According to a new study that analyzed the histology and mineralogy of the disease through generations, silica exposure is a major reason behind the increased incidence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
The rise of black lung disease
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The research is the first to examine the pathology and mineralogy of the condition, known colloquially as black lung disease, across generations.
It is also the first to provide scientific evidence as to why progressive massive fibrosis, the most severe type of black lung disease, is becoming increasingly prevalent among younger coal workers in West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky.
Before 2005, when the rise was first documented, the incidence of black lung disease had been declining since the 1970s, when sophisticated coal dust controls were implemented.
Following examinations, it was discovered that black lung cases had tripled and that tenured miners in central Appalachia, the illness's heartland, had witnessed a tenfold rise in severe black lung disease.
They knew that silica is very hazardous and that exposure leads to coal miners' pneumoconiosis, but they didn't understand why coal workers were suddenly having more illnesses and more serious conditions of it, as per ScienceDaily.
Because provisions have not changed, mineral resources on the Earth have not altered, and there is no proof that individuals have become far more susceptible to coal dust, the rise in cases among young workers that began in the late 1990s was perplexing, according to Dr. Robert Cohen, clinical professor of environmental and occupational health sciences and director of the Mining Education and Research Center at UIC.
Cohen and his colleagues gathered lung tissue samples from coal miners suffering from severe black lung disease to better understand these phenomena.
They compared samples from miners born between 1910 and 1930 to those born in or after 1930, referring to historical and "current" coal miners, respectively.
The pathology of the samples and the physical features of the sick lungs were examined by the researchers.
Tissues with more than 75% silicotic nodules, which are round for the whirls of pinkish scar tissue, were diagnosed as having a silica-type disease
Tissues with less silicotic nodules and a larger number of grey or dark nodules were classified as having coal-type (less than 25%) or mixed-type disease (25% -75%).
When coal dust is breathed over an extended length of time, black lung disease can occur.
Coal dust is composed of harmful carbon-containing particles that coal miners are at risk of breathing, which is why it is mostly regarded as an occupational illness.
Coal miners may potentially be exposed to silica-containing dust as a result of drilling into silica-containing rock.
According to recent research, around 16% of coal miners in the United States will get the condition, as per American Lung Association.
This figure has risen in recent years, possibly due to advancements in mining technologies that enable greater amounts of coal to be mined in a given time period.
When coal dust is breathed, it can travel down the airways all the way to the alveoli (air sacs) deep within the lungs.
When dust particles land and settle in the lung, lung tissue may try to expel them, creating inflammation as the body tries to combat the foreign particles.
In certain situations, the inflammation is severe enough to result in the formation of scar tissue.
The harmful consequences of breathing coal dust may not become apparent for many years, and many individuals may not exhibit symptoms until many years after their initial exposure.
