust of as- Be
bestos was dangerous to health and it was ate
the first time that the dust of combined silica 2 Ht
as opposed to free silica was found to damage
the lungs The condition as Legge points out TNO
was first seen in 1906 by Murray at Charing OR
Cross Hospital but little or no notice of it OE
was taken at that time
LEP An important landmark was the passing of
NT the Workmen's Compensation Silicosis
Act of which came into force in 1919
For the first time compensation for disable- am
ment or death was given in respect ni au ^fin- ete
dustrial pulmonary disease
The Act
Rat
pro-
me vided initud and periodical medical examina-
tion z^/l workers in the refractories industry
Rems 6 one ioe Ree Yrs
iSRobneey raroateiamnnse
ne
Se AE
ae i. me fy a + ee 4.
vi]
toa
VAL HEALTH $
DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN
o~
tain as
Fesearch
Fesearch
es such as
various in-
{ or the first 25
: Its came from Factories and :
chest diseases :
erewether It :
almost a lone
j
investigation
catly by hospi-
oners radiolo-
7
Hall Robert-
:
e During this t ack to silicosis ;
stablished as .
death in most
7
~~ to
exposure
>
< regulations
res were is- F
: for most of
t coino trnibeud tiontshe j |
m's field in- t .
20's i
Cooke
OE
Cooke
3
cDonald and
radiological disease new
i led to field in-
Price 1930
and suspension from the industry on a diag nosis of simple silicosis as well as silicosis
with tuberculosis The medical officers re-
sponsible for the examinations were the Tu-
berculosis Officers of the Local Authority administering sanatorium benefit under the
National Health Insurance Act The scheme
was revised in 1925. and again in 1931 to provide for examinations by a medical board This was the beginning of the whole
Silicosis and Asbestosis Medical Board under its first and only Chief Medical Officer L. Sutherland
with silicosis in 1935 hematite ore miners
were included and in 1939 slate miners Workers with asbestosis were first compensated in 1931 compensation for byssinosis
was introduced in 1941 and was dealt with
by a specially constituted board Pneumoconiosis as opposed to classical silicosis in coal miners was brought under the compensa-
tion schemes in 1943 and in coal trinumers in 1946. The Various Industries Scheme was
again amended in 1946 to include molders of iron castings who used siliceous parting pow-
A close association began between the Medical Inspectorate of Factories and the Silicosis and Asbestosis Medical Board both
groups working under the Home Office In
general the Medical Inspectorate made the field investigations which established the risk of silicosis or asbestosis in an industry or
process and which led to the establishment of the various compensation schemes But the
members of the Board | stationed at Sheffield
ders and also blasters of any type of metal
castings to free them from adherent sand even if the blasting abrasive was nonsiliceous
The National Insurance Industrial Injuries Act was passed in 1946 and altered the whole
_ basis of compensation in that it became the re-
sponsibility of the Government but with con-
tributions from employers and workers Ber-
yllium poisoning
1949. In 1954 all steel and
became
foundry
compensable in workers iron
Manchester
Manchester Manchester
Stoke on
Trent
out field investigations
Cardiff
and Cardif vari-
sandstone ous industries such
Sutherland
and Bryson 1929 granite Sutherland and
Bryson 1929 and potteries Meiklejohn
1949 But perhaps the most significant re-
sult the formation of the Board was that
there was begun a systematic and valuable
collection of case histories with ray films
nonferrous became entitled Act to pensation under the Industrial Injuries Act
A fuller account of the development of com-
recently 9
pensation in Great Britain
written by Meiklejohn
has
been
1954 The Silicosis
and Asbestosis Medical Board was trans-
ferred from the Home Office in 1946 to the
Ministry of National Insurance later com-
Ministry Pensions bined with the
of
Board was divided into a series of
The Pneu-
he dust of as11. and it was mbined silica
findings together with occupational details and post-
mortem
At first the Board was limited to few in-
the Board didwork moconiosis Panels hut they
the same way as there is now no Chief Medical
in much
except that
Officer
nd damage
dustries but gradually its scope has increased
and |
and more
ge points |
more dusty industries have
i y at Charing
come under examination Workers in the re-
in notice of it
|
fractories industry first came under a com-
pensation scheme
1925 metal grinders in
he passing of
1927 and sandstone workers in
the Various Industries Scheme
Silicosis :
ree in 1919
processes of mining quarrying
1929. In 1928 included the
drilling and
; for disable-
ect of an in-
Blasting in silica rock the crushing and grind ing of siliceous materials and also isolated
he Act proal examina
ries industry
;
processes in steel foundries not iron foun-
'
dries and metal works in potteries and in
tin mines In 1934 the Various Industries
Scheme was amended to include coal miners
The various compensation schemes men-
tioned above reflect the evolution of the study of the industrial lung diseases in Great Britain There are comparable legal enactments and regulations designed to control the risks in each industry but they are tou numerous
to mention in detail
To flash back little in 1936 Middleton in his Milroy Lectures reviewed the position of the dust diseases in Great Britain He covered all the dusty trades including coal mining but at that time only cases of silicosis in costi miners were recognized as being eligi
ble for competes Most of the miners
F
35
i
Mad aninaens
cn
: f
be ;
aes
P FS
7: Li:
z
M. ^ ARCHI OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH | DUS
such as hardheaders drifters or rippers had been exposed to stone dust but Middleton also showed that there was ahigh incidence of a lung disease among coal miners particularly
in South Wales which was not classical sili-
cosis Much of his evidence was drawn from
the findings of the Silicosis and Asbestosis Medical Board Following his paper there began a series of intensive investigations by
the Medical Research Council into the health
risks of coal mining which covered all as-
pects such as clinical radiographic and en-
vironmental Medical Research Council Spe-
cial Reports I 1943 II 1943 and III
1945 The important fact emerging from this work was that coal dust by itself could
and pneumoconiosis followed ccaannssee
pneumoconiosis
and thithsis
was
was
followed
as previously mentioned by the extension of
compensation to coal miners and coal trim-
mers In 1945 the Pneumoconiosis Research
;
3. Stone quarrying crushing and dressing
This group includes workers with sandstone
millstone gritstone slate granite and other
igneous rocks
The
risk
varies
with
t the yp
amount of free silica in the rock and of
course with the protective measures arlopted
Recently some limestone quarrymen have contracted silicosis but the limestone con-
tained a fairly high proportion of free silica
In this group could be included rock tunnel- $
ers in whom the onset of silicosis may be
very rapid As regards slate workers a biltable maker has recently received com-
pensation for silicosis
[-
|
| DEATHS FROM SI1L9I3C0O-S1I9S51IN METAL GRINDERS
H
5
19 posi
gan sive
sand
the
Reg
oi si lati
cie
oi
use con
met
6
toli
abr
or
losi
Unit of the Medical Research Council was set
up in Cardit~ and an impressive body of work has emerged on various aspects of coal miners
pneumoconiosis This work is well known
and J propose therefore to limit my remain-
ing observations mainly to the dust . diseases
resulting from work in places which come
under the Factories Acts with only inciden-
tal
references references
to
ccooaal l
mining
mining
one
| 192
WOL
Tt
con
PY and
"4 ank
to
{ People .
.
bec
an an
{ 1940 1945 1948 1950
1945 tin
SILICOSIS
Silicosis has
disability
disability
disability in
the
been found to be a cause of
in-
fol owing
following following
broad groups of in-
dustries as well as in cual mining and other
forms of mining such as tin hematite copper
bariteansd fire clay
This
in-
1. Refractories industry This group in-
cludes the making of silica bricks furnace
dismantling and rebuilding and retort setting
repairing
and and repairing
Workers in this
industry 2.
industry
PotteryPottery
Workers in this group
of
in
engaged have been
the in
manufacture
manufacture
of
both earthenware and cchhinia na wiwithth tthheeiir r vvaarriioou us s
polishers
flint
polishers snlulivisions
polishers and
snlulivisions and flint millers and as
flint
alumina
of
The
substitution
substitution of
ground
flint
by
alumina
for
the
placing
placing
biscuit
of biscuit
in
ware
ware ware
has has
rreessulutledted
in
dimmuunion of deaths from silicosis among
workers in that process
Fig Chart showing diminishing numbers of
Sui
deaths among metal grinders during the period } Sui
1930-1951 inclusive
ma ma
4. Metal grinding The silicosis risk in
the grinding of metals has greatly diminished
owing to the replacement of the sandstone
grinding
grinding
with
artificial
wheels
grinding wheels with artificial ones composed
of Carborundum alumina or emery Apart
nev
i
fol
ggriri
and
for
| from the lower toxicity of the dusts from Lu Lu these substances the wheels are much harder
117
sandstone and dust than sandstone grinders
and
lelsesss
dust iiss crceraetaedtecd reated But
aas s
the grinders of castings castings iron steel and non- 7
ferrous
still
silicosis
risk
ferrous are exposed to silicosis risk on
501
of
of
on
account of the presence of burned sand on
the
castings
castings castings
The
The
grinders
daninishing
daninishing number
is shown
113 of
lov
deaths among grinders is shown in the chart among
157
Fig 1 1
Dog A.
Unpublished data
tr
86
the
50
the
50
the
7
etee
1
~ HEALTH
DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN
ng and dressing eae
kers with sandstone AS granite and other met
4
5. Sandblasting This job as Merewether 1936 showed had a high silicosis risk The
position has altered
fact that the dust from the pneumatic hammer
is not controlled The main pathological lesion
Articles sk varies with the
materially after sand began to be replaced by other nonsiliceous abra-
was classical silicosis with or without tuber-
i the rock and of
sives such as steel shot and since
culosis Among iron fettlers the risk was not
e measures adopted
sand as an abrasive
the use of so great as among steel fettlers and the main
* quarrymen have Oe
was prohibited in 1949 by the Blasting of Castings and other
pathological lesion found was mixed dust
the limestone con-
rtion of free silica em Regulations . The process of wet sandblasting pneumoconiosis though classical silicosis did
cluded rock tunnel-
of ships hulls does not come under the Regu- occur Steel molders were less affected by dis-
Ser of silicosis
be
lations because legally a ship is not an arti- ease and disability than iron molders though
may
late workers a bil- e e
cle but it is thought that there is also a risk
of silicosis in the
statistically the incidence of ray abnormal-
ities was greater
steel
ently received com-
job Sandblasting is still
among
workers More
None used in the open air on works of engineering deaths occurred among iron molders and this
construction e g in order to prepare large fact appeared to be related to the use of me
eli ae
neey
ce
metal surfaces for the application of paint
siliceous parting powders The use of siliceous
'METAL GRINDERS
eM
6. Manufacture of abrasive soap Middle- parting powders has now been prohibited by
751
| oad ton showed in 1936 that the manufacture of the Foundries Parting Materials Regula-
e abrasive soaps carried with it a risk of acute tions 1950. Silicosis still occurs among shot
or subacute silicosis accompanied by tubercu-
| losis There was a disastrous experience at
blasters of both iron and steel castings but the risk is controlled by ventilation and per-
one factory in London between 1921 and sonal protective devices and the numbers of
| en 1928 when there were 13 deaths among SI cases and deaths in contrast with the experi-
q workers This experience led to rigorous dust ence among steel fettlers are not increasing
NT4 control in the processes but between 1941 Other categories of iron and steel foundry and 1952 there were nine deaths from silicosis workers are subject to much less risk than
among this type of worker It is not possible the above groups of workers New and strin-
to state the incidence of disease and disability because there is a rapid turnover of labor
mostly young women in the job Silica flour is still being used as an abrasive though
gent regulations Iron and Steel Foundry Regulations were issued in 1953. They require strict dust control in the dusty proc-
esses
minishing numbers of rs during the period
he silicosis risk in
greatly diminished
of the sandstone
dicial ones composed or emery Apart
of the dusts from els are unich harder dust is created But
efforts are being made to find a less harmful substitute which will be acceptable to the manufacturers and the users There were no
new cases of silicosis in this trade in 1953
7. Foundry industry The iron and steel foundry industry has been investigated in great detail during the past 10 years or so
and the results were published in 1950 in book form by McLaughlin and others Industrial Lung Diseases of Iron and Steel Foundry
Workers Pathological studies of 64 cases
The question of pneumoconiosis among
nonferrous foundry workers is now being ex-
amined in detail Isolated cases of silicosis and
mixed dust pneumoconiosis have occurred
among both casters and dressers of nonferrous
metals but an extensive survey has not yet
been carried out Harding Harding and McLaughlin have described the pathological clinical ra-
diological and environmental details of six
fatal cases
ron steel and non-
as well as clinical and ray examinations of
Table 1 shows the number of new cases of
a
silicosis risk on
see burned sand on
ishing
shown
number of in the chart
Teme
some 3000 workers showed that there was a varying risk of silicosis and mixed dust premoconiosis to which reference is made be-
low in the various categories of foundry
workers
Steel fettlers tiressers or castings cleaners had severe risk largely owing to the
pneumoconiosis e silicosis and mixed dust
pneumoconiosistpneumocniosit in ioandry workers diag-
moser by the Pneumoconiosis Panels in 1953
These figures can be regarded as an under-
statement the real position More than hali
~
Flude li
be published
and
and
McLaughlin
A.
1. 1.
.:
$ 7
Sercareeres 20 ENG) cat tbe
far;
ONS t Be
7
aya
M. A. ARCHIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH
Table New Cases of Pneumoconiosis Foundries
Deempation
Iron twoldink . fe
eeeee eae Sentence cane
eee
Troy dressing .. veseeee
Iron foundry knockout .
molding Steel
taeeeenes OMe
e ener ence
cece eree
Steel dressing cece ee . eccacesccecs 6. Nonferrous dressing
de eeeeeee
Welders shops
and
oo,
burners
in enstings
cleaning
General foundry work
Total 57 21 q + 13 2
20 a
Total
192
Twenty of these workers
to runi dust for varying periods
had
also
been
exposed
of the cases in iron molders came from one area where there had been an ray survey of three foundries If more iron foundries had
been similarly surveyed more cases would
have been found In certain steel foundries the
dressers chippers or castings cleaners are rayed each year but a complete picture of the true position will not be obtained until all workers undergo periodical medical examination This statement also applies to other dusty industries
In Table 2 details are given of fatal cases of
silicosis and asbestosis investigated fully by
the Medical Inspectorate of Factories between
1930 and 1953. The average ages at death and
the length of employment in the dusty industries are also given
is seen that as regards silicosis the manufacture of scouring powders and sandblasting were the most dangerous industries with the
lowest average age at death and the shortest
average period of employment Another interesting point is that tuberculosis occurred in about half of the cases of silicosis whereas it was found in only about fifths of the
cases of asbestosis The average age at death
and the length of exposure in the cases of as-
bestosis were much lower than in the silicotic
group as a whole but more on the level of
sandblasters and makers of scouring powders
The connection between asbestosis and
cancer of the lung is becoming clearer and in one series of 100 autopsies on asbestosis cases there were 25 cases of cancer of the lung Wyers 1949 has pointed out that the ray
756282439S
756282439S
gri ^ ei
756282439S
per
756282439S
756282439S
8
Tamun Fatal Cases of Silicosis and Asbestosis Investigated by Factory Department 1930-1953
Silicosis Cultery
Deaths No.
750
301
Sandstone
Silirosis Silleosis
Coc ceec ceea ees Oe CO rN ere nee eet e ence eer aee . with tuberculosis cc... ee eeee cease
firinding of Metais
Silicosis Silicosis
Co eec e ee ea ee ee er Sener nan tasecee with tuberculosis .. cece eee devecee
SamlhidastSiamlhnidasgting
Silicosia ...2..0. Peer
mwe serene nc rnee sarees Ste esees
Silicosts with tubereulosis cc... peace eect eswcecee
Manufacture of scouring powders
Siliensis
Coc
cece eee cece reece ec eee teen
cee rer ee
Sihrosis with tuberenlosis cc...
ee
cece ee cece
267
12:20
123 211
15
241
D u
MasrellabrouMasrelsabrous Masrellabrous
Silicosts Silicosts a
Silicosis with baberendishs
, ee ee
Totai Silicosts coo... : Silicosis with tuberculosis
vet 215
} 1.291
Ashestusi Ashestusi Ashestusi Ashestusi Ashestusis Ashestusis ooo.
tay st
Average Age at Death Yr
Duration of Employment
o-
Longest Yr
Shortest
Yr
Average
Yr
61.7 61.7
58.2
62.0 67.0
37.5
62,0 58.0
393 31.0
704 11.2
10.9 10.9
ee | Ad te
61.0 AG09
isa 65.0
117
11
wae era)
wat 31.1
1.4 nose
rey es
Inn 11
2.9 5.0
9.0 5.0
14.0 2.S
1.7
2.3
2.3 2.0
39 0.7
1.5 0.7
ay 90
et
38.4 11
31.7
gu
301.0
la
37.4 es
35.9
1 <
33.0
2s
mek ul
11.1 Siete
we s, 13.1 ra
rary
8.3
oe7.0
21.3
Tt
21.9
ee
eee
311
31.2 31.2
eR
14.6
ee
31.4
PEO HORST E SE IAIN Sh R AE TS
Oge.
Ow
On
eon
+
aoe
Xs
j
%
5
JILTH JILTH :
im cases of
edie gated fully by
ories between
at death and ek
oe
- dusty indus-
We ew
asis the mam A
ast
sandblasting coer tries with the we
Bo
tl the shortest eka
Another in- alll
osis occurred Senet cosis whereas NS -fifths of the
age at death pe
he cases of as-
REO in the silicutic
1 the level of
ring powders Et
bestosis and Mapes
learer and in
bestosis cases ae
- of the lung iy*
Raye ray at
(~
ne
~ -1953
Nea
uployment
7, Te
last
Average
a
"
Xr
YG
Whee sO
34.4
o 31.7 nate
ot
:
39.0
ANON
:
37.1
es
So ot
35.0
~ 33.0 cy
?
13.4
"
33.1
,
7.0
21.3 21.5
Aaa 31.2
16.6
(
the
(
the
an
DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN
appearances of asbestosis are undergoing some change in that nodular as opposed to ground shadows are beginning to ap-
pear He thinks it probable that this is because of the lessened exposure to dust over a longer period owing to the rigorous application of exhaust ventilation to the dusty processes and the use of personal protective devices Cases ui asbestosis however are now appearing in workers who do asbestos lagging of pipes and boilers In this process particularly if asbestos is being sprayed it is difficult to apply
adequate protective measures more especially because the workers are usually peripatetic
PRESENT POSITION
How many cases of pneumoconiosis silicosis asbestosis coal miners pneumoconiosis
In all industries there were 8789 deaths
from occupational fibrosis of the lung in the year period and it will he seen that the total yearly figures are going up Over the
same period there were 6907 deaths from nonoccupational fibrosis of the lungs About two-
thirds of the total number of deaths in the
occupational group occurred in coal miners who form the largest group about 700.000 exposed to dust inhalation The figures rose steeply from 232 in 1940 to 937 in 1951 in 1952 the figure dropped slightly to 912 It may well be that part of the increase is due to more accurate diagnosis or at least to greater interest in the pneumoconiosis probleur among coal miners In Figure 2 is shown a comparison based on the crude figures of Table 3 between the coal miners and factory
TABLE Deaths from All Types of Pneumoconiosis in England and Wales 1940-1951
Industry
Potteries co.cc. fete Sandstone _.....,
ee
eee teat teee eer eee core
Grinding of metuis etc
Refractories ces Leap ceee cates cuceresssens MerilaneouS oo... cece cece ee ccc ccenvccusereccsee
minine
uther mining
Asbestos Lo. cece cee ee eee cee pene eetaeeneeee
Cotton hyssinosis
cee
c ee ceeesueaeeee
1940 1941
53
21992948536
100
21992948536
+1
26
12
7 HIN
5
:
64
59970748722
59970748722
:
59970748722
Total cece
cc ec cece rene sceeecessereeunee
Nonoccupational
.. 00...
reece
c eee
sence eee sess
650
461
1942 21992948536 21992948536 20 7 7
230 59970748722 59970748722 59 7074872
431
1943 21992948536 21992948536
21
7 5 276 59970748722 59 7074872 597074872
ds
1944 1915
21992948536 21992948536 21
6 13 311 59970748722
21992948536
219 2948536
at ,
19
357 =
59970748722
1
*
1916 21992948536 21992948536 32 8 14
421 59970748722 59970748722 3
493 655
1947 21992948536 21992948536 27 10 ot
377 59970748722 59970748722 597074872
MIM
1948 21992948536 21992948536 26 13
27
59970748722 59970748722
59 7074872
1949 21992948536 21992948536 37 13 25
Ti 59970748722 59970748722
59704872
1950 1951
219 2948536 21992948536
21992948536
21992948536
9-
21
8
&
70 129129
816
1437
59970748722
59970748722
59970748722
59970748722
59970748722
a
893 1,033 1,113 1,305
+43 en
731731 TS 610 554 679
Total 68 770 327 117
313717
5,506
579 163
te
8,789
6,967
etc. occur in Great Britain It should be
mentioned that at the present time it is im-
possible to give accurate figures of the popu-
lations at risk in the various trades and proc-
esses Both the Registrar and the Ministry of Labour classify occupations in groups too broad to give specific figures of the populations in the dusty industries and those in the possession of employers associations and trades unions are not complete It may be possible in several years time to give more accurate information All that can
be done now is to state the numbers of deaths
reported to the Registrar and to give the figures for one year of the new cases dingnused by the Puemoconiosis Panels
The deaths from all forms of pneumoconi-
osis between 1940 and 1951 inclusive in England and Wales are given in Table 3
workers In the factory processes the yearly number of deaths was going down until 1943 but there has been a slight rise in the later
years
In both groups it should be emphasized
that the deaths in each year are related to conditions which obtained in mines and fac-
tories some years previously possibly 10 to 20 years or even longer
New Cases in Factory Occupations The following Table 4 gives the numbers of new cases of pneumoconiosis diagnosed by the
Pneumoconiosis Panels in 1953. These tig-
ures have been kindly supplied by the Ministry l'ensions and National Insurance but it should be noted that they differ slightly as
regards the numbers in each occupation occupation from
the figures originally supplied The Ministry Ministry usually classifies the cases as falling into the
SO
ee VSee s
,
an
aM aS ated AROS ge eat
ce
i
ese
weds
bth AE
ae A. ARCHIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH
DEATHS FROM ALL TYPES OF PRELIMOCONIOSIS ENGL ANDAWN ALEDS 1940-1951
remainder there was exposure for varying periods to other dusts mainly coal dust Addi-
MINING NEW
an
ni
aw
ae
wae
2
1040 IM JAMI
1445 1942
> fl1060
fl 1049 1440 1910 Just
tional exposure to coal dust occurred mainly in those industries situated in mining
areas such as refractories stone sandstone
and granite pottery slate and foundry industries The pottery industry contributed nn
et
the greatest number of cases 353 mainly silicosis and the foundry industry came next et
with 190 cases There are roughly 25,000 pot- a
tery and about 220.000 foundry workers
FACTORY PROCESIES PROCESIES
iron steel and nonferrous ; so it is probable that the pottery industry has a higher pneu-
moconiosis risk than foundries Such general i statements are not of much value because the
risk varies from process to process within the
1040 1961
1942 1M3 1444 Hey sete Heer 1068 ime 1970 1411
same industry The substitution of ground
Fig Chart showing trends of deaths from fibrosis of the lungs among coal miners and factory workers during the period 1940-1951 inclusive
category of the last jobs done by the workers
Aint by calcined alumina has reduced the silicosis risk among placers of biscuit ware in
potteries whereas the ettlingof steel castings is still a dangerous job
whereas Dr. G. O. Williams of the Factory Department has reclassified some of the cases
Neto Cases in Mining Table 5 gives the ee
a
numbers of new cases of pneumoconiosis oc- Tt
the basis of all occupations done by each curring in all mining operations in 1953
<3
worker in order to determine the most likely
These figures show clearly the tremendous
A
cause of the pneumoconiosis
problem which faces the mining industry
VOIR There were 896 cases of pneumoconiosis
diagnosed and this figure includes 54 cases of
There is no space to give in detail the varying Oe
degrees of severity of pneumoconiosis found
EN byssinosis The cases with an uncomplicated in the 4048 cases but the figures are given A
occupational history numbered 665 and in the in the Digest of Pneumoconiosis Statistics kA
Table Nere Cases of Pneumoconiosis
Np
al
Factory Occupations
ann
Other Dust
No Other
Exposure Exposure
Dust
rr
Industry
Exposure
t'oal
ee
Other
Total
1
Refractories
co.cc. ee ccc Seeee cess oe saeee wee
15
2 Stone workers sunistone granulei n>
10 10
pia
03
e 31 Pottery wo ee . e Oo eee eeees
se
eee cer 254 US eeves
13
353
splitting 1 Shiite workers Ligiarrying and oe 609 30
es
101
.
3 Foundries
occ
eecceeseseteecceescuees
130
27
; 1x
6 Metal grinding other than foundries
7 .
,. 7
7 Sundbdusting ......0.0,
a j Cc
4
...
4 Shot blasting 9
2
:
9 10 ED
Furnace dismantling etc.
Boiler sraliog . eee
.
e
i
i
i
cy
i
i
2
.
3
3
s
12 Asbestos oo cec eeee eae EB Abrasive soup powdPTA
o
11
-
3 ; >
oe
:
.
14
..
15 16 17 18
i an
t 1
Mee
11
a
{
Jo
ns
.
J
i
20
..
:
21
s Total
eee
ce neces
fl
wy
ai
pt
90 es
eee
AE
ne
ST
ys
3
= .
w
90
the
90
the
3
4
ate +e
STbeeds faa fo...
Tare
x.
a
Fees. A
ae
vas
cea &
bak tide 9 ok TG
tare
Pe!
a aod
gs
Mo terrae sees
+
DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN BRITAIN
ng pe2
hust Addi- !
TABLE - Neto Cases of Pucmocnios Pucumoconiosis 1953 Mining
tite miners in which group the lesion was
red mainly ; 4
mining .
= sandstone # tam,
minaeoy soundry in-
contributed
mainly sili- ee
Industry
c'ases
41 mining .. 1,019
3 Barites mining Nev, ,
3
49 Other clay mining taing cee 143
6 Hematite minunk
found to be siderosilicosis often accompanied by tuberculosis Craw's later work 1947
in eliminating tuberculosis from the hematite mines and in improved dust control methods is of major importance
Other occupations and dusts which have
4
( Tunneling .. came next
25.000 pot- TRE I workers or
47 Tunneling BU nesses
3 Total
been studied include those of boiler scalers graphite workers grain dockers and workers
exposed to beryllium and its oxides to the
A
is probable
gher pneu- esi
pe ich general
Decause the
within the
of ground AR
ced the sili AEN
it ware in
te
minine Su cases tust Fourteen
in chert oil shule or stratified ironstone
fire clay miners were also exposed to coul
for 1953 issued by the Ministry of Fuel and Power 1954 It can be said however that
more than 50 of the cases had had only slight
disability and only about % were totally
disabled
dust of leather mixed with other dusts and to bagasse Attention has also been given to exposures to the dusts of aluminum man-
ganese and vanadium and to asthma occur-
ring in workers exposed to the double salts
dusts of platinum and also to various wood
such as western red cedar
Pathology great deal of work has been
el castings
el 5 gives the
oniosis oc- RNA
The number of cases in hematite
done on the pathology gross histological
mining is and
diminishing but the small numbers found in
experimental of coal miners lungs by
tunneling are usually instances of rapid and
Gough Harding King Heppleston Wright Cloyne Nagelschmidt and others
severe silicosis
might +
CRA 107 107
Dus
(~ btn ustry
DUSTS
OTHER
THAN SILICA
AND COAL
ASBESTOS
however state some conclusions about
thologythology
thology
which which
which
Harding
Harding anGdloywnieth colleague S. Koodhouse
(
I
with
our
have
pa-
late late
late
ar-
he varying eoenr
osis found
'
given
about are given
i dust diseases Statistics
About the middle 1930's the Factory Deartment began to turn its attention to other Justs Middleton in his 1936 review referred to dusts such as tripoli sillimanite kiesel-
rived at after studying the lungs of workers
in many diverse industries
Until
the
10 years ago the pathology of
was
by the class-
pclaatsiseisncitallihcoatdic nohdauvlee FdiomginnaotdeudlIantion betehne Katal dustIt high +
: ml
; workermade ji
guhr tale china clay and fullers earth In ical
3
the same
. the same year Doig and McLaughlin pub- way before a diagnosis could be
;
lished a paper on the ray appearances of
to
the lungs of electric welders From this
ray
or
the
:
has arisen
snowstorm effect Classical sili-
a world study of the inert cosis usually occurs after the
has
exposed and radiopaque dusts and notable American
to
containing a
free *
contributors have been Sander Enzer Pen- of
silica
proportion
is becoming
increasingly
dergrass Vorwald and Hamlin Perhaps the
:
clear free opinion that even small propor-
sis which of fibtrhoe- "
been most interesting outcome of this study has
the alteration of the approach to the
:
interpretation of ray films of the chest
tions of free silica in dust can cause a
is
composed
nodules not of
classical type Fig The arrangement 21
\
fibers and rstaedlilaalte 3 '
appbmlliiaexcdked Harding 4 dust fibrosis <4
o-
:
because the ray features of siderosis bari-
the
is linear
of
and the
outline i tosis and stannosis in the absence of occu- of the whole nodule
is
It looks like
pational histories and clinical examinations a
star
Gloyne and I have
can be mistaken for fibrotic changes in the
the term mixed dust
pneumoconiosis :
lungs In fact an alarming ray picture is or
to this
often found in worker who has little or no
nodule It has been found in
foundry workers especially in
i
disability The study of siderosis was helped cleaners of iron castings in
4
y the excellent work of Stewart and Faulds to the dust of
persons exposed exposed
1934 and later Craw
graphite containing about 100
1937 on the hema- free silica and in huiler sealers who
are ex-
.
XN : 91
z
z
i
;
:
?
i
3
5
a
z
a
ieee
tf
re
ch
*
.
|
.-
| ie 5 q
| ort
os
a
;
4 |
i
uf
:
ee a
i=
i
es
&
; ;
ie
(
*.
s
tes
3
:
'
Ke
% 4
. .
4 3
;
(3
?
a
re
i
a
-
t 3 .
oH
ji 3 ee seit ,
=
| 4
St -
3
cet
B
: |
*
EPPA p
tar
het
LS f By Trrees dyin ety
,
Fig
3. ^ 24
M. A. ARCHIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH '
DUS
9
tore F.
arp
Ss : ; ;
Maris: ple SeIe NRE
Classical
silicotic
mixed dust pneumoconiosis nodule Indeed
there are also nodules which show a transi-
tion stage between the mixed dust nodule and
the classical one Fig 5 It should be mentioned that the ray appearances of the lungs of a worker with mixed dust pneumoconiosis
differ little if at all from those of one with
silicosis and the disease is just as disabling
and as fatal
Boiler Scalers Pneumoconiosis ence of pulmonary diseases in ships boiler
scalers illustrates well the etiology of mixed dust pneumoconiosis These These men are exposed
to mixed dust which varies according to
.
diec
[
exa
i the
;
nod
?
the
*
reti
+
car
fibr
Wet
*
Up
011
7 431 sili
a
' als
hematoxylin
also according to the source of the water used #0
sui
posed to mixed dust with a low proportion
of SiO The coal nodule of coal miners
pneumoconiosis has much the same appearance as our mixed dust pneumoconiosis undule Coal contains varying proportions
of free silica In any case the common de-
nominator in those cases and occupations in
which this type of nodule is found appears to
be the presence of a small proportion of free silica in the dust Where there is a high proportion as stated above the classical silicotic
nodule is found But in the same case there may be both the classical nodule and the
may
Fig Mixed dust pneumoconiosis nodule from a steel fettler's lung hematoxylin and eosin ^ 24
,
ia shu
Pe pr cat in
& th
in
& a11
3
1
es
en
% (
Hi
a
la
mixed
;
Fig
Transition nodule from mixed dust pneu 2.
ti
5 ti moconiosis nodule to silicotic nodule in an iron
dresser's lung hematoxylin and eosin ^ 24
z
P
d
in them It contains carbonates silicates Z
1
iron and carbon There is usually under %
fi
of free silica but there is often a high pro 11
portion of iron and its oxides Flue dust :
j
contains more iron than does the scale on the a
c
water tubes sometimes as much as 48
In the first case of boiler scalers pneumo-
\
|
j
coniosis the worker had been scaling boilers 5,
for over 40 years Harding Tod and
1
Mclaughlin 1944 In 1938 an ray film
i
of his chest showed nodulation in the upper
and outer lung fields and the lower zones
reticulation cor micronodulation At that
time we made a tentative diagnosis of sili-
cosis in the upper zones with siderosis in the +
lower zones Seven years later the patient
ta
Is
a
10
me DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN
died of cancer of the lung and histological
.
able to study the histological appearances of
ve si
examination of the lungs showed apart from a proved case of talc pneumoconiosis Mc-
ittle and
the cancer the presence of classical silicotic Laughlin Rogers and Dunham 1949
et De men-
nodules in the upper and outer zones and in A man 51 years of age had worked for
re he lungs
the lower zones where there was ray 37 years in a rubber factory where he
ree
coniosis
reticulation there were mainly deposits of had been exposed to a fairly high concentra-
( etnis ne with tRT,
carbon and iron dust in the lungs with no tion of tale dust Moderately advanced pneu-
LAL
isabling
TAR
fibrosis In all other parts of the lung there
were nodules of mixed dust pneumoconiosis
moconiosis of both lungs was found at autopsy in addition to incompetence of the
Experi- Experi- ante
boiler edie
i mixed eine
Me
xposed EOI
rding to ae
BRS ers and
ter used
ee
amg
ve
ee
ce
he LP
Up to the present time we have had autopsies
on nine boiler scalers and all showed this
type of fibrosis Only one scaler had classical
silicotic nodules in addition But five of them
also died of cancer of the lung and this may
well have been partly caused by carcinogenic
substances present in the soot
The change from coal to oil as a fuel for ships boilers has brought with it another problem The dust from fired boilers causes symptoms of bronchospasm or asthma in high proportion of cases and it is likely
that this is due to the presence of vanadium
in the oil sont Williams 1952 has published an interesting series of cases illustrating this point My colleagues and are at present examining with clinical radiographic and
environmental details the boiler scalers
aortic valve Throughout the lung substance were scattered small gray nodules more
numerous in the lower lobes In some areas
the nodules had coalesced to form small
masses The fibers appeared to be arranged concentrically around small vessels giving the impression of whorling but not like the
appearance of silicosis There were in addition many curious or tale bodies resem-
bling but easily distinguishable from ashestos bodies Much dust which proved to be tale appeared in the sections and it was thought at the time that the particles were all fibers More recent work on the lung by
Nagelschmidt has shown that the bulk of
the dust is in the form of plates with only a
few fibers
At least three other autopsies on cases of
fust pneu-
haw an 24
iron
ow
.
silicates
mier %
Nigh pro-
lue dust
Lent
in on the
some 300 of them in the port of Southampton where the boilers of ocean going and large passenger liners are cleaned The investigation has not been completed but up to the present we have not found as much lung damage as was shown in a previous inquiry
in the port of Hull where the boilers of
fishing trawlers are mainly scaled So far we have found three cases of compensable
pneumoconiosis among 50 workers and one
case of cancer of the lung together with a
tale pneumoconiosis all from rubber works)
have been made and they show similar features to the first published case Small surveys have been made on workers exposed to tale dust in various industries but larger
ones have been planned to take place shortly It is clear that tale dust though fibrogenic is not so active as asbestos in damaging the
lungs Leather Dressers Pneumoconiosis
operation between the directors of chest clin-
18
of cases with lower degrees of ics the mass radiography units and the
proportion
Medical Inspectorate of Factories has been
Pneumo-
pneumoconiosis and disability
instrumental in bringing to light hitherto
we boilers
Tale Pneumoconiosis great deal of
od and
has been done unsuspected causes of pneumoconiosis Since
work on tale pneumoconiosis
the mass radiography campaign was begun
ray film
in the United States and Canada Dreessen in 1948 for the early detection of cases of
The upper
1933 Dreessen and Dalla Valle 1935
Smith and Green- pulmonary tuberculosis some 13,000,000 per-
.
.er zones
Riddeil 1940 Siegal
sons have undergone examination Many
At that
barg 1943 etc. Merewether ( 1933-1934 factory populations have been surveyed and
of sili-
in England studied the ray and clinical
is in the
features of rubber workers exposed to tale
Nageischmidt .; Personal communication to
" patient
dust But it was not until 1949 that we were the author
93
ee
re fs Mee
asoe
ais
ie
2e4
(1
arn
ay
a ia
Fe me ee
Ske ak es
te Re rome
Fee oe et ee nals ee eee d
ee
yg.
ARCHITTES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH
included among them have been factories
where there is a dust risk The workers at
one leather factory were examined by Dr. Hugh Ramsay of the Wanstead Mass Radiography Unit He drew our attention to the fact that one department a high proportion
of the workers showed abnormal ray
changes whereas in other departments
where there was no dust no abnormalities
were seen In the department with the high
proportion of ray abnormalities skins
loaded with china clay and calcium carbonate are dressed on rapidly revolving felt wheels covered with a layer of fine Carborundum
powder The job is very dusty though it is
done under exhaust ventilation The dust is
composed of much fine leather dust with smaller proportions of china clay kaolin
calcium carbonate and Carborundum It was
found that the dust contained about % of
free silica The ray films showed all stages
of abnormality varying from early reticulation micronodulation through nodulation
massive shadows In few cases there was
clinical evidence of disability One man with an ray film showing massive shadows had died from asthma and pneumonia a year before the investigation began and there was no autopsy spite of the fact that up to the present time no pathological evidence has been available it is likely that the condition
will fall into the group of the mixed dust
pneumoconioses The dust of china clay which for years has been thought to be comparatively harmless is becoming more and more suspect Even apart from china clay the presence of a small proportion of free silica is prima facie evidence that the dressing of such skins is a hazardous occupation
Beryllium Pneumonitis and Grandomato-
.-
remarkable that British experience
of beryllium pneumonitis and granulomatosis is not as extensive as that in the United
States though many workers have been ex-
posed to the dust of fluorescent lamp powders containing beryllium oxide and also the dust
and fumes from the alloys Only one death
has occurred and the Factory Department
has collected clinical ray and environ-
mental details of five nonfatal cases one of whom is now very ill The other four cases
are either recovering or their condition is stationary It also remarkable that five out
of six affected workers were chemists en-
gaged in the development of the beryllium lamp powders At the factory where the fatal case of beryllium granulomatosis occurred
150 of the other workers were examined
clinically and radiographically and no more cases were found though there had been considerable exposure to the dust of the lamp powders in the early days It is undeniable that beryllium oxide is toxic but examination of the histology of the lungs of the one
fatal case has led me to hold the unorthodox
view that beryllium was not the sole cause of
the condition There were two types of le-
sion one of a granulomatous type in which there were giant and epithelioid cells and the
other in which were many fibrotic nodules
indistinguishable from silicosis Under polarized light many doubly refractile particles were seen in the nodules and an eminent crystallographer stated that these were cristobalite one of the most active forms of free silica This is not surprising because one of the ingredients of the lamp powder is silica gel 25 which in the preparation of the powder is heated up to about 1100C The changed methods of preparing the lamp powder have eliminated both the beryllium oxide and the free silica so that the risks both of
beryllium granulomatosis and of silicosis have
also been eliminated
Pneumoconiosis from Vegetable Dusts -Apart from cotton not a great deal of work has been done on the vegetable dusts
The illnesses noted among cotton workers
include mill fever a transitory illness which affects nearly all new workers in cotton flax and hemp mills and also in malt houses Monday fever tor feeling weavers cough and byssinosis
Byssinosis develops after about 20 years as natural progression from Monday fever
and final stage has the characteristics
of chronic bronchitis and emphysema As Schilling 1954 says though it was de-
04
sci
he
sci
he
sci
HEALTH
{
fax: e of
cases
Condition is mee:
that five out
ce
hemists en-
hn wtberyllium oh
ere the fatal
Oe
is occurred
" examined EE
uki no more
SR ad been con-
of the lamp
undeniable Ra
it examina-
of the one Re
1 morthodox
sule cause of
types of le- ee
c in which ee
lls and the tic nodules
A
a nder polar-
le particies ee
an eminent
eT
eke
were cristo-
F free ae one of PNA der is silica
ation of the ret
300 The
te
lamp pow-
a2 llium oxide
isks both of
A
silicosis have tah
EOP
table Dusts
ae
el
seat deal of
table dusts Ram,
ay
en workers
cathe
Hness which
BS
cotton flax 4
eione alt houses weavers Don
20 years as
iday fever
aracteristics
sema
As
It was de-
DUST DISEASES IN GREAT BRITAIN BRITAIN
scribed by Greenhow nearly 100 years ago its etiology is still obscure It presents an odd Lut characteristic history of chest tightness and breathlessness on Mondays which gradually extends to other working days as the
disease progresses In its later stages these
symptoms are very distressing but usually remain worse on Monday than on any other day It causes no specific ray changes in the lung fields In the main the workers in the cotton card and blowing rooms suffer must from the disease Strippers and grind ers who clean the carding engines are especially affected As mentioned previously workers with byssinosis are compensated under a special scheme
Bayassosis one factory in the coun-
try handles bagasse for sugar cane without the sugar and lagassosis lagassosis has occurred mainly in those workers who were grinding bagasse in dry state The condition is an acute bronchiolitis with high temperature severe dyspnea and ray picture of the lungs showing generalized miliary shadows Fif-
teen cases of this acute disease have come to
the notice of the Factory Department some
of these have been described by Castleden and Hamilton 1942 Gillison and
Taylor 1942 and Hunter and Perry
1946 The last case occurred in 1948
Since we got the firm to grind the bagasse
under water there have been no further
cases
Farmers Farmers or threshers lung was first described by Campbell 1932
and after that Faweitt 1936 and 1938 did
a great deal of work on the condition It has
features similar to bagassosis but since it
occurs mainly among workers who have been handling moldy hay during a wet summer it is regarded as being caused by a fungus Faweitt was firmly of this opinion Single
cases of the condition are described from
time to time by physicians in the agricultural
districts
Pneuanoconiosis in Grain Dockers
ner Hermon and Bagnall described in 1946
the clinical features and abnormal ray ap-
pearances in a group of 55 grain dockers
Thirty of these men had pulmonary tubercu-
losis but 11 others had ray changes sug-
gestive of the presence of pneumoconiosis
Fourteen had normal ray films Analysis of the dusts from various grains showed
small percentages of free silica oat dust for instance had % No autopsies have been carried out but it seems that a case has been
made out for an extended investigation of larger groups of grain dockers
Graphite Pneumoconiosis has been found by some observers in England Dunner 1945 1948 and 1949 Gloyne Marshall and Hoyle 1949 and Harding and Oliver
1949 that workers exposed to the dust
of natural graphite develop radiographic changes in the lungs and disability The range of ray abnormalities closely resembles that seen in coal miners Pathological and experimental studies Gloyne and others 1949 Harding and Oliver 1949 show that the the
condition falls into the group of the mixed mixed
dust fibroses the fibrotic nodules having a
linear and radial pattern as opposed to the whorled fibrosis of the classical silicotic nodule Natural graphite contains contains smail
per-
centages of the order of -10 of free
silica There is as yet no evidence that
pure
graphite will produce a similar condition
Manganese Pneumonitis few cases of
manganese poisoning affecting the nervous
system occurred in the middle 1930's in
workers grinding manganese dioxide for use in lamp batteries In 1946 Lloyd Davies reported a high incidence of pneumonia in a
group of workers exposed to manganese dioxide dust in the manufacture of potassium
permanganate Animal experiments by Lloyd Davies and Harding 1949 confirmed that
manganese dioxide irritated the lung tissue and caused intense infiltration of the alveolar alveolar
walls and alveoli Later granulomatous
changes developed in some instances These
results are in line with those described by
workers in other countries
Fanadium Pneumonitis Wyers 1946
recorded his observations on workers exposed to vanadium pentoxide dust and his results
as
ek 2
MAT.
A. M.
ARCHIVES OF INDUSTRIAL Health v
a.
are similar to those described by Sj^berg 1949 in Sweden The effects are a combination of systemic poisoning and irritation of the pulmonary tissue leading in some cases to bronchospasm and pneumonia
Doigand Williams 1952 have described the marked bronchospasm occurring which in
workers exposed to the soot of oil fuel which is thought to be caused by the high percent
age of vanadium in the soot
SUMMARY
which make a dusty process more dusty and cause a lag in control methods
watery 3. Compensation for industrial pulmonary
disease began soon after 1918 and gradually
most of the processes and industries which
damage the lungs are being brought under
wo
3
the provisions of the various Acts of Parlia ment The Industrial Injuries Act of 1946 t.
v
removed the responsibility for compensation
from employers and insurance companies to
the Government Since then cases taken
under Common Law against the employers
have increased rapidly
The position as regards the dust diseases
contained
in Great Britain may be summarized as fol-
4. Numerous legal provisions
both in Acts of Parliament and in Regula-
lows
tions have been brought into force Routine
1. During the past 50 years the risk of sili-
of factories and
cosis in most of the major industries has been inspection by inspectors
mines has been instrumental in limiting the
firmly established Until the late 1920's free numbers of cases of disability and death
silica was the only dust which was thought
to damage the lungs Asbestosis caused by brought about by inhalation of the dangerous
dusts
the dust of a combined silica mineral came
about that time In the mid-
5. It is expected that more accurate infor-
into prominence dle 1930's attention was given to the effects
mation about the incidence of the dust dis-
of other dusts on the lungs such as iron and cases will be obtained in the near future
of its oxides and radiopaque dusts china when statistical studies of the information
sillimanite kieselguhr tale and mixed obtained by the Pneumoconiosis Panels have
clay
dusts containing free silica
been carried out and when the report of the
the middle 1930's also the effects Registrar about the occupational
During
incidence of disease at the time of the 1951 ~ .
of coal dusts on the lungs were given increas-
attention and extensive surveys were
Census becomes available At the present aye information exists about Are
ing carried out culminating in the formation of
time no reliable
eho the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit of the the populations at risk in each industry and
Medical Research Council in 1945. The coal
miners numerically constitute the greatest
problem of dust discase in Great Britain 2. Despite the combined efforts of inspec-
tors of factories and mines physicians che
process
6. Surveys of the population by mass radi- .
ography to detect carly tuberculosis are Ava,
lon, bringing to light information about the ei- .
fects of dust in some hitherto unsuspected
and research workers the sists engineers
deaths from pneumoconiosis have continued
to rise yearly The reasons for this increase
may be found in more accurate diagnosis of
occupations 7. Many problems about dusts and the
lungs are still unsolved and some would say that we have only just begun to attack the
the condition and in the publicity given to
occupational diseases of the lungs leading to mention of pneumoconiosis by
more frequent
on death certificates
physicians
But a more of
likely cause is the urge for increased speed
and the introduction of machines
production
fringes of the problem Nevertheless a great deal has already been accomplished
Assistance in compiling the information contained in this paper was rendered by Dr. P. K. Walker and the members of the Pneumoconiosis Panels of the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Drs R. A. Merewether A. T. Doig
_
_
Doig A.A. T Unpublished data
and G. 0. Williams of the Factory Department
96
Pag bee, MAGES ims LS
tdi
abe Jets it
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icety 6.
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i
a
DUST
DISEASES IN GGRERATEAT BRITAIN BRITAIN
ASE |:
:
:
bes a $a
v2
JaJraryy
Tily
Tilly
hihchich 7 ler riiar-iia1046
ation - to
kenken
vers
-
ined julautine utine
and and the lelaetathh
\
Ministry of LabLouar bour and
National
National
ServiSceervice
Dr.
II II
Harding
4 and E. Harding
lately
Sheffield UniverUsinty iversitUyniversity and Dr.
Nagelschmidt Mines G.G. NagelschmidNtagelschmidt of the SSaafeftyety in Mines Rescarch Rescarch
LaboratoriLeabsoratories SheffielSdheffield t
;
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5
;
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|
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97
ws
ee
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de sp
>
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A
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Pi
H
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A. M. A. ARCHIVES OF INDUSTRIAL HEALTH 4 _
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