Background Report Reference

AP-42 Section Number: 1 1.26

Background Chapter: 2

Reference Number: 9

Title: Occupational Exposure to Talc Containing Asbestos

US Department of Health Education, and Welfare

February 1980

I

CAL REPORT TECHN

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE to

TALC CONTAINING ASBESTOS

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Public Health Service Center for Disease Control National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO TALC C O N T A I N I N G ASBESTOS

M o r b i d i t y , M o r t a l i t y , and Environmental Studies o f Miners and M i l l e r s

I. Envi ronmenta l Study John M. Dement1 Ralph 0. Zumwaldel

11. Cross Sec t iona l John F. Gamble2 M o r b i d i t y Study W i l l i a m F e l l n e r 2

Michael J. DeMeo2

Joseph K. Wagoner3 111. Re t rospec t i ve Cohort David P. Brown1

Study of M o r t a l i t y

U.S. Department o f Heal th, Education, and Welfare Pub1 i c Hea l th Serv i ce

Center f o r Disease Cont ro l

1 D i v i s i o n o f Su rve i l l ance , Hazard Eva lua t i ons and F i e l d S tud ies C i n c i n n a t i , Ohio 45226

2 D i v i s i o n o f Resp i ra to ry Disease Stud ies Morgantown, West V i f i i n i a 26505

30ccupat iona l Sa fe ty and Hea l th Admin i s t ra t i on , DOL Washington, D.C. 20210

February, 1980

N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e f o r Occupat ional Sa fe ty and Hea l th

DISCLAIMER

W n t i o n of company name or product does n o t c o n s t i t u t e endorsement by t h e Nat iona l I n s t i t u t e f o r Occupational S a f e t y and Heal th .

DHEW (NIOSH) Publication No.80-115

ABSTRACT

The Nat iona l I n s t i t u t e f o r Occupat ional Safety and Hea l th ( N I O S H ) conducted s t u d i e s o f m o r t a l i t y and m o r b i d i t y p a t t e r n s and occupa t iona l exposures among t a l c miners and m i l l e r s i n upper New York. The m o r t a l i t y s tudy was based on 398 w h i t e male workers who began employment between January 1, 1947;ang December 31, 1959, and whose v i t a l s t a t u s was determined as o f June 30, 1975. Cbserved cause s p e c i f i c m o r t a l i t y f o r t he c o h o r t as compared w i t h t h a t expected based on U.S. w h i t e male m o r t a l i t y r a t e s i n d i c a t e d a s i g n i f i c a n t inc rease i n m o r t a l i t y due t o bronchogenic cancer, nonmal ignant r e s p i r a t o r y disease (exc lud ing i n f l u e n z a and pneumonia) and r e s p i r a t o r y t u b e r c u l o s i s . cancer was 20 years.

I n t h e m o r b i d i t y s tudy c u r r e n t workers (156 male miners and m i l l e r s ) f rom t h e same New York t a l c company were examined. hundred twenty-one (121) workers were admin is te red the MRC r e s p i r a t o r y q u e s t i o n n a i r e ( i n c l u d i n g smoking and work h i s t o r i e s ) , lung f u n c t i o n t e s t s (FEV1, FVC, e x p i r e d f l o w r a t e s ) , and chest X-rays (PA and l a t e r a l ) . The r e s u l t s a re s i m i l a r f o r a l l 121 workers, and f o r a subset o f 93 workers hav ing t a l c exposure o n l y a t t he f a c i l i t y under study. f u n c t i o n i s expressed as percent p red ic ted , w i t h 9,347 coa l miners and 1,095 potash miners matched on age, he igh t , and smoking h a b i t s p r o v i d i n g expected va lues f o r t h e prevalence o f symptoms, X-ray f i n d i n g s , and l u n g f u n c t i o n . Cumulat ive exposure i s c a l c u l a t e d by e s t i m a t i n g t h e mean exDosure l e v e l i n a c u r r e n t job , t imes t h e t ime spent i n t h a t j o b summated f o r a l l jobs.

The average l a t e n c y p e r i o d f o r bronchogenic

m e

Lung

F ind ings f rom t h e m o r b i d i t y s tudy i n c l u d e d the f o l l o w i n g : workers w i t h l e s s than 15 years work have a h igher prevalence o f cough and phlegm than c o a l and po tash miners. Ta lc workers w i t h more than 15 yea rs work have a h ighe r prevalence of cough, dyspnea, and i r r e g u l a r o p a c i t i e s than po tash miners, b u t l e s s phlegm and dyspnea than coa l miners. P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and c a l c i f i c a t i o n i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y h ighe r i n t a l c workers than i n c o a l and potash miners, and p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y h igher than i n c h r y s o t i l e asbestos do rke rs i n Canada. Mean pulmonary f u n c t i o n o f t he t a l c workers i s reduced compared t o coa l and po tash workers: assoc ia ted w i t h the h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d v a r i a b l e s o f years worked, p a r t i c u l a t e , and f i b e r exposure. Talc workers w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g have reduced lung f u n c t i o n compared t o those workers w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g .

Ta lc

Reduct ions i n FEVl and FVC are

iii

The i n d u s t r i a l hyg iene s tudy demonstrated t h a t t h e major components o f t he t a l c s mined and m i l l e d are t a l c , t r e m o l i t e , a n t h o p h y l l i t e , and serpent ines w i t h t r a c e s o f dolomite, c a l c i t e , and quar t z . These t r a c e meta ls were found t o be present o n l y i n very smal l q u a n t i t i e s . Time-weighted average (TWA) exposures t o asbest i f o r m amphiboles ( a n t h o p h y l l i t e and t r e m o l i t e ) were found t o be i n excess o f present U.S. Occupat ional Sa fe ty ad Yeaalth (0SiA) and Mine Safe ty and Hea l th Admin i s t ra t i on (MSiA) occupat iona l exposure. standards i n many mine and m i l l ope ra t i ons w i t h more than 90 percent o f t h e t o t a l a i r b o r n e f i b e r s be ing l e s s than 5-pm i n length.

Resu l t s o f t he present s tudy are compared w i t h those o f o the r s t u d i e s o f workers exposed t o t h e same o r s i m i l a r minera ls , and i t i s concluded t h a t exposures t o such t a l c s are assoc ia ted w i t h an increased r i s k of deve lop ing n o t o n l y p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and p l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n , b u t a l s o bo th bronchogenic cancer and nonmal ignant r e s p i r a t o r y disease.

i v

CONTENTS

ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X i DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X i i i INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 DESCRIPTION OF FACILITIES STUDIED . . . . . . . . . .,' .

*/ - 3 INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Resu l ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Comparison o f Present and Past Exposures . . . . . . . 9 Comparison o f Exposure C h a r a c t e r i s i t c s w i t h Other Talc Mines and M i l l s i n the Gouverneur, New York Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

REVIEW OF HEALTH EFFECTS FROM EXPOSURE TO TALCS CONTAINING ASBESTIFORM AND ASSOCIATION MINERALS . . . . . . 11

Resp i ra to ry M o r b i d i t y Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 M o r t a l i t y Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

CROSS SECTIONAL MORBIDITY STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 D e s c r i p t i o n o f Work Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Mate r ia l s and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Resu l ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 O i scuss ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Resu l ts . '. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Discuss ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 T A X E S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 FIGURES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY OF MORTALITY . . . . . . . . . . 29

Sumnary S t a t i s t i c s f o r NIOSH 1975 I n d u s t r i a l Hygiene Study

V

TABLES

1. Results o f X-ray d i f f r ac t ion and petro- graphic microscopic analysis of bulk t a l c samples col lected during study . . . . . . . . . 35

2. Results of t r a c e metal analyses of b u l k

3. Results of major components analyses of product t a l c samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Sumnary of TWA exposures by job, mining operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

t a l c samples col lected during study . . . . . . . . . 'I 36

4.

5. Sumnary of TWA exposures by j o b t i t l e . . . . . . . . 39

6. Sumnary of TWA amphibole f i b e r exposures ( a l l f i be r lengths) determined by electron microscopy . . . 40

7. Summary of airborne f i b e r types determined by ana ly t ica l e lectron microscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Sumnary of airborne f i b e r diameters for posi t ive amphiboles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Sumnary of airborne f i b e r lengths for posi t ive amphiboles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Aspect r a t i o s for posi t ive amphiboles determined by electron microscopy . . . . . . . . . . 43

Sumnary of h i s t o r i c impinger d u s t measurements in mine and mill operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Sumnary of h i s t o r i c f i b e r exposure measurements in mine and mill operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Comparison o f airborne f i b e r character- i s t i c s in study of mine and mill operations with New York t a l c operations acknowledged as containing asbestiform minerals . . . . . . . . . . Sumnary of morbidity s tudies of workers exposed t o t remoli te and/or anthophylli te f i b e r s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

46

14.

vi

- -. - .

... . .-+. ... i. ....

. . I

15. Age-smoking composition of morbidity study population who had no previous occupational

Age-smoking composition of total morbidity study population regardless o f previous employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '* .... 56

Age-exposure composition of morbidity study population who had no previous occupational

16A. Age-exposure composition of total morbidity study population regardless o f previous employment . . 57

17. Prevalence (A) of symptoms and radiographic findings by smoking habits among morbidity study population who had no previous occupational exposure to talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

17A. Prevalence (A) o f symptoms and radiographic findings by smoking habits among the total morbidity study population regardless of previous employment . . 59

18. Prevalence (A) of symptoms and radiographic findings by age among morbidity study popula- tion who had no previous occupational exposure t o t a l c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Prevalence (A) of symptoms and radiographic findings by age among the total morbidity study population regardless of previous employment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

exposure to talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 15A.

. 16.

exposure to talc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7

18A.

19. Prevalence (A) o f symptoms and radiographic findings among talc workers included in morbidity study with no previous occupational exposure to talc compared to coal and potash workers adjusted for age, height and smoking habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

'1 I . 62

19A. Prevalence (A) o f symptoms and radiographic findings among all talc workers included in morbidity study compared to coal and potash workers adjusted for age, height and smoking habits.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

vi i

20.

21 .

21A.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

Dose-response r e l a t i o n s among t a l c workers observed pulmonary f u n c t i o n as compared t o pulmonary f u n c t i o n o f coa l and potash miners, ad jus ted f o r age, he igh t , smoking h a b i t s and years worked (Standard e r r o r i n parentheses.) . . . . 64

Comparison o f t a l c workers i n c l u d e d i n morb id i ty , s tudy and hav ing no p rev ious t a l c exposure, w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g (PT)* by age, exposure and smoking hab i t s . i n parentheses.) N 9 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Comparison o f a l l t a l c workers i n m o r b i d i t y s tudy w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g (PT)* by age, exposure and smoking h a b i t s (Standard e r r o r i n parentheses.) N=121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Average number o f years worked f o r each i n d i v i d u a l i n m o r b i d i t y s tudy hav ing no prev ious t a l c exposure w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and the number of these i n d i v i d u a l s work ing i n se lec ted j o b s over t h e t o t a l work h i s t o r y o f those wi th g rea te r than 15 years work when 0, 5 and 10 o f t he most recen t years a re o m i t t e d . . . . . . . . . . 69

,

(Standard e r r o r

Symptom prevalence, r a d i o g r a p h i c f i nd ings , and pulmonary f u n c t i o n o f t a l c workers i n m o r b i d i t y s tudy b y p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g (PT) and years employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Symptom prevalence (A) o f t a l c workers i n m o r b i d i t y s t u d y compared t o a s b e s t o s l ~ 3 and s y n t h e t i c t e x t i l e workers2 by age and smoking h a b i t s . . . . . 71

Prevalence o f rad iog raph ic f i n d i n g s o f t a l c workers i n m o r b i d i t y s tudy compared t o asbestos workers1 over 35 years o f age and a f t e r age adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Summary o f t h e prevalence o f p l e u r a l t h i c k - en ing (PT) i n workers exposed t o asbestos . . . . . . 73

V i t a l s t a t u s of 398 t a l c workers i nc luded i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy who began employment between 1947-1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

v i i i

28. Study cohor t o f t a l c workers i nc luded i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy accord ing t o l e n g t h o f

Study cohor t o f t a l c workers i n c l u d e d i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy accord ing t o d a t e o f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 i n i t i a l employment

Observed and expected deaths accord ing t o ma jo r cause among t a l c miners and m i l l e r s

Observed and expected deaths accord ing t o s p e c i f i c cause among t a l c miners and m i l l e r s i nc luded

Bronchogenic cancer among t a l c miners and m i l l e r s i n c l u d e d i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy accord ing t o i n t e r v a l s i n c e onset o f employment ( l a t e n c y ) . . . 7 9

Case rev iew o f deaths among t a l c miners and m i l l e r s i n c l u d e d i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy accord ing t o cause o f death and s e l e c t demographic f a c t o r s . . . 80

employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

29.

.' :'

30.

i nc luded i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

30A.

i n m o r t a l i t y s tudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

31.

32 .

FIGURES

1. E l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n p a t t e r n s and x-ray spec t ra o f t r e m o l i t e f i b e r s i n b u l k samples . . . . . 82

2. E l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n p a t t e r n s and x-ray spec t ra o f a n t h o p h y l l i t e f i b e r s i n b u l k samples . . . . . . . 83

E l e c t r o n photomicrograph o f a i r b o r n e par- t i c u l a t e s i n mine and m i l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

E l e c t r o n photomicrograph o f a i r b o r n e par- t i c u l a t e s i n mine and m i l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

E l e c t r o n photomicrograph o f a i r b o r n e par- t i c u l a t e s i n mine .and m i l l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Mean y e a r l y impinger d u s t concen t ra t i ons f o r mine opera t i ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Mean y e a l y impinger dus t concen t ra t i ons

3 .

. 4.

5 .

6.

7. f o r m i l l ope ra t i ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

i x

APPE NDI X TABLES

Sumnary o f f i b e r exposures i n mine operat ions as determined by o p t i c a l microscopy . . . . . . . . . 130

Sumnary of f i b e r exposures i n m i l l operat ions as determined by o p t i c a l microscopy . . . . :,. . . 131

Sumnary o f amphibole f i b e r exposures i n mine opera t ions as determined b y a n a l y t i c a l e l e c t r o n microscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Summary o f amphibole f i b e r exposures i n m i l l operat ions as determined by a n a l y t i c a l e l e c t r o n microscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Sumnary o f r e s p i r a b l e dus t exposures i n mine opera t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Sumnary of r e s p i r a b l e dus t exposures i n m i l l opera t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Sumnary of r e s p i r a b l e f r e e s i l i c a exposures i n m i l l opera t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Sumnary of r e s p i r a b l e f r e e s i l i c a exposures i n m i l l opera t ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Sumnary o f a i rbo rne d u s t concent ra t ions i n mine opera t ions as determined by midget imp inger /op t i ca l microscopy techniques . . . . . . . . 138

Summary o f a i rbo rne dust concentrat ions i n m i l l operat ions as determined by midget imp inger l o p t i c a l microscopy techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

A-1 .

A-2.

A-3.

A-4.

A-5.

A-6.

A-7.

A-8.

A-9.

A-10.

X .

D E F I N I T I O N S

YES t o the ques t ion , " D o you cough l i k e t h i s on most days f o r as much as t h r e e months each yea r? "

YES t o the ques t ion , " D o you'get, s h o r t o f b rea th wa lk ing w i t h oth'er people your own age on l e v e l ground?"

Forced E x p i r a t o r y Flow ( l i t e r s / s e c o n d ) a t 25 percent, 50 percent and 75 percent o f e x p i r e d FVC.

Forced E x p i r a t o r y Volume i n one second ( l i t e r s ) .

FEVl/FVC x 100.

Forced V i t a l Capac i ty ( l i t e r s ) .

YES t o t h e quest ion, "Have you ever coughed up b lood?"

YES t o the ques t ion , " D o you b r i n g up phlegm l i k e t h i s on most days f o r as much as t h r e e months each y e a r ? "

Observed deaths/Expected deaths x 100.

Eight -hour t i m e weighted average.

COUGH

DYSPNEA

FEVl

FEV percent

N C

HEMOPTYSIS

PHLEGM

SMR

TWA

x i i i .

INTRODUCTION

The te rm " t a l c " i n t h e m i n e r a l o g i c a l sense denotes a s p e c i f i c rock forming m ine ra l o f t h e sheet s i l i c a t e category; however, when " t a l c " i s re fe renced i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l o r commercial s e t t i n g , i t may r e p r e s e n t a v a r i e d m i x t u r e o f minera ls w i t h phys i ca l p r o p e r t i e s s i m i l a r t o t h e m i n e r a l t a l c (1). Minera ls commonly found associated w i t h t a l c i n c l u d e c a l c i t e , quar tz , d iops ide, magnesite, serpent ines ( c h r y s o t i l e , a n t i g o r i t e , and l i z a r d i t e ) , and f i b r o u s and n o n f i b r o u s amphiboles ( t r e r n o j i t e , a n t h o p h y l l i t e , a c t i n o l i t e ) (1, 2 ) . The Un i ted States produces about 30 percent o f t h e w o r l d ' s t a l c w i t h New York, C a l i f o r n i a , Vermont, Texas, and Fbntana account ing f o r th ree- four ths o f t h e U.S. p roduc t ion . The work f o r c e f o r bo th t a l c min ing and m i l l i n g has been e s t i m a t e d t o be about 1,200 i n over s i x t y - f i v e f a c i l i t i e s ( 3 ) .

L a r g e l y due t o t h e g r e a t v a r i e t y o f m i n e r a l s commonly associated w i t h t a l c , few s t u d i e s have been under taken which adequate ly c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e v a r i o u s m i n e r a l s t o which t a l c workers are exposed and s imu l taneous ly d e l i n e a t e t h e l a t e n t d isease m a n i f e s t a t i o n s assoc ia ted w i t h those work environments.

Recogniz ing the need f o r a d d i t i o n a l research w i t h rega rd t o h e a l t h hazards f rom i n d u s t r i a l t a l c exposure, t h e N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e ' f o r Occupat ional Sa fe ty and Heal th (NIOSH) under took an i n d u s t r y w i d e program t o s tudy t a l c min ing and m i l l i n g i n two geographic areas, New York and Vermont. Th is program i n c l u d e s d e t a i l e d i n d u s t r i a l hygiene s t u d i e s t o c h a r a c t e r i z e t h e v a r i o u s agents t o which workers have been exposed, c ross-sec t iona l medica l surveys t o e v a l u a t e r e s p i r a t o r y impairment, and r e t r o s p e c t i v e c o h o r t s tud ies t o eva lua te l a t e n t d isease p a t t e r n s among workers who have been exposed t o t a l c i n t h e work environment . The present r e p o r t r e s t r i c t s i t s e l f t o t h a t p a r t o f t h e i n d u s t r y w i d e s tudy concern ing an i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t a l c s c o n t a i n i n g f i b r o u s amphibole m i n e r a l s as mined and m i l l e d i n t h e Gouverneur T a l c D i s t r i c t i n upper New York. This t a l c m i n i n g d i s t r i c t l o c a t e d i n S t . Lawrence County represents a complex a s s o c i a t i o n o f amphiboles ( a n t h o p h y l l i t e , t r e m o l i t e , e t c . ) , t a l c , qua r t z , and serpent ines (2, 4 ) . Prev ious s t u d i e s by K l e i n f e l d e t a l . (5, 6 ) o f asbes t i f o r rn t a l c miners and m i l l e r s i n t h i s d i s t r i c t have demonstrated s i g h i f i c a n t l y increased p r o p o r t i o n a l m o r t a l i t y due t o b o t h mal ignant and nonmal ignant r e s p i r a t o r y diseases. M o r b i d i t y s t u d i e s a l s o have i n d i c a t e d increased symptoms and X-ray and l u n g f u n c t i o n changes c o n s i s t e n t w i t h pneumoconiosis ( 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 1 2 ) . More

1

r e c e n t l y a t a l c min ing company i n t h i s d i s t r i c t ma in ta ined t h a t these s t u d i e s were n o t a p p l i c a b l e t o a l l t a l c s i n t h e Gouverneur T a l c D i s t r i c t . The company s t a t e d t h a t t a l c s e x t r a c t e d f rom i t s o r i g i n a l mine i n t h e Gouverneur T a l c D i s t r i c t do n o t c o n t a i n a s b e s t i f o r m m i n e r a l s and t h a t t h e t a l c s have been so c e r t i f i e d (13). One study, however, a t t h e same opera t ions concluded t h a t a s b e s t i f o r m m i n e r a l s were conta ined i n t h e t a l c s (11). To address t h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o n , t h e present s tudy r e s t r i c t s i t s e l f t o t h a t one mine and m i l l r e p o r t e d by t h e company t o be

' I ; produc ing nonasbest i fo rm t a l c .

2

DESCRIPTION OF FACILITIES S T U O I E D

The company under s tudy began t a l c m i n i n g and m i l l i n g opera t ions i n t h e Gouverneur Talc D i s t r i c t o f upper New York i n 1947. Ta lcs e x t r a c t e d f rom t h i s mine are used f o r a v a r i e t y o f a p p l i c a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g ceramics, p o t t e r y , ar tware, e l e c t r i c a l i n s u l a t o r s , ceramic t i l e g laze and f l u x , p a i n t f i l l e r s , i n p u t t i e s , and i n s p a c k l i n g compounds.

M I N I NG

I n t h e s tudy mine, underground hard rock min ing methods,are employed u s i n g j a c k l e g d r i l l s t o make holes f o r b l a s t i n b t h e ore i n open stopes. i n depth w i t h t h r e e main work ing l e v e l s . I n 1975, o r e was b e i n g mined f rom ap.proximately 6 o f t h e 26 a c t i v e stopes. f o l l o w s a t y p i c a l c y c l e i n c l u d i n g : w i t h g e l a t i n dynamite and ammonium n i t r a t e ; ( 2 ) d i s s i p a t i o n o f d u s t s and gases; ( 3 ) removal o f ore w i t h some secondary b l a s t i n g ; and ( 4 ) d r i l l i n g o f b l a s t i n g ho les f o r t h e n e x t s h i f t .

Ore (muck) f rom t h e s top ing areas i s loaded i n t o 2-ton r a i l c a r s us ing e i t h e r g r a v i t y drawpoint or scraper ( s l u s h e r ) l oad ing . Ore f rom these c a r s i s d iscnarged i n t o a c e n t r a l jaw c rusher l o c a t e d a t t h e 709-f t . l e v e l a l though some c rush ing i s a l s o done on the 1,110-ft . l e v e l . The crushed o r e i s loaded i n t o a s k i p and c a r r i e d t o t h e mine headframe where a g y r a t o r y c rusher reduces the ore t o approx imate ly 3 /4- in . screen s i z e . The o r e i s t h e n t r a n s p o r t e d b y conveyor b e l t t o one o f t h e f o u r wet ore s torage b i n s i n t h e m i l l . @prox ima te l y 40,000 c u b i c f e e t p e r minu te (cfm) o f min ing v e n t i l a t i o n i s prov ided. The o r e may be i n h e r e n t l y m o i s t , and wet d r i l l i n g i s employed. Water sprays are a l s o used f o r dus t suppression a t the 700- f t . l e v e l crusher. According t o company personnel , wet d r i l l i n g has been p r a c t i c e d s i n c e t h e beginning o f these operat ions.

MILL I NG

The mine c o n s i s t s o f one main s h a f t 1,250'feet

M i n i n g (1 ) b l a s t i n g , which i s done

M i l l o p e r a t i o n s i n c l u d e cone c r u s h i n g f i r s t , f o l l o w e d b y m o i s t u r e removal i n r o t a r y dryers. The d r y ore i s f u r t h e r reduced i n p a r t i c l e s i z e us ing a g y r a t o r y d i s c crusher f o l l o w e d by v i b r a t o r y screening and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n t o one o f s i x d r y o r e s i l o s . F i n e l y ground products are made f rom these ores, u s i n g e i t h e r Hardinge pebble m i l l s i n . c l o s e d c i r c u i t w i t h Raymond separa tors o r impact crushers i n c losed c i r c u i t w i t h f l u i d energy m i l l s . The f i n e l y ground prodpcts are s to red i n one o f seve ra l concre te s i l o s and are wi thdrawn b y a i r s l i d e s and pumped t o t h e packaging and s h i p p i n g areas. Talcs a r e e i t h e r

. ' 1 ' !

s o l d i n b u l k o r packaged i n 50-lb. va lve- type K r a f t paper bags. Bag f i l l i n g i s done u s i n g pneumatic pack ing machines.

I n t h e m i l l , most m a t e r i a l t r a n s f e r p o i n t s are p rov ided w i t h l o c a l exhaust v e n t i l a t i o n , and bucket e l e v a t o r s and conveyors are main ta ined under negat ive pressure. machines, l o c a l exhaust v e n t i l a t i o n i s p rov ided a t t h e f i l l i n g spout and downdraf t v e n t i l a t i o n a t t h e bag hopper. l oad ing , t h e t e l e s c o p i c l o a d i n g spout i s p rov ided w i t h a l o c a l exhaust v e n t i l a t i o n c o l l a r .

A t t h e bagging

Fo r b u l k c a r

4

INDUSTRIAL H Y G I E N E STUDY

METHODS

I n o rde r t o eva lua te occupa t iona l exposure c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and l e v e l s among workers i n t h i s mine and m i l l and t o compare them w i t h those p f p rev ious s t u d i e s o f New York t a l c opera t ions , a d e t a i l e d environmental s tudy was undertaken. This s tudy i nc luded de te rm ina t ions of t ime-weighted average (TWA) exposures t o r e s p i r a b l e dus t , f r e e s i l i c a , and asbes t i f o rm m i n e r a l s i n a d d i t i o n t o d e t a i l e d m i n e r a l o g i c a l assays o f t a l c s produced a t t h e mine and m i l l under s tudy. T a l c product samp1es:were c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g t h e s tudy (samples A-F), and a d d i t i d n a q p roduc t samples f rom t h e mine and m i l l b e i n g s tud ied were s u t m i t t e d by t h e company (samples 1-7).

Analyses o f c o l l e c t e d b u l k t a l c samples were performed b y b o t h NIOW and independent research l a b o r a t o r i e s . These analyses i nc luded X-ray d i f f r a c t i o n , o p t i c a l pe t rog raph ic microscopy, and e l e c t r o n microscopy. For X-ray d i f f r a c t i o n s tud ies, s tep scanning o f d i a g n o s t i c r e f l e c t i o n s f o r t h e asbes t i f o rm m i n e r a l s and q u a r t z was used (1). E l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n and microchemical analyses o f i n d i v i d u a l f i b e r s were performed by e l e c t r o n microscopy (14, 15). Bulk ta lc .samp1es were a l s o analyzed f o r ma jor o x i d e compos i t ion and t r a c e meta l contaminat ion. These analyses were performed u s i n g spectrophotometry, a tomic absorp t ion , and fl'ame photometry ( 1 ) .

Personal a i r samples were c o l l e c t e d from the b r e a t h i n g zone o f miners and m i l l e r s t o determine TWA exposures t o r e s p i r a b l e dus t , f r e e s i l i c a , and m i n e r a l f i b e r s . Personal samples f o r r e s p i r a b l e d u s t and f r e e s i l i c a were c o l l e c t e d a t a f l o w r a t e o f 1.7 l i t e r s per m inu te ( lpm) u s i n g 37-mm diameter p o l y v i n y l c h l o r i d e f i l t e r s (preweighed) preceded by 10-mm n y l o n cyc lone separa tors . open-faced 37-mm diameter M i l l i p o r e Type AA f i l t e r s (0.8-pm pore s i z e ) a t a f l o w r a t e o f 1.7 lpm. c o l l e c t e d f o r t h e f u l l work s h i f t pe r iods w h i l e f i b e r samples were changed p e r i o d i c a l l y d u r i n g t h e work s h i f t as needed t o p reven t ove r load ing o f f i l t e r s .

Free s i 1 i c a concen t ra t i ons were determined u s i n g X-ray d i f f r a c t i o n as s p e c i f i e d i n t h e N I O S H C r i t e r i a Document, ( 1 6 ) . A l l f i b e r samples were analyzed u s i n g t h e NIOSH phase c o n t r a s t coun t ing techn ique (17 ) . In a d d i t i o n , a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e number of t h e i n d i v i d u a l f i b e r samples was'(random1y chosen and t h e samples were analyzed by e l e c t r o n microscopy us ing se lec ted area e l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n and energy d i s p e r s i v e X-ray a n a l y s i s f o r

Samples f o r f i b e r a n a l y s i s were c o l l e c t e d on

Resp i rab le d u s t samples were

5

f i b e r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . determine a i r b o r n e f i b e r concen t ra t i ons and s i z e (d iameter and leng th ) d i s t r i b u t i o n s (14 ) . Samples f o r e l e c t r o n mic roscop ic a n a l y s i s were prepared us ing methods prev ious descr ibed (15) .

I n o rde r t o compare r e s u l t s o f the present i n d u s t r i a l hyg iene s tudy w i t h h i s t o r i c da ta f o r t he f a c i l i t y studied, midget impinger samples were a l s o c o l l e c t e d f o r se lec ted j o b s i n a manner s i m i l a r t o pas t sampling techniques. Brea th ing zone impinger samples were c o l l e c t e d i n e t h y l a lcoho l a t a f l o w r a t e of 0.1 c u b i c f e e t per minu te w i t h sampl ing pe r iods rang ing f rom 1 5 t o 30 minutes. work s h i f t u s i n g Dunn coun t ing C e l l s and b r i g h t f i e t d p p t i c a l microscopy ( 1 0 0 ~ ) . and a l l owed t o s tand f o r 30 minutes p r i o r t o count ing . P a r t i c l e counts were made by two exper ienced counters, and new p repara t i ons were made and samples recounted, i f counts d i f f e r e d by more than 10 percent .

RESULTS

Produc t Samples

Resu l t s o f t h e X-ray d i f f r a c t i o n and pet rochemical mic roscop ic analyses o f b u l k t a l c product samples c o l l e c t e d d u r i n g the s tudy are shown i n Table 1. Ta lc product samples were found t o c o n t a i n 14 t o 48 percent m ine ra l t a l c , 37 t o 59 percent t r e m o l i t e and 4.5 t o 15 percent a n t h o p h y l l i t e . All samples were found t o c o n t a i n 10-15 percent serpent ines ( l i z a r d i t e and a n t i g o r i t e ) and l e s s than 2.6 percent f r e e s i l i c a . C a l c i t e and d o l o m i t e were a l s o present i n t r a c e q u a n t i t i e s . Trace meta l analyses o f t a l c p roduc t samples are shown i n Table 2 and major components analyses are shown i n Table 3. A l l t r a c e me ta l s except i r o n and manganese were e s s e n t i a l l y absent. I r o n and manganese l e v e l s were a l s o very low ( ~ 0 . 0 2 percent ) . As seen i n Table 3, a l l t a l c s were found t o have a h igh CaO conten t which c o r r e l a t e s w i t h the observed h igh t r e m o l i t e conten t . Except f o r t r a c e s o f c a l c i t e , o t h e r carbonates were absent o r n e g l i g i b l e i n these t a l c s a s demonstrated by low C02 va lues (18). and Mn analyses i n Table 3 a re c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the r e s u l t s shown i n Table 2, and a l l major element analyses are i n b a s i c agreement w i t h r e s u l t s ob ta ined by Ross e t a l . (19) and by Dreessen (20) f o r t a l c s i n the Gouverneur, New York area. e t a l . (19) a l s o suggested t h a t an a d d i t i o n a l manganese-rich amphibole, t i r o d i t e , may be found i n t r a c e q u a n t i t i e s i n these depos i t s . While the major element analyses shown i n Tables 1, 2, and 3 show 0.12 t o 0.22 percent MnO, no manganese-rich amphiboles were de tec ted by the e l e c t r o n microscopy analyses

E l e c t r o n microscopy was a l s o used t o

These samples were counted a t t h e end o f each

Two prepara t ions were made f o r each sample

The Fe

Ross

using selected area e lectron d i f f rac t ion and microchemical analysis . Typical electron micrographs of f ibe r s observed in the b u l k samples are shown in Figures 1 and 2 . typical e lectron d i f f rac t ion pat terns and X-ray spectra fo r the tremolite a n d anthophylli te f i b e r s observed in these products are a l so shown in these f igures . These analyses have shown t h a t most o f the long, thin f i b e r s in these t a l c s are low iron anthophylli te while tremolite f i b e r s tend t o be shorter and have smaller aspect r a t i o s (length/width).

Air Samples

Examples of

Tabular summaries of TWA exposures by j o b category fdf. 6he mine a n d mil l under study are given in Tables 4 and 5, respectively, and more detai led summary s t a t i s t i c s concerning these d a t a are given in Appendix I . As shown in Tables 4 a n d 5 , f r ee s i l i c a exposures were found t o be very low. The highest TWA f r e e s i l i c a exposure observed was 0.040-rilg/m3, which i s below the 8-hour TWA exposure value o f 0.05-mg/m3 recommended by NIOSH fo r t h i s material (16) . Respirable d u s t exposures ranged from 0.25 t o 2.96-mglm3. determined for the mineral t a l c o r t a l c containing f ibrous t remoli te or anthophylli te; however, these concentrations are well below the OSHA l imi t s for nuisance d u s t s (21 ) .

TWA breathing zone impinger concentrations ranged from 0.5 t o 15.8 mill ion pa r t i c l e s per cubic foot of a i r (mppcf) with highest concentrations being observed in the mine. The present OSHA a n d MSHA standard for " ta lc" containing l e s s t h a n 1 percent f r ee s i l i c a a n d no asbestos f i b e r s i s 20 mppcf (21 ) . of the 32 impinger samples exceeded 20 mppcf. However, since t h i s t a l c contains asbestiform material t h i s standard i s n o t relevant t o these exposures.

TWA exposures t o asbestos f i b e r s greater than 5-um in l e n g t h exceeded 5 f i b e r s per cc fo r three of s ix j o b categories sampled in the mine and fo r 6 of 18 j o b categories sampled in the mil l . I n addition, 17 of the 24 j o b categories sampled had TWA exposures exceeding the current OSHA s t a n d a r d of 2.0 f i b e r s less than 5 -LI~ in length/cc. Exposures in excess of t h e MSHA and OSHA allowable ce i l ing v a l u e of 10 f ibe r s less t h a n 5-urn in lengthlcc were observed in 9 o f 24 job categories sampled.

A summary of TWA airborne f ibe r concentrations as determined by analyt ical e lectron microscopy i s given in Table 6. I n the mine, concentrations of pos i t ive ly ident i f ied fibrous amphiboles ( a l l lengths) r anged from 9.5 t o 17.5 f ibers /cc whereas concentrations in the mill were somewhat higher ranging from 9.9

No respirable dust standard has been

Only one

7

t o 70.6 f i b e r s / c c . es t ima tes o f t r u e amphibole f i b e r exposures s i n c e many t r u e amphibole f i b e r s may n o t g i ve i d e n t i f i a b l e e l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n p a t t e r n s . The concent ra t ions found u s i n g e l e c t r o n microscopy are f a r i n excess o f those ob ta ined by the o p t i c a l microscopy as f i b e r s l e s s than 5-um i n leng th are i nc luded i n the e l e c t r o n microscopy r e s u l t s , b u t no t i n those from o p t i c a l microscopy.

A summary o f a i r b o r n e f i b e r types as determined by e l e c t r o n microscopy i s shown i n Table 7. a i r b o r n e f i b e r s were a n t h o p h y l l i t e , 19 percent were t r e m o l i t e , and 39 percent were u n i d e n t i f i e d . I n t h e m i l l , 45 percent o f a l l f i b e r s were a n t h o p h y l l i t e , 12 percent were t remwl i re , and 38 percent were u n i d e n t i f i e d . Three percent o f t he f i b e r s i n the mine and 2 percent i n the m i l l gave c h r y s o t i l e e l e c t r o n d i f f r a c t i o n pa t te rns . Approximately 65 percent o f t h e a i r b o r n e f i b e r s longer than 5-II~ i n l e n g t h were i d e n t i f i e d as a n t h o p h y l l i t e w h i l e o n l y 7 percent were t r e m o l i t e . o f c h r y s o t i l e i n the a i r samples i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h the r e s u l t s o f t he NIOSH b u l k sample analyses where t r a c e q u a n t i t i e s o f c h r y s o t i l e were no ted i n some samples. A l l o f t h e c h r y s o t i l e f i b e r s observed i n the a i r samples were l e s s than 1-pm i n length . Near ly a l l o f t he se rpen t ine m i n e r a l s i d e n t i f i e d i n the b u l k samples are l i z a r d i t e .

Resu l t s o f a i r b o r n e f i b e r s i z e de te rm ina t ions (d iameter and l e n g t h ) f o r t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e f i b e r s a re shown i n Tables 8 and 9 w i t h app rop r ia te summary s t a t i s t i c s . expected, t r e m o l i t e f i b e r s tended t o be l a r g e r i n d iameter and s h o r t e r i n l e n g t h than a n t h o p h y l l i t e f i b e r s . d i s t r i b u t i o n s f o r these m ine ra l s were s i m i l a r f o r t he mine and m i l l . f o r t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e , r e s p e c t i v e l y . median f i b e r l eng ths of 1.6-pm f o r t r e m o l i t e and 1.5-pm f o r a n t h o p h y l l i t e were observed. m i l l . f i b e r s were longer than 5-urn whereas 8-10 percent o f t h e a n t h o p h y l l i t e f i b e r s were longer than t h i s length . aspect r a t i o s ( l e n g t h t o w id th ) of 9.5 and 7.5 were observed f o r a n t h o p h y l l i t e and t r e m o l i t e , r e s p e c t i v e l y , as shown i n Table 10. g rea te r than 10 t o 1 whereas 48 percent o f t he a n t h o p h y l l i t e f i b e r s had aspect r a t i o s g rea ter than t h i s value. s i z e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s are s i m i l a r t o those observed i n o t h e r i n d u s t r i a l opera t ions process ing asbestos f i b e r s ( 2 2 ) .

T y p i c a l e l e c t r o n photomicrographs o f " a i r b o r n e p a r t i c u l a t e s f rom the mine and m i l l a re shown i n F igures 3, 4, and 5.

These concen t ra t i ons represent minimum

I n t h e mine, 38 percent o f a l l

The presence

As

The s i z e

Median f i b e r diameters o f 0.19 and 0.13-pm were observed In the mine,

I n t h e mine and m i l l , o n l y 3 percent o f t h e t r e m o l i t e S i m i l a r l e n g t h s were seen i n the

Median

Cwly 30 percent of t he t r e m o l i t e f i b e r s had aspect r a t i o s

These f i b e r

The

a

asbest i fo rm n a t u r e o f these f i b e r s may be f u r t h e r demonstrated b y observa t ions o f t h e i r f i b r i l s t r u c t u r e s .

COWARISON OF PAST AND PRESENT EXPOSURES

The present s t u d i e s demonstrate e l e v a t e d exposures t o asbes t i fo rm m i n e r a l s i n n e a r l y a l l mine and m i l l process operat ions. Comparisons between present d u s t (mppcf) and f i b e r ( f i b e r s > 5-um i n l e n g t h / c c ) exposures and h i s t o r i c exposure measurements a r e shown i n Tables 11 and 12, r e s p e c t i v e l y . These d a t a are gathered f rom a number o f sources (11, 23-33).

Trends i n d u s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s as a f u n c t i o n o f c a l e n d a r t i m e a r e d i f f i c u l t t o i n t e r p r e t f o r seve ra l reasons. O f p r imary importance i s t h e r e l a t i v e p a u c i t y o f d a t a on some opera t ions p r i o r t o 1970. Secondly, v e r y few samples were taken i n any g i v e n yea r , t h e r e f o r e t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f these samples i s unknown.

To i l l u s t r a t e t r e n d s i n d u s t concentrat ions, average y e a r l y va lues f o r mine and m i l l opera t ions were c a l c u l a t e d and a r e shown i n F igures 6 and 7, r e s p e c t i v e l y . c o n s i s t e n t t rends i n d u s t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s when a l l mine opera t ions a r e considered. On t h e o t h e r hand, the mine exposures f o r such opera t ions as d r i l l i n g , d r a g l i n e loading, tramming, and mucking show r e l a t i v e l y c o n s i s t e n t exposure l e v e l s over t i m e w i t h o n l y s l i g h t d e v i a t i o n s . This m i g h t be expected s i n c e wet d r i l l i n g has been a r o u t i n e p r a c t i c e . o res b e i n g mined a r e r e l a t i v e l y wet. Pr imary c rush ing and h o i s t l o a d i n g opera t ions show a s l i g h t l y decreasing trend. C o n t r o l s such as water sprays f o r d u s t suppres ion a t t h e p r i m a r y c rusher a r e t h e most p robab le e x p l a n a t i o n f o r t h i s t rend .

A g r e a t e r t r e n d o f decreas ing d u s t concent ra t ions i n m i l l o p e r a t i o n s i s demonstrated i n F i g u r e 7 f o r a l l m i l l o p e r a t i o n s combined. F i g u r e 7 a l s o shows a more pronounced decreas ing t r e n d i n exposure when t h e u n c o n t r o l l e d o p e r a t i o n o f l o a d i n g bagged t a l c i n t o box c a r s i s exc luded form t h e c a l c u l a t e d y e a r l y averages. Engineer ing c o n t r o l s f o r t a l c m i l l i n g opera t ions have improved w i t h t ime.

As shown i n Table 12, f i b e r exposure measurements have o n l y been made s i n c e 1970. Resu l t s o f the 1975 NIOSH survey t e n d t o show a r e c e n t r e d u c t i o n i n f i b e r exposure when c o n t r a s t e d w i t h e a r l i e r d a t a f o r most ope ra t i ons .

Radon daughter measurements have been made i n t h e mine under s tudy by t h e Min ing Enforcement and Sa fe ty A d m i n i s t r a t i o n

F i g u r e 6 shows no

I n a d d i t i o n ,

"

.

---i

(MESA). Measurements taken i n 1973 and 1976 showed o n l y n i l t o t r a c e l e v e l s (34, 35).

COWARISON OF EXPOSURE CHARACTERISTICS WITH OTHER TALC MINES AND MILLS I N THE GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. AREA

Throughout, t h e years, a number of d i f f e r e n t companies have operated t a l c m i n i n g and m i l l i n g opera t ions i n the Gouverneur Talc D i s t r i c t . I n a d d i t i o n , past h e a l t h e f f e c t s s t u d i e s o f workers i n these m i l l s have g e n e r a l l y cons idered exposure c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s between the va r ious opera t i ons i n t h i s area t o be s u b s t a n t i a l l y the same. ma in ta ins t h a t o res f rom va r ious mines i n the area a k pot t h e same, w i t h some c o n t a i n i n g asbestos w h i l e o t h e r s do n o t . company f u r t h e r ma in ta ins t h a t o res f rom another nearby o p e r a t i o n do c o n t a i n a n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos w h i l e ores f rom the mine and m i l l which i s t he s u b j e c t o f t he present s tudy do n o t c o n t a i n asbestos f i b e r s .

The company under study, however,

The

i

I n o rde r t o compare a i rbo rne exposure c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s between these two operat ions, 10 a i r b o r n e dus t samples c o l l e c t e d by MESA i n t h e mine and m i l l acknowledged as c o n t a i n i n g asbestos were obta ined. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s us ing a n a l y t i c a l e l e c t r o n microscopy ( a n a l y t i c a l methods p r e v i o u s l y descr ibed) . comparisons w i t h da ta f rom t h e mine and m i l l s tud ied by N I O S H and mainta ined, t o be asbestos f r e e by the company, a re shown i n Table 13.

The d a t a shown i n Table 13’ demonstrate t h a t exposure c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s between the two opera t ions are s u b s t a n t i a l l y t h e same. I n f a c t , t h e a i rbo rne dus t samples f rom t h e mine and m i l l s tud ied b y N I O P l and mainta ined by the company t o be asbestos f r e e were found t o c o n t a i n a h i h e r p r o p o r t i o n o f p o s i t i v e l y

t r e m o l i t e conten t . A l l o the r f i b e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , such a median l eng th , d iameter, aspect r a t i o , and p r o p o r t i o n < 5-pm i n length, were n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t a t t he 0.05 l e v e l (36 ) .

These samples were analyzed f o r a i r b o r n e f i b e r

Resu l ts o f these s tud ies and

i d e n t i f i e d a s b e s t i f o r m amphibo 7e, es a r g e l y due t o a h ighe r

1 0 .

REVIEW OF HEALTH EFFECTS FROM EXPOSURE TO TALCS

CONTAI NI NG AS BEST1 FORM AND ASSOCIATED MINERALS

What a re the known h e a l t h e f f e c t s o f t a l c ? c h i l d r e n o f l a r g e doses o f t a l c have r e s u l t e d i n an in f lammatory pulmonary response lead ing t o death i n some cases (37, 38). The acute symptoms are i n i t i a l s l i g h t r e s p i r a t o r y d i s t r e s s i nc reas ing a f t e r f o u r t o s i x hours and accompanied by cough, tachycard ia , and cyanosis . acute b r o n c h i o l i t i s w i t h pulmonary edema, f o c a l a t e l e c t a s i s , and emphysema. t a l c o s i s i n e i g h t workers between 16 and 60 months a f t e r . , f i t - - t exposure i n an i n d u s t r i a l s e t t i n g (39). The r a p i d development and p rog ress ion was a t t r i b u t e d t o the h i g h concen t ra t i on o f t a l c p a r t i c l e s l e s s than 5C-um i n s i z e as w e l l as the h igh s i l i c a t e conten t . Most o f these anecdotal r e p o r t s have inc luded l i t t l e c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f t he t a l c s invo lved.

RESPIRATORY MORBIDITY STUDIES

Three p a t t e r n s o f i n f i l t r a t i o n on chest X-ray among those exposed t o t a l c have been descr ibed: o p a c i t i e s 3-5 mm, s i m i l a r t o s i l i c o s i s and f a v o r i n g the mid-lung f i e l d s ; (2) d i f f u s e -- i n t e r s t i t i a l f i b r o s i s s i m i l a r t o asbes tos is and f a v o r i n g the lower lung zone; ( 3 ) mixed -- both types present (40). a t t r i b u t e d t o the h e t e r o g e n i c i t y o f t a l c (40). Al though changes suggest ive o f s i l i c o s i s were observed i n some instances, i n genera l X-ray changes were s i m i l a r t o those seen i n asbes tos is (9, 10, 41) .

More than f o u r decades have e lapsed s i n c e the f i r s t ep idemio log i ca l d a t a were pub l ished demonst ra t ing adverse h e a l t h e f f e c t s o f t r e m o l i t e t a l c exposure. I n 1933, Dreessen (20) pub l i shed t h e r e s u l t s o f a chest X-ray s tudy o f 57 workers engaged i n t h e m in ing and m i l l i n g o f t a l c s con ta in ing up t o 45 p e r c e n t ' t r e m o l i t e and l i t t l e f r e e s i l i c a . This s tudy showed t h a t a l l workers w i t h g rea te r than 10 years exposure had increased l u n g mark ings rang ing from increased f i b r o s i s t o what was termed "second stage" pneumoconiosis. Among these 17 workers, no cases o f a c t i v e t u b e r c u l o s i s were observed. Dreessen s t a t e d t h a t t h e observed pneumoconiosis had n o t l e d t o d i s a b i l i t y .

The r e s p i r a t o r y e f f e c t s o f exposure t o t a l c con ta in ing 10 percent "bladed" t r e m o l i t e i n two Georgia t a l c mines and m i l l s were r e p o r t e d by Dreessen and D a l l a V a l l e i n 1935 (42) .

I n h a l a t i o n by

Autopsy revea led b r o n c h i t i s and

A1 i v i s a t o r repo r ted the r a p i d development o f

(1) nodu lar -- d i s c r e t e

This v a r i e d t ype o f X-ray p a t t e r n has been

A t o t a l

11

'I o f 66 workers were g iven p h y s i c a l examinat ions and ches t X-rays of wh ich 19 were exposed f o r more than 10 years with o n l y 2 hav ing 20 o r more years o f exposure. workers demonstrated pneumoconiosis w i t h v a r y i n g s e v e r i t y . Approx imate ly h a l f o f t he m i l l workers exposed t o an average dus t c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f 300 mppcf were diagnosed as hav ing pneumoconiosis wi th e i g h t hav ing f rank symptoms such as dyspnea, cough, chest pain, r a l e s , and f i n g e r c lubb ing . Examinat ion o f n i n e former t a l c workers who had been separated f rom exposure more than 3 years demonstrated pneumoconiosis i n a l l cases w i t h f o u r cases i n advanced stages causing these authors t o conclude t h a t t he l u n g changes were permanent.

Many o f t h e h e a l t h e f f e c t s s t u d i e s on i n d i v i d u a l s exposed t o t a l c have been done i n New York i n t h e same areas as t h i s s tudy (Tab le 1 4 ) . The exposures were g e n e r a l l y q u i t e high. These s t u d i e s i n d i c a t e t h a t exposed t a l c workers r e p o r t inc reased s u b j e c t i v e compla in ts o f dyspnea and cough. Phys i ca l f i n d i n g s i n c l u d e d im in i shed b r e a t h sounds, r a l e s , rhonch i , wheezing, c r e p i t a t i o n s , and c lubb ing . Pulmonary f u n c t i o n measures suggest a r e s t r i c t i v e d isease w i t h reduced t r a n s f e r c a p a c i t y (DIco) .

I n a d d i t i o n t o these f i n d i n g s , rad iog raph ic changes i n t h e chest have a l s o been noted, a l though t h e f i n d i n g s have n o t been repo r ted i n I L O / U C nomenclature. These i n c l u d e f i b r o s i s and pneumoconiosis, p r i m a r i l y r e p o r t e d as pulmonary i n f i l t r a t e s o f grade 0, 1, 2, and 3. The grad ing o f pulmonary i n f i l t r a t e s i n v o l v e s a r e t i c u l a t e d appearance i n the lower lung f i e l d s (grade I ) , r e t i c u l o n o d u l a r i n f i l t r a t i o n i n v o l v i n g approx imate ly 50 percent o f t h e t o t a l lung area (grade 2 ) . and a more d i f f u s e r e t i c u l o n o d u l a r i n f i l t r a t i o n i n v o l v i n g more than 50 percent o f t he t o t a l l ung (grade 3 ) (10) .

Case s t u d i e s o f New York t r e m o l i t e t a l c workers were f i r s t r e p o r t e d by Por ro e t a l . (43) . F i f t e e n pneumoconiosis deaths i n t a l c workers were s tud ied i n a d d i t i o n t o f i v e autopsy s tud ies . T h i r t e e n o f these deaths were considered t o be d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h e pneumoconiosis thus c o n f i r m i n g the d i s a b l i n g cha rac te r o f t h i s exposure. These au thors concluded t h a t t h e d i s a b l i n g t i s s u e changes were due t o t r e m o l i t e t a l c exposure. Some c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s were noted.

S iegal e t a l . (44, 45) repor ted a s tudy o f roen tgeno log ica l f i n d i n g s among New York t a l c workers i n a d d i t i o n t o an assessment o f t h e i r exposures. c o n t a i n i n g f i b r o u s t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e and l e s s t h a n 1 percent f ree Si02. A t o t a l o f 221 t a l c workers i n t h r e e mines and f i v e m i l l s were g i ven chest X-ray examinat ions.

Twenty-two o f these

* :

These t a l c s were descr ibed as

O f t h e 221

12'

men examined, 32 showed marked f i b r o s i s . o r more y e a r s employment demonstrated an inc idence o f f i b r o s i s o f 29.9 percent whereas those employed f o r more than 30 years had a f i b r o s i s i n c i d e n c e o f 74 percent . Th is f i b r o s i s was descr ibed as d i s a b l i n g and o f t e n accompanied b y dyspnea, cough, and f a t i g u e . t h e workers examined. These au thors descr ibed t h e f i b r o s i s observed as resembl ing t h a t seen among asbestos workers.

The 32 cases o f pneumoconiosis i d e n t i f i e d by S iega l e t a l . (44, 45) were f o l l o w e d p r o s p e c t i v e l y by K l e i n f e l d e t a l . (46). I n t h e 1 4 year p e r i o d a f t e r t h e S iega l study, 19 o f t h e 32 workers d i e d w i t h t h e ages o f death r a n g i n g from 48 t o 84 y e a r s t four o f these 19 deaths were b e l i e v e d t o be d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t a l c pneumoconiosis. One death due t o p l e u r a l mesothel ioma was repor ted . Medical examinat ions o f t h e 13 l i v i n g workers were performed i n c l u d i n g a p h y s i c a l examinat ion, chest X-ray, EMG, and p e r i p h e r a l b l o o d s t u d i e s (Hgb, RBC, WBC, d i f f f e r e n t i a l coun t ) . a c t i v i t y was found i n a l l workers. Moderate t o severe progress ion o f l u n g X-ray f i n d i n g s were seen i n 10 o f these workers and " t a l c plaques" were seen i n a l l b u t one worker. o u t o f 11 demonstrated an abnormal e lec t rocard iogram. P e r i p h e r a l b l o o d f i n d i n g s were n o t cons idered t o be o f s i g n i f i c a n c e . "asbestos bodies'' h i s t o l o g i c a l l y . r e p o r t e d i n a l a t t e r s tudy o f s i x pneumoconiosis cases w i t h autopsy s t u d i e s (41 ) .

Those workers w i t h 10

"Ta lc plaques" were i d e n t i f i e d i n 6.3 percent o f

Dyspnea o f such s e v e r i t y as t o l i m i t o r d i n a r y p h y s i c a l

S i x

These au thors a l s o r e p o r t e d t h e presence o f S i m i l a r f i n d i n g s were

A comparat ive c l i n i c a l and env i ronmenta l s tudy o f workers exposed t o f i b r o u s and n o n f i b r o u s t a l c s i n New York was r e p o r t e d b y M e s s i t e e t a l . ( 7 ) . County ( f i b r o u s o r e fo rmat ions) and one opera t ion i n Lewis County ( n o n f i b r o u s o r e fo rmat ions) were se lec ted f o r s t u d y and a t o t a l o f 229 workers were g i v e n p h y s i c a l examinat ions and chest X-rays. Among miners, t h e i n c i d e n c e o f pulmonary f i b r o s i s was low f o r b o t h t h e S t . Lawrence and Lewis County cohor ts ; however, t h e mean d u r a t i o n o f exposure was o n l y 12.7 and 10.3 years, r e s p e c t i v e l y . Anong m i l l e r s , t h e i n c i d e n c e o f f i b r o s i s was 12.2 p e r c e n t and 4.3 percent , r e s p e c t i v e l y , f o r t h e S t . Lawrence and Lewis cohor ts . Exposure l e v e l s i n t h e p l a n t were descr ibed as be ing s i m i l a r w i t h a l l t a l c s hav ing a low f r e e s i l i c a conten t . These au thors concluded t h a t b o t h t ypes o f t a l c were capable o f producing pulmonary f i b r o s i s a l though t h e t r e m o l i t e ( f i b r o s i s ) v a r i e t y was more pathogenic. I n a d d i t i o n , these i n v e s t i g a t o r s s t a t e d t h a t no cases o f f i b r o s i s were found i n m i l l e r s o f e i t h e r t a l c v a r i e t y whose average exposure was l e s s than 20 mppcf o r whose d u r a t i o n o f exposure was l e s s than 10 years.

Three t a l c opera t ions i n S t . Lawrence

13

I i i 1

1

I '

I n a follow-up study, Kleinfeld e t a l . (8 ) made additional comparisons, including lung function, between the St . Lawrence and Lewis County, New York, cohorts described above. Thirty workers exposed t o f ibrous t a l c s and 13 exposed t o nonfibrous t a l c s were given chest X-ray a n d pulmonary function t e s t s . Dyspnea was present in 16 of 30 workers in the f ibrous t a l c exposed group and in 6 o f 13 in the nonfibrous t a l c exposed group. Abnormal auscultatory findings ( ra les , rhonchi, wheezing) were found in 8 of the 30 workers and 6 of t h e 13 workers exposed t o f ibrous and nonfibrous t a l c , respectively. The incidence o f pulmonary i n f i l t r a t i o n as seen in chest fi lms was 13 of 30 for the fibrous group and 3 of 13 fo r tke nonf ibrous g roup . Both groups showed pulmonary funcfiok changes with 4 of 13 workers in the group exposed t o nonfibrous t a l c and 14 of 30 workers in the group exposed t o f ibrous t a l c showing s ign i f i can t ly reduced vi ta l capacity. Exposures t o b o t h g roups were reported t o be considerably in excess of 20 mppcf.

Kleinfeld e t a l . (12) studied the l u n g function of 16 tremolite t a l c workers who ranged from 39 t o 69 years of age (mean age 54.8 years ) . A l l had been exposed t o t a l c d u s t in mil l ing operations f o r 10 or more years and had no previous occupational dust exposures. Clinical examinations of the 16 workers showed 1 4 had dyspnea on exertion; 10 r a l e s or wheezing; and 6 clubbing of the f ingers . Increased pulmonary i n f i l t r a t i o n was noted i n . 5 o f the 16 workers. The l u n g function s tudies showed 7 o f the 16 t o have reduced v i t a l capaci t ies and one worker was found t o have a l u n g function consistent with r e s t r i c t i v e lung disease. The mean duration of exposure for the 16 workers was 20.4 years and the mean weighted average exposure was reported t o be 68.9 mppcf. Thirteen of t h e 16 workers studied gave a posit ive smoking his tory (30 c igare t tes per day f o r a minimum of 5 yea r s ) .

I n a subsequent study, Kleinfeld (10) performed s imilar s tudies as those described above among a group of 43 t remoli te t a l c workers and 4 1 unexposed controls of s imilar age and smoking his tory. the con t ro l population. chronic cough and 8 t a l c workers showed f inger clubbing whereas no clubbing or cough was noted among controls . t a l c workers had posi t ive X-ray findings of pulmonary i n f i l t r a t i o n versus none in controls , and reduced v i t a l capacity was a l s o found in 13 t a l c workers and one control. workers were reported t o have a mean exposure duration of 19 years and weighted average exposure of 62.3 mppcf.

A study of chest X-ray findings a n d c l in i ca l symptoms among miners and mil lers a t t h e t a l c mine and mill under study was

In the t a l c cohort, 29 had dyspnea versus only 2 in

Sixteen of 43

Eleven t a l c workers gave a his tory of

These t a l c

' I

14 .

r e p o r t e d by K l e i n f e l d e t a l . (11 ) . Th i r t y -n ine workers w i t h a mean exposure o f 16.2 yea rs ( range 11-22 y e a r s ) were examined i n a d d i t i o n t o 41 c o n t r o l s who l i v e d i n t h e same geographic a rea and who were o f t h e same sex and mean age b u t had no occupat iona l d u s t exposure. Dyspnea was present i n 23.1 pe rcen t o f t h e t a l c workers versus 7.3 pe rcen t o f t h e c o n t r o l s , a f i n d i n g s i m i l a r t o t h a t seen i n a n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos workers (47) . M e worker s t u d i e d was s a i d t o have r a d i o l o g i c f i n d i n g s compat ib le w i t h pneumoconiosis, whereas no cases were found among c o n t r o l s . The au tho rs suggested t h a t t a l c c o n t a i n i n g t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e may be l e s s f i b r o g e n i c t h a n c h r y s o t i l e and amosite asbestos a t s i m i l a r exposure l e y e l s and exposure du ra t i on ; however, these au thors d i d n o t p rec lude t h e p o s s i b l e ex i s tence o f pneumoconiosis among these workers s i n c e no lung f u n c t i o n s t u d i e s were conducted.

The importance o f s u b l i g h t m ic roscop ic asbestos f i b e r s i n asbes tos is has r e c e n t l y been r e p o r t e d (48, 49, 50) and b r i n g s i n t o ques t i on the concept t h a t o n l y f i b e r s g rea te r than 5 microns i n l e n g t h are pathogenic i n t a l c o s i s (51) . I n a p a t i e n t w i t h t a l c pneumoconiosis, M i l l e r e t a l . , (48) were unab le t o d e t e c t t a l c by h i s t o l o g i c a l techn iques u s i n g l i g h t microscopy. The presence o f t a l c was e s t a b l i s h e d by X-ray d i f f r a c t i o n and e l e c t r o n microscopy. Most p a r t i c l e s were l e s s than 0.5 m ic ron i n l eng th , and the re fo re , below t h e l i m i t o f r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e l i g h t microscope. The ques t i on o f t h e s i t e o f e a r l y changes i n the human l u n g a f t e r exposure t o t a l c has n o t been ve ry w e l l i n v e s t i g a t e d . Seeler e t a l . (52) , c la imed t h a t t h e e a r l i e s t change i n v o l v i n g the l u n g parenchyma i n two cases o f t a l c pneumoconiosis was a f i b r o u s t h i c k e n i n g o f t he a l v e o l a r w a l l s . K l e i n f e l d e t a l . (41) , no ted d e p o s i t i o n o f f e r rug inous bod ies i n t h e r e s p i r a t o r y b ronch io les .

The e a r l i e r s t u d i e s o f t a l c workers i n t h e New York a rea v a r i a b l y r e p o r t e d t h e presence o f p l e u r a l plaques and p l e u r a l d e n s i t i e s (41, 44, 45, 46) . The p l e u r a o f men exposed t o t a l c a re o f t e n found on autopsy t o have dense f i b r o s i s t h i c k e n i n g (41, 48, 52, 53). P e r i c a r d i a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n has a l s o been observed (54). P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s assoc ia ted w i t h symptoms and a decreased pulmonary f u n c t i o n ; p l e u r a l plaques a r e n o t (55). P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g may a l s o have a poorer p rognos is (56 ) . P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and c a l c i f i c a t i o n s are a ve ry common rad iog raph ic f i n d i n g i n asbes tos i s and i n d i v i d u a l s exposed t o asbestos, and may be more common than f i b r o s i s (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61) . The prevalence o f p l e u r a l changes i s h ighe r where t h e r e i s exposure t o a n t h o p h y l l i t e (5'5, 62) . Not a l l p l e u r a l changes, however, a re n e c e s s a r i l y r e l a t e d t o asbestos exposure (63 ) .

15

MORTALITY STUD1 ES

Although a number of the s tudies described above have demonstrated the presence of pneumoconiosis among tremolite t a l c miners in New York, these study designs were insensi t ive t o detection of carcinogenic r isks . However, two retrospect ive proportional mortal i ty s tudies have demonstrated an increased risk of mor ta l i ty d u e t o cancer of the l u n g and pleura among these workers (5 , 6 ) . An i n i t i a l study by Kleinfeld e t a l . (6 ) included 220 t a l c miners and mil lers employed in 1940 who had 15 or more years exposure between 1940 and 1965. Among t h i s cohort there were 91 d e a t h s of which 10 (11 percent) were due to, malignancies of the lung or pleura, whereas only 2.9 ($.? percent) were expected. In addition, 28 deaths were due t o pneumoconiosis or i t s complications. One of the respiratory cancers was a fibrosarcoma of the pleura.

I n a subsequent follow-up study, Kleinfeld e t a l . ( 5 ) extended the period of observation of the previously studied cohort from 1965 t o 1969. among which there were 108 deaths. percent) were due t o respiratory cancer, whereas only 4 (3.7 percent) were expected. pneumoconiosis or i t s complications. These authors analyzed mor ta l i ty pat terns by 5 year in te rva ls between 1940 and 1969 a n d concluded t h a t the respiratory cancer r i sk approached expected values after the period 1960-1964. The va l id i ty of t h i s conclusion must be questioned s ince an analysis of mortali ty i n re la t ion t o cancer latency was n o t undertaken. Indeed, during the additional 9 years of observation, 1 7 deaths were observed of which 2 (12 percent) were respiratory cancers, observations s imilar t o previous findings. I n addition, the l imitat ions of proportional mor ta l i ty studies in the presence o f an elevated pneumoconiosis r i sk a re now well known.

An excess cancer r isk has been demonstrated among workers exposed t o anthophylli te asbestos (47 , 64, 6 5 ) . Nurminen (65) reported on the mor ta l i ty experience of anthophylli te asbestos workers in Finland. This study included 1,030 workers who had been employed f o r 3 months or more from 1936 t o 1966 a n d followed un t i l 1968. Expected cause spec i f ic deaths were calculated using Finland national ra tes f o r 1951-1964. There were 224 deaths in t h i s cohort whereas 204 were expected. The mean age a t d e a t h for the cohort was 53.4 years. Twenty-five deaths (12 percent) had asbestosis a s a n underlying cause, and there was a l so a highly s ignif icant excess risk of respiratory Cancer (13 obs. versus 6 exp.; p t O . O 1 ) . No mesotheliomas were

This updated cohort consisted of 260 workers Thirteen of these deaths (12

Twenty-nine deaths were due t o

16

detected. The mean l a t e n c y between f i r s t exposure and death due t o asbes tos is was 19 years.

One o f t h e most comprehensive s t u d i e s o f m o r t a l i t y and m o r b i d i t y among a n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos workers was repo r ted b y k u n n a n e t a l . (47) and K a v i l u t o e t a l . (64 ) . A cohor t of 1,092 workers who had worked a t l e a s t 3 months between January 1936 and June 1967 was o b t a i n e d f rom two min ing operat ions; one o f which produced m a i n l y t r e m o l i t e t a l c . Fo r c a l c u l a t i o n o f expected age and cause s p e c i f i c deaths, p r o p o r t i o n a l r a t e s f o r F i n l a n d were used f o r 1958 which was t h e median y e a r o f death f o r these workers. I n a d d i t i o n , a c o n t r o l group matched f o r d a t e 05 b i r t h and sex was chosen from a l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n r e g i s t r y . 1,092 employees, 248 deaths were observed. T h i r t e e n deaths due t o asbes tos is were observed f o r t h e c o h o r t and none i n t h e c o n t r o l s . Twenty-one l u n g cancers were observed i n t h e worker c o h o r t versus 13 i n t h e c o n t r o l group. The most s i g n i f i c a n t cancer r i s k was observed i n those w i t h 10 o r more years o f exposure. h a b i t s and concluded t h a t a nonsmoking asbestos worker has a r e l a t i v e r i s k o f 1.4 whereas t h e smoking asbestos worker had a r e l a t i v e r i s k o f 17.0.

All o f t h e above s t u d i e s o f workers exposed t o t a l c c o n t a i n i n g f i b r o u s t r e m o l i t e , f i b r o u s a n t h o p h y l l i t e o r a n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos have demonstrated an excess r i s k o f b o t h pneumoconiosis and r e s p i r a t o r y cancer. L i t t l e ev idence o f an excess ive r i s k o f mesothel ioma among such exposed workers has y e t been demonstrated; however, an excess ive inc idence o f p l e u r a l changes i n c l u d i n g p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and c a l c i f i c a t i o n s has been observed i n ches t f i l m s .

df t h e

These au thors ad jus ted l u n g cancer r a t e s f o r smoking

No cases o f mesothelioma were repor ted .

17

CROSS-SECTIONAL M O R B I D I T Y STUDY

A c ross-sec t iona l m o r b i d i t y study w a s i n i t i a t e d t o examine a1 1 p r e s e n t l y employed workers i n t h i s t a l c mine and m i l l . s tudy was des igned t o answer the f o l l o w i n g ques t ions rega rd ing c h r o n i c e f f e c t s of exposure:

1 )

The

Is t h e r e an inc reased prevalence o f abnormal h e a l t h e f f e c t s (e.g., symptoms, decreased pulmonary f u n c t i o n ) i n workers exposed t o t a l c when compared t o o ther i n d u s t r i a l popu la t i ons ?

I

? 5 .. i.

2 ) If t h e r e are d e t r i m e n t a l e f f e c t s o f exposure, what a t e f h e dose-response r e l a t i o n s ?

DESCRIPTION OF WORK FORCE

The present work f o r c e cons is t s o f approx imate ly 156 male m i l l e r s and miners, 35 o f whom had worked a t o t h e r t a l c mines. One hundred and twenty-one (78 pe rcen t ) p a r t i c i p a t e d i n the study. t he s tudy popu la t i on , and 10.5 years f o r t h e nonpar t i c i pan ts . The p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e among t h e d i f f e r e n t work areas i s s i m i l a r .

The average f o r years o f t a l c exposure i s 10.2 years f o r

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A m o d i f i e d Medica l Research Counci l r e s p i r a t o r y ques t i onna i re c o n t a i n i n g ques t i ons on t o t a l work and smoking h i s t o r y was admin is te red by t r a i n e d in te rv iewers . Standard PA and l a t e r a l chest X-rays were taken and read by th ree readers u s i n g ILOlUC scheme. Flow volume curves f rom a minimum o f f i v e f o r c e d r e s p i r a t o r y maneuvers were ob ta ined and recorded on magnet ic tape u s i n g an Ohio 800 r o l l i n g seal sp i rometer . The maximum va lues from the curves were used f o r ana lys i s .

Lung f u n c t i o n , t h e prevalence o f symptoms and r a d i o g r a p h i c f i n d i n g s i n t h i s p o p u l a t i o n were compared w i t h those from 9,347 coa l miners f rom t h e second round o f t he Na t iona l Coal Study, and 1,095 potash miners examined by NIOW i n t h e Study o f t he E f f e c t s o f D iese l Exhaust i n Non-Coal Miners. I n d i v i d u a l s i n each c o n t r o l p o p u l a t i o n were grouped i n t o s i m i l a r age (10 y e a r i n t e r v a l s ) , h e i g h t (10 cm i n t e r v a l s ) , smoking (nonsmoker, ex-smoker, and smoker), and years i n m i n i n g ( ~ 1 5 years, $5 yea rs ) ca tegor ies . The expected prevalence o f symptoms and r a d i o g r a p h i c f i n d i n g s i n coal and potash workers were c a l c u l a t e d by u s i n g t h e r a t e s i n each category o f ' ' the comparison popu la t i ons and m u l t i p l y i n g them by the number of i n d i v i d u a l s i n the same c a t e g o r i e s o f t h e t a l c popu la t i on . P r e d i c t i v e

19

equat ions r e f l e c t i n g the e f f e c t s o f age and h e i g h t were c a l c u l a t e d f o r each smoking/years worked ca tegory o f c o a l and potash miners. Each t a l c worke r ' s l ung f u n c t i o n was then compared t o p r e d i c t e d va lues ob ta ined from t h e approp r ia te ca tegory i n the comparison popu la t i on . A l l comparison o f t a l c worke r ' s l u n g f u n c t i o n w i t h expected l ung f u n c t i o n w a s summated and m u l t i p l i e d by 100 t o g i v e t h e mean percent p r e d i c t e d lung f u n c t i o n . and expected +lo0 was used.

Dose was c a l c u l a t e d i n t h r e e ways: s i m p l y the number o f years worked a t the p l a n t under study; (2) Cumulat ive exposure was c a l c u l a t e d by m u l t i p l y i n g (a ) w e f e n t exposure i n each j o b as determined by personal sampl ing ( f i b e r s / c c , mg/m3) t imes ( b ) t he t ime spent i n t h a t j o b (years) , and then by summing a l l t h e exposure scores. r e s u l t s f o r each i n d i v i d u a l are expressed as f i be r -yea rs l cc f o r cumula t ive f i b e r exposure and mg-yearslm3 f o r r e s p i r a b l e p a r t i c u l a t e exposures. As past environmental exposures are n o t w e l l de f ined, and i n some j o b s exposures were g rea te r i n t h e pas t than a t p resent ( e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e m i l l ) these es t ima tes o f cumula t ive exposure are lower than a c t u a l exposures; ( 3 ) The r e l a t i o n o f average t ime spent i n each j o b was examined i n workers w i t h and w i thou t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g over the t o t a l work h i s t o r y o m i t t i n g the most recent 10 years,

RESULTS

The age-smoking d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the 93 t a l c workers whose t a l c exposure was o n l y a t t h e mine and m i l l be ing s tud ied i s shown i n Table 15. ex-smokers than nonsmokers. Almost 2 /3 of t he nonsmokers a re l e s s than 30, and over 3 / 4 o f the ex-smokers a r e 40 years o f age o r more. Smokers a re more even ly d i s t r i b u t e d i n a l l age groups, a l though t h e percentage of smokers i s h i g h e s t i n the 30-39 year age group. The d i s t r i b u t i o n i s ve ry s i m i l a r f o r a l l 121 workers (Tab le 1 5 A ) .

Table 16 shows the d i s t r i b u t i o n of years worked i n t a l c , and cumula t ive p a r t i c u l a t e and f i b e r exposures by age. Except f o r the group over 60 years o l d where t h e r e are o n l y two i n d i v i d u a l s , t h e r e i s a c o n s i s t e n t and approx imate ly equal inc rease i n a l l t h r e e exposure parameters w i t h i nc reas ing age. A s i m i l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p o f exposure w i t h age i s observed f o r a l l 121 workers (Tab le 16) .

Tables 17 and 1 7 A summarize t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f symptoms and rad iog raph ic f i n d i n g s by smoking h a b i t s .

For FEVl percent , t h e d i f f e r e n c e between observed

(1 ) Years o f exposure i s

The

Almost h a l f a re c i g a r e t t e smokers w i t h s l i g h t l y more

Smokers have a h igher

20

prevalence of with symptoms are a l so s t a t

cough, phlegm, hemoptysis and shortness of breath, markedly lower among nonsmokers.

i s t i c a l l y s ignif icant for cough and phlegm. Cigarette smoking shows no apparent association w i t h pleural thickening. There are two cases of ca lc i f ica t ion and four of i r regular opac i t ies , b u t the numbers a re too small t o analyze for dose-response re la t ions .

The differences

Tables 18 and 18A summarize the association o f age with symptoms and radiographic findings. Age (and therefore. long-term exposure) shows no discernible association w i t h symptoms. higher prevalence of cough and phlegm in the 30-39 year age group i s probably a re f lec t ion of the high proportion t$ smokers in the category. Likewise, the s l i gh t ly higher prevalence of dyspnea in the 30-39 and 50+ year age group i s a l so probably due t o the r e l a t i v e proportion of smokers and ex-smokers in those ages. Pleural thickening, on the other hand, i s n o t found in the age groups l e s s than 40 (mean of 14 years exposure), and i s highest in the 50-59 (mean o f 20 years exposure) and greater than 60 year (mean of 28 years exposure) age groups.

In Tables 19 and 19A the prevalence of symptoms and radiographic f indings a re compared w i t h coal and potash workers control l ing for age, height, smoking habi ts , and years worked. Among the t a l c workers employed only a t the mine and mill under s tudy fo r less than 15 years, the reported symptom prevalences of cough and phlegm are not s ign i f icant ly higher than those of coal and potash workers.

I n the group of workers with more t h a n 15 years experience, there i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ign i f icant difference in the prevalence of ( a ) hemoptysis in t a l c workers compared t o coal and potash workers; ( b ) cough in t a l c workers compared t o coal workers; and ( c ) phlegm in t a l c workers compared t o potash workers . Coal miners with more than 15 years experience have higher prevalence of phlegm and dyspnea than do t a l c workers, while cough and dyspnea i s higher i n these t a l c workers than in the potash workers. These differences are not s t a t i s t i c a l l y d i f f e ren t . The prevalence of radiographic abnormalities is l e s s than two percent in a l l g roups with l e s s t h a n 15 years worked. are higher i n the greater t h a n 15 year groups, b u t there are no s ign i f i can t differences in the prevalence of regular opaci t ies between the t a l c and comparison groups. with no previous t a l c exposure, pleural ca l c i f i ca t ion i s 0

The

The ra tes

I n the t a l c workers

percent i n those w i t h l e s s than 1 5 years worked and 3.4 percent i n those w i t h more than 15 years worked (one case), w h i l e p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s 1.6 percent and 31.0 percent r e s p e c t i v e l y . Th is compares t o a r a t e f o r p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g o f 0.3 percent t o 1.6 percent i n coa l miners and 0.5 percent t o 4.4 percent i n potash miners. There i s no p l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n i n the potash popu la t ion , w h i l e i n c o a l miners the prevalence i s 0 percent f o r those work ing l e s s than 1 5 years and 0.1 percent f o r those work ing more than 15 years. I n those w i t h more than 15 years exper ience, t he prevalence o f i r r e g u l a r o p a c i t i e s i s 3.4 percent , 5.3 percent and 0.7 percent i n t a l c , coal , and potash workers r e s p e c t i v e l y (Table 19).

' i Reported symptom r a t e s increase s l i g h t l y when a l l 121 t a l c workers a re considered (Table 19A). l e s s than 15 years worked, cough and phlegm are h ighe r than potash and c o a l workers. There i s l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c e i n the preva lence o f dyspnea. I n the 39 t a l c workers w i t h more than 15 years exper ience, repo r ted cough i s s t i l l h igher than i n potash workers, b u t i s e s s e n t i a l l y t he same as i n coa l miners. Phlegm i s about t h e same i n t a l c and potash workers, however, t h e 26 percent phlegm r e p o r t e d by these t a l c workers i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s than the 46 percent prevalence among coa l workers. Dyspnea i n these t a l c workers i s 23 percent which i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s than the 39 percent i n coa l workers and g rea te r than the 13 percent i n potash'workers. Among these t a l c workers, t h e r e i s no unusual prevalence of hemoptysis i n e i t h e r ca tegory o f years worked. There are no d i f f e r e n c e s i n t h e prevalence o f rad iog raph ic a b n o r m a l i t i e s i n the group who have worked l e s s than 15 years. I n those w i t h more than 15 years exper ience, p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and p l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n are h ighe r i n the t a l c . workers than i n coa l and potash workers; the inc reased prevalence o f p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s h i g h l y s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t . than those i n c o a l and potash workers, b u t t he inc rease i s s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t o n l y when compared w i t h t h a t i n potash workers. The prevalence o f rounded o p a c i t i e s i s 3 and 2 percent i n t a l c and potash workers r e s p e c t i v e l y , b u t 15 percent i n coa l workers.

Table 20 summarizes the r e l a t i o n s h i p between cumulat ive exposure and pulmonary f u n c t i o n among bo th groups o f t a l c workers employed o n l y a t t h e mine and m i l l under study. Using p r e d i c t e d va lues based on c o a l and potash workers, mean percent -o f -p red ic ted F E V l and FVC ranged from 92-95 percent . P red ic ted FEV percent i s near 100, and peak f l o w i s above p r e d i c t e d compared t o coa l workers, b u t t h i s i s n o t t r u e when

I n the 82 t a l c workers w i t h

I r r e g u l a r o p a c i t i e s among t a l c workers a re h ighe r

- 1 -

compared t o potash workers. reduced compared t o b o t h c o a l and potash workers.

Exposure among these t a l c workers t o p a r t i c u l a t e s and t o f i b e r s shows a s i g n i f i c a n t a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h reduced FEVl and FVC. For example, a t a l c worker i n a j o b w i t h 2 m g / d exposure t o r e s p i r a b l e p a r t i c u l a t e w i l l , on the average, exper ience about a 1 - 1.4 percentage p o i n t r e d u c t i o n l y e a r i n observed t o p r e d i c t e d r a t i o f o r FEVl and FVC. f i b e r s l c c , t he r e d u c t i o n i s about 0.5 - 0.7 percentage p o i n t s per year . r e l a t e d t o exposure, a l though t h e percentage p o i n t r e d u c t i o n i s l a r g e f o r f l o w s a t lower lung volumes.

' l a r g e r when t h e comparison group i s potash miners. reduc t i ons occur i f age o r years o f employment are s u b s t i t u t e d f o r f i b e r o r p a r t i c u l a t e exposure because o f t h e i r h i g h

(exper ience a f a s t e r r e d u c t i o n i n t h e FEVl and F V C ) compared t o c o a l and potash miners.

Table 21 and 21A compare age, smoking h a b i t s , and exposure h i s t o r y o f t a l c workers w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . p r e v i o u s l y noted, smoking i s n o t r e l a t e d t o p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . For example, t h e 50-59 year group w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g has the lowest mean pack years, and t h e 40-49 year o l d group w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g has fewer average pack years than the 4 0 4 9 year o l d group w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . P a r t i c u l a t e exposure i s s l i g h t l y lower i n the groups with p l e u r a l th icken ing , t h e average f i b e r exposure on a y e a r l y b a s i s i s t h e same i n the groups w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . I n the 50-59 yea r age group, those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g s t a r t e d work ing a t an e a r l i e r age than those w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . year age group, those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g have reduced lung fo nc t i o n . Past env i ronmenta l exposures i n each j o b are n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e f l e c t e d by present exposure es t imates . Exposure i n f o r m a t i o n i s n o t a v a i l a b l e f o r a l l j obs and pas t env i ronmenta l da ta were l a r g e l y c o l l e c t e d u s i n g impingers r a t h e r than f i l t e r s . For these reasons t i m e worked i n d i f f e r e n t j o b s by workers w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g were compared. These d a t a on the 9 3 t a l c workers employed o n l y a t t he mine and m i l l i n t h i s s tudy a re summarized i n Table 22. There are 9 i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and 20 w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g among those w i t h g rea te r than 15 years employment. Pmong those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i cken ing , about 7 1 percent o f t h e i r s y e a r s worked were spent i n Seven p a r t i c u l a r j o b s , compared t o about 17 percent o f these Same j o b s f o r those w i t h o u t pl.eura1 t h i c k e n i n g .

Mean f l o w r a t e s are s i g n i f i c a n t l y

-

.". - ..

For an average exposure o f 5

FEV percent and f l o w r a t e s are n o t s i g n i f i c a n t l y

The reduc t i ons are: S i m i l a r

' c o r r e l a t i o n s . These t a l c workers e m p i r i c a l l y "age" f a s t e r

As

I n t h e 40-60

23'

To assess the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g on the h e a l t h o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l , symptoms and pulmonary f u n c t i o n o f a l l those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i n t h i s s tudy are summarized i n Table 23.

C o n t r o l l i n g f o r years employment, those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g are s l i g h t l y o l d e r than those w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . w i t h Grade 2 p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g have s i g n i f i c a n t l y e leva ted r a t e s o f cough and phlegm, b u t those w i t h Grade 1 p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g have r a t e s lower than the comparable age group w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g . The prevalence o f hemoptysis and dyspnea increases w i t h i n c r e a s i n g grade o f p l e u r a l t h i cken ing , b u t t h e inc reases are n o t l a rge . p r e d i c t e d FEVl and FVC i n Grade 1 p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s about 10 percentage p o i n t s below the group w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing ; t h e r e i s about a 4 percentage p o i n t d i f f e r e n c e between Grade 1 and Grade 2 p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g . Mean FEVl percent i s reduced o n l y i n Grade 2 p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . P red ic ted peak f l o w and FEF25 are n o t r e l a t e d t o p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . FEF50 and FEF75 are reduced by about the same p r o p o r t i o n as FEV1 and FVC f o r those w i t h Grade 1 p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g compared t o those w i t h Grade 2.

DISCUSSION

Any c ross-sec t iona l ep idemio log ic s tudy o f ch ron ic e f f e c t s i s beset by t h e problem o f s e l e c t i v e s u r v i v a l . Th is s tudy p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t s o n l y o f workers p r e s e n t l y employed. Nunrespondents present a s i m i l a r problem. For example, i f a l l 35 o f the workers who d i d n o t p a r t i c i p a t e had had no cough o r phlegm, and had p a r t i c i p a t e d , t he prevalence o f cough would have been reduced f rom 32 percent t o 24 percent . S i m i l a r l y , i f a l l 35 had repo r ted cough and phlegm, the r a t e would have increased f rom 32 percent t o 49 percent .

Several methodo log ica l i ssues are impor tan t i n i n t e r p r e t i n g the data. Even i f t h e r e had been 100 percent p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n s t e a d o f 78 percent , t h e s i z e o f t he p o p u l a t i o n would s t i l l be r e l a t i v e l y smal l t o d i sen tang le t h e e f f e c t s o f age, years worked, and p a r t i c u l a t e and f i b e r exposure. I n o rde r t o eva lua te t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f the h e a l t h f i n d i n g s . and t o a d j u s t f o r confounding v a r i a b l e s o f age, he igh t , and smoking h a b i t s i n e s t i m a t i n g dose-response r e l a t i o n s . comparison groups o f c o a l miners and po tash miners were se lected. Al though coa l m in ing i s a known h e a l t h hazard, and potash mines u s i n g equipment may a l s o present a hazard, u s i n g these mine workers as comparison popu la t i ons can be j u s t i f i e d i n s e v e r a l ways.

Those

Mean r a t i o s o f observsd t o

P red ic ted

1) The measurement o f lung f u n c t i o n i s n o t a comple te ly s tandard ized procedure w i t h respec t t o equipment. t r a i n i n g and p r o f i c i e n c y o f techn ic ians , number o f t r i a l s , and c a l c u l a t i o n o f t he l u n g measurement. These p o t e n t i a l measurement e r r o r s a re reduced i n t h i s s tudy as these procedures were v i r t u a l l y the same i n the c o n t r o l and s tudy

.k .. ooou la t ions . Comparison w i t h p r e v i o u s l y pub l i shed . . - p r e d i c t i v e equat ions (e.9.. Kory, M o r r i s ) may be mis lead ing . worker l u n g f u n c t i o n tends t o be h ighe r than K o r y ' s measurement o f hea l thy , nonexposed populat ions, and i s a t l e a s t e q u i v a l e n t t o M o r r i s ' s measurements o f nonsmoking exposed popu la t i ons -- two commonly used p r e d i c t b n ; equat ions . I n a d d i t i o n , p r e d i c t i o n equat ions f o r d i f f e r e n t smoking c a t e g o r i e s a re e i t h e r nonex is ten t o r based on smal l numbers, thereby making smoking adjustments imposs ib le o r of ques t i onab le v a l i d i t y . i s t h e e f f e c t s o f exposure t o t a l c on pulmonary f u n c t i o n , it i s necessary t o ad jus t f o r age and smoking hab i t s . Th is i s because pulmonary f u n c t i o n g e n e r a l l y decreases more r a p i d l y i n smokers than i n ex-smokers and nonsmokers. Comparing smokers w i t h nonsmokers may produce an apparent a s s o c i a t i o n o f exposure w i t h age, which i n f a c t may be a smokinglage i n t e r a c t i o n (66). By comparing observed pulmonary f u n c t i o n o f smokers (ex-smokers, nonsmokers), the a n a l y s i s of exposure e f f e c t s i s n o t confounded by the e f f e c t s o f smoking.

Talc , c o a l and potash workers a re f rom min ing popu la t i ons and a re l i k e l y t o be s i m i l a r w i t h respec t t o many p o t e n t i a l l y confounding v a r i a b l e s (e.g:, physique, soc i o-econom i c char act e r i s t i cs , ed ucat 1 on ) t h a t cou 1 d a f f e c t t he conclus ions, b u t are n o t r e l a t e d t o the e f f e c t o f work exposure. Using these m in ing comparison groups i s t h e r e f o r e p r e f e r a b l e t o comparisons w i t h s a l a r i e d workers i n the same company o r even l o c a l nonmining popu la t ions , f o r i n t h e comparisons w i t h s a l a r i e d o r o t h e r workers the re a re problems o f ma jor d isc repanc ies i n physique, pay, educat ion, n u t r i t i o n and o t h e r f a c t o r s t h a t by themselves c o u l d r e s u l t i n d i f f e r e n c e s i n h e a l t h s ta tus .

Comparing e f f e c t s o f t a l c exposure with e f f e c t s f rom exposure t o o t h e r substances w i l l n o t c o n c l u s i v e l y i n d i c a t e the na tu re o f the e f f e c t s o f t he t a l c exposure b u t i t w i l l p r o v i d e r e l a t i v e comparisons; f o r example, i f the h e a l t h o f t a l c workers i s worse than coa l miners the d i f f e r e n c e s i n d i c a t e t h e t o x i c i t y o f t a l c a s compared t o c o a l and p i n p o i n t s p e c i f i c h e a l t h hazards associated w i t h t a l c . Conversely, e f f e c t s o f t a l c l e s s t o x i c than c o a l do n o t

For example, the NI091 measurement o f coa l

Since one o f our p r imary i n t e r e s t s

2 )

3 )

. 25

n e c e s s a r i l y mean the re i s no r i s k assoc ia ted w i t h t a l c exposure, b u t o n l y t h a t t a l c workers a re “ b e t t e r o f f ” (e.g., have fewer symptoms, fewer r a d i o g r a p h i c abnormal i t ies . e tc . ) than c o a l workers. I f t a l c workers are h e a l t h i e r than c o a l miners, t hey may s t i l l be l e s s h e a l t h y than i f they were n o t exposed t o t a l c a t a l l . A l though l e s s s tud ied than coa l , a m o r t a l i t y ’ s tudy o f potash miners suggest t h a t exposure t o potash does n o t inc rease r e s p i r a t o r y d isease (67) . Thus, t he medical f i n d i n g s i n these t a l c workers are compared w i t h those i n two m in ing comparison groups -- one t h a t i s thought t o have l i t t l e e f f e c t s on the r e s p i r a t o r y system, and one t h a t i s known t o have a d e t r i m e n t a l e f f e c t on the ; r e s p i r a t o r y system. : i ;

The r e p o r t e d r e s p i r a t o r y symptoms i n t h i s s tudy group seem h i g h f o r any heal thy.popu1at ion. M3st o f those w i t h symptoms are e i t h e r smokers o r ex-smokers, and many popu la t i ons i n the dus ty t rades a l s o r e p o r t s i m i l a r i l y h igh symptom ra tes . S p e c i f i c a l l y , the prevalence o f symptoms (except f o r dyspnea) when con t ras ted w i t h c o a l workers i s h igher i n t a l c workers i f leng th o f t i m e worked i s l e s s than 15 years, b u t lower if years worked i s g rea te r than 15 years. When compared t o potash workers, however, t a l c workers have h igher symptom r a t e s i n bo th groups (except f o r phlegm and hemoptysis i n the g rea te r than 15 years

Table 24 compares the prevalence of r e s p i r a t o r y symptoms from t h e t a l c workers i n t h i s s tudy w i t h c h r y s o t i l e asbestos workers i n Canada. Except f o r t he nonsmoking category where asbestos workers r e p o r t a h igher prevalence o f symptoms, the resu I t s are remarkably s i m i l a r . When compared t o s y n t h e t i c t e x t i l e workers, b o t h t h e asbestos and t a l c workers g e n e r a l l y have a cons ide rab ly h igher p reva lence of phlegm and shor tness o f breath. A n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos workers cannot be compared d i r e c t l y w i t h t a l c workers i n t h i s s tudy b u t a re i nc luded i n t h e t a b l e f o r completeness.

The g r e a t e s t d i f f e rence between the coa l and potash miners and the t a l c workers i s t he h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t inc reased prevalence o f p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i n t h e t a l c workers w i t h g rea te r than 15 years o f exposure. t a l c worker has p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . assoc ia ted w i t h rad iog raph ic changes and t h e same c r i t e r i a a re used, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o compare the prevalence o f i r r e g u l a r smal l o p a c i t i e s , p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g and p l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n i n c h r y s o t i l e asbestos workers and the t a l c workers (Tab le 25) . Grade 1 pneumoconiosis and p l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n show no s t r i k i n g d i s s i m i l a r i t y between the asbestos and t a l c workers.

group) *

I n t h i s group, n e a r l y one o u t o f every t h r e e Since smoking i s n o t

26

- -~ -

P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g , on the o ther hand, i s f o u r t imes h ighe r i n t h e t a l c workers than i n the asbestos workers.

P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s a common f i n d i n g i n workers exposed t o .i r. asbestos.

-_ (57, 58) (Table 26). P l e u r a l c a l c i f i c a t i o n occurs l a t e r , as i t p robab ly develops f rom t h e u n c a l c i f i e d p l e u r a l p laque (57, 60) . I n i n s u l a t i o n workers i t r a r e l y occur red i n l e s s than 20 years

.from onset o f exposure (68 ) . C a l c i f i c a t i o n . p a r t i c u l a r l y i f b i l a t e r a l , i s ve ry u s e f u l i n the d iagnos is o f asbes tos is (57, 68), a l though t h e r e are o the r causes o f p l e u r a l c a l c i t i c g t i o n (e.g., p l e u r i s y , i n j u r y f o l l o w i n g hemothorax, in f lammatory c o n d i t i o n s t h a t produce p l e u r a l e f f u s i o n and empyema).

P l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s accompanied by a decrease i n l u n g f u n c t i o n , e i t h e r w i t h o r w i t h o u t f i b r o s i s . Th is was t r u e when measur ing FEV1, FVC, o r f l o w r a t e s as i n t h i s and o t h e r s tud ies , and f o r d i f f u s i n g capac i ty , t o t a l l u n g capac i t y , and r e s i d u a l volume i n o t h e r s t u d i e s (61, 69, 70) .

! -*<. T*i It shou ld be regarded as a s i g n i f i . c a n t i n d i c a t o r o f

- - exposure and may occur i n t h e presence o r absence o f f i b r o s i s

._ .

Except f o r peak f l o w and FEV percent , mean percent p r e d i c t e d pulmonary f u n c t i o n i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y reduced i n t h e t a l c workers when compared t o b o t h c o a l and potash miners. thought t o be t h e r e s u l t o f occupat iona l exposure, s i n c e adjustments a re made f o r years worked and the known e f f e c t s o f age, he igh t , and smoking h a b i t s on pulmonary f u n c t i o n .

Desp i te t h e a s s o c i a t i o n of reduced FEV1, FVC and f l o w r a t e s w i t h f i b e r and p a r t i c u l a t e exposure and years worked, i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f these da ta a re d i f f i c u l t . The cumulat ive exposure i s o n l y an index, n o t an a c t u a l measure of exposure. There i s a suggest ion f rom pas t env i ronmenta l measurements t h a t exposures i n c e r t a i n jobs , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the m i l l , have d e c l i n e d over t h e years. Exposure i n t h e mine appears t o be more cons tan t . Ana lys i s o f t ime spent i n d i f f e r e n t j o b s by those w i t h and w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g shows t h a t f o r t he j o b s o f mine foreman, hoistman, crusher operator , packer, packer serviceman, q u a l i t y c o n t r o l t echn ic ian , and sh ipp ing and i n v e n t o r y coo rd ina to r , those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g spent more t i m e i n these p a r t i c u l a r j o b s than those w i t h o u t p l e u r a l t h i cken ing . The t i m e spent i n these j o b s by those w i t h p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g i s 2-5 t imes g rea te r than t h e average t ime spent i n a l l o t h e r j obs , and c o n t r i b u t e s t o a m a j o r i t y o f t he t ime spent i n a l l jobs . There i s , however, no way t o adequate ly determine a c t u a l o r r e l a t i v e pas t exposure l e g e l s i n these jobs .

This r e d u c t i o n i s

27

RETROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY OF MORTALITY

METHODS

A r e t r o s p e c t i v e cohor t s tudy was i n i t i a t e d t o determine whether workers who have been employed a t tvs mine and m i l l have exper ienced any unusual m o r t a l i t y pa t te rns . was d e f i n e d as a l l w h i t e ( those c o h o r t members where r a c i a l s t a t u s was unknown were considered w h i t e f o r purpose o f t he study, s i n c e t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h i s work f o r c e i s ' known t o be w h i t e ) males i n i t i a l l y employed sometime between January 1, 1947. and December 31, 1959. a l l o w f o r a s u f f i c i e n t l a t e n t p e r i o d f o r any development'of; chron ic disease. An e f f o r t was made t o determine the v i t a l s t a t u s o f each i n d i v i d u a l i n t h e cohor t as o f June 30, 1975, and person-years a t r i s k and d u r a t i o n o f employment f o r t he c o h o r t were accumulated u n t i l t h i s date.

This s tudy cohor t

Th is c u t o f f da te was s e l e c t e d t o

A. .*: $: V i t a l s t a t u s was detetmined through records main ta ined by Federal and S t a t e agencies, i n c l u d i n g the Soc ia l S e c u r i t y Admin is t ra t ion , s t a t e v i t a l s t a t i s t i c s o f f i c e s , and s t a t e motor v e h i c l e r e g i s t r a t i o n . For those i n d i v i d u a l s who cou ld n o t be l oca ted through these sources, U.S. Pos ta l Mai l Co r rec t i on Serv ices and o t h e r fo l low-up searches were used.

For a l l those who were known t o be deceased, death c e r t i f i c a t e s were requested and causes o f death were i n t e r p r e t e d by a q u a l i f i e d n o s o l o g i s t accord ing t o t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f Diseases ( I C D Codes) i n e f f e c t a t t h e t i m e o f death and then conver ted t o the 7th Rev is ion o f the I C D Codes. A m o d i f i e d l i f e t a b l e techn ique was used t o o b t a i n person-years a t r i s k o f d y i n g by f i ve -yea r ca lendar t i m e per iods, by f i ve -yea r age groups, by d u r a t i o n o f employment, and by number o f years s i n c e i n i t i a l employment a t t he t a l c company. Comparison was made between t h e observed number o f deaths among the s tudy c o h o r t and the number expected f o r t h i s p o p u l a t i o n us ing age, ca lendar t ime, and cause s p e c i f i c m o r t a l i t y r a t e s o f t he U.S. w h i t e male popu la t i on . The v i t a l s ta tus o f 96 percent o f t h e cohor t was conf i rmed (Table 2 7 ) . Those w i t h an unknown v i t a l s t a t u s are assumed t o be a l i v e as o f June 30, 1975 so t h a t t he t r u e r i s k o f m o r t a l i t y assoc ia ted w i t h exposure t o t a l c i s n o t overest imated.

RESULTS

A t o t a l o f 398 workers meet ing the s tuhy cohor t d e f i n i t i o n generated 8,733 person-years a t r i s k o f dy ing. F i f t y percent o f the workers were employed l e s s than one year, w h i l e l e s s than 25

..'

.*- r -_

22 ._. -

.:<- e.

1" - .

29

percent were employed f o r 10 years o r more. i l l u s t r a t e the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f the s tudy p o p u l a t i o n by d u r a t i o n o f employment and by da te o f i n i t i a l employment.

Tables 30 and 30A summarize t h e deaths observed from the s tudy cohor t and those expected based o h d e a t h r a t e s f o r t h e U.S. w h i t e male popu la t ion . i s h i g h e r than expected, t h i s d i f f e r e n c e i s n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t ( ~ 0 . 0 5 ) . However, severa l s p e c i f i c causes o f death e x h i b i t inc reased m o r t a l i t y . The s tandard ized m o r t a l i t y r a t i o (SMR) (SMR = observed deaths lexpected deaths x 100) i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y e leva ted f o r t he cause o f death category,',''dl ma l i gnan t neoplasms", which i s p a r t l y due t o the s t a t i s t i c ' a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t i nc rease i n bronchogenic cancer (9 obs. vs. 3.3 exp.; ~ 0 . 0 5 ) . Other s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t inc reases f o r s p e c i f i c causes o f death occur red i n t h e ca tegor ies : "nonmalignant r e s p i r a t o r y disease o t h e r than in f l uenza , pneumonia, b r o n c h i t i s , and acute upper r e s p i r a t o r y i n f e c t i o n " ( 5 obs. vs. 1.3 exp.; ~ 0 . 0 5 ) and " r e s p i r a t o r y T.B." (3.0 obs. vs. 0.49 exp.; pc0.05). One death due t o mesothel ioma was observed.

Table 3 1 demonstrates the a s s o c i a t i o n between bronchogenic cancer and t h e t ime i n t e r v a l between t h e i n i t i a l da te o f employment and the da te o f death ( l a t e n c y ) . As seen, t h e r e i s an i n c r e a s i n g r i s k o f bronchogenic cancer w i t h i n c r e a s i n g l a tency , a t r e n d c o n s i s t e n t w i t h an occupat iona l e t i o l o g y . In a d d i t i o n , t he deaths due t o bronchogenic cancer have an average l a t e n c y o f 20 years (Table 32 ) ; a p e r i o d p r e v i o u s l y observed f o r a p o p u l a t i o n o c c u p a t i o n a l l y exposed t o a n t h o p h y l l i t e and o t h e r m ine ra l s (47, 64, 65 ) .

Three a d d i t i o n a l deaths due t o bronchogenic cancer are known t o have occur red among study members. However, these deaths occu r red s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e c u t o f f da te (6 /30 /75) f o r a n a l y s i s and the re fo re were n o t inc luded as observed deaths. b e i n d i v i d u a l worked f o r 17 cont inuous years a t the t a l c company under s tudy and d i e d a t the age o f 50. 24 years. Another i n d i v i d u a l who worked f o r 2 months a t t h e t a l c company d i e d a t the age o f 54. years. employed f o r 12 years a t t he company under s tudy and 12 years p r e v i o u s l y a t another New York t a l c company. of 59 and had a l a t e n c y pe r iod o f 23 years.

A t l e a s t t h r e e cases o f nonmalignant r e s p i r a t o r y d isease among s tudy c o h o r t members are known t o have been r e p o r t e d t o t h e New York S t a t e Workmen's Compensation Board. These i n d i v i d u a l s f i l e d workmen's compensation c la ims f o r :

Tables 28 and 29

Al though the o v e r a l l observed m o r t a l i t y

The l a t e n c y p e r i o d was

The l a t e n c y p e r i o d was 27 The t h i r d lung cancer death was t h a t o f a worker

He d i e d a t t h e age

(1) pneumoconiosis,

30

chron ic , b ronch i t i s ; ( 2 ) t a l c o s i s , pulmonary emphysema, ch ron ic b r o n c h i t i s ; and (3 ) t a l c o s i s , pulmonary f i b r o s i s . These i n d i v i d u a l s worked a t t he t a l c company under s tudy f o r 18 years, 18 years, and 25 years, r e s p e c t i v e l y .

.~r;

01 SCUSSI ON

The r e s u l t s o f the present s tudy demonstrate an excessive r i s k o f 273 percent due t o l u n g cancer m o r t a l i t y and 385 percent due t o nonmalignant r e s p i r a t o r y disease among a cohor t o f t a l c workers o c c u p a t i o n a l l y exposed t o b o t h asbes t i f o rm t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e , b u t t o l i t t l e f r e e s i l i c a . However, seve ra l p o s s i b l e confounding f a c t o r s must be taken i n t o c o n s i d e t a t i o n be fo re one can a t t r i b u t e t h i s observed m o r t a l i t y p a t t e r n t o occupat iona l exposures rece ived a t t h i s t a l c mine and m i l l .

One such f a c t o r t h a t has been shown t o be c o r r e l a t e d w i t h the causat ion o f l u n g cancer i s c i g a r e t t e smoking. The smoking p a t t e r n s are l a r g e l y unknown f o r t h i s cohor t as i s t he case w i t h most r e t r o s p e c t i v e s tud ies . However, i t has been es t ima ted t h a t i n heavy smoking worker popu la t ion , smoking alone would inc rease the expected l ung cancer m o r t a l i t y r i s k by no more than 49 percent (71 ) . Thus, c i g a r e t t e smoking per se i s u n l i k e l y t o account f o r t he increased bronchogenic cancer r i s k of 273 percent observed among these t a l c miners and m i l l e r s .

Another f a c t o r t o be considered i s occupat iona l exposure among cohor t members r e s u l t i n g f rom p r i o r employment. employment among those i n the s tudy who d i e d from mal ignant and nonmal ignant r e s p i r a t o r y disease are g iven i n Table 32. o f these i n d i v i d u a l s as w e l l as o t h e r members o f t he s tudy cohor t worked a t o t h e r New York S t a t e t a l c companies l o c a t e d i n the Gouverneur Ta lc D i s t r i c t . Due t o t h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n d u s t r i a l hyg iene analyses were c a r r i e d o u t t o compare the make-up o f t a l c s i n a ne ighbor ing mine acknowledged as hav ing asbes t i f o rm t a l c . These comparisons are presented i n Table 13.

The a n a l y s i s o f amphibole f i b e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s between these t a l c ope ra t i ons showed them t o be s u b s t a n t i a l l y t he same. Thus, w h i l e exposure l e v e l s i n o t h e r t a l c companies may have been h igher , a l l ope ra t i ons i nvo l ved exposures t o asbes t i fo rm amphiboles w i t h s i m i l a r a i r b o r n e f i b e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . A l l these opera t i ons have been shown t o have f i b e r exposures f a r i n excess o f e s t a b l i s h e d OSHA asbestos standards. Thus, exposures t o asbest i form t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e s tand ou t as the pr ime suspected e t i o l o g i c fac to rs assbc ia ted w i t h t h e observed increase i n bronchogenic cancer and nonmalignant' r e s p i r a t o r y d isease among t h i s s tudy cohor t .

*. a h: ,% y- -

Known p r i o r

Several

31

Of i n t e r e s t i s t he f a c t t h a t f o u r o f n i n e deaths due t o bronchogenic cancer i n t h i s cohor t were workers employed l e s s than 1 year i n t h e opera t ions under s tudy and o n l y one o f these cases i s known t o have prev ious exposures t o t a l c s c o n t a i n i n g asbes t i f o rm minera ls . Al though t h i s cohor t i s r e l a t i v e l y smal l , i t appears p l a u s i b l e t h a t even b r i e f pe r iods o f exposure t o e leva ted concen t ra t i ons o f asbes t i fo rm m ine ra l s may be assoc ia ted w i t h an inc reased bronchogenic cancer r i s k . obse rva t i on has p r e v i o u s l y been r e p o r t e d (72).

Such an

One death due t o mesothel ioma i s known t o have occur red i n t h e s tudy popu la t i on . t a l c ope ra t i on and had 11 years prev ious employment i n c o n s t r u c t i o n work. Without f u l l knowledge o f t h i s i n d i v i d u a l ' s exposure as a c o n s t r u c t i o n worker, i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o a r r i v e a t any conc lus ions rega rd ing the e t i o l o g i c r o l e of t a l c exposure from t h i s mine and m i l l f o r t h i s case. Al though prev ious s t u d i e s (5, 6, 47, 64, 6 5 ) have n o t shown an a s s o c i a t i o n between exposure t o a s b e s t i f o r m a n t h o p h y l l i t e o r t r e m o l i t e and subsequent development o f mesothelioma, a s tudy i n Turkey by Bar is (73) has demonstrated an increased r i s k o f develop ing mesothel ioma among r e s i d e n t s o f a p a r t i c u l a r community exposed t o asbes t i f o rm t r e m o l i t e , p robab ly from t h e i r d r i n k i n g water . Therefore, t h e p o s s i b l e a s s o c i a t i o n between exposure t o asbes t i f o rm t r e m o l i t e and the r i s k o f deve lop ing mesothel ioma should be f u r t h e r s t u d i e d by cont inued fo l low-up o f these t a l c workers.

Th is i n d i v i d u a l worked f o r 16 years 'M t he

32 .

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

An i n d u s t r i a l hygiene study, a c ross-sec t iona l m o r b i d i t y study, and a r e t r o s p e c t i v e m o r t a l i t y s tudy were conducted among miners and m i l l e r s o f i n d u s t r i a l t a l c s i n upper New York. These t a l c s were shown t o c o n t a i n f i b r o u s t r e m o l i t e and a n t h o p h y l l i t e as major contaminants. I n a d d i t i o n , b o t h present and past worker exposures t o these f i b e r s were shown t o be f a r i n excess o f occupa t iona l exposure standards e s t a b l i s h e d by the DccupationaJ S a f e t y and Hea l th Admin i s t ra t i on (OSHA) and the Min ing Enforcement and Safety Admini s t r a t i o n (MESA) (now ca l . l ed Mine Sa fe ty and Hea l th A d m i n i s t r a t i o n MSHA).

The most s t r i k i n g f i n d i n g o f t he m o r b i d i t y s tudy was an increased preva lence o f p l e u r a l t h i c k e n i n g , i n t a l c workers w i t h g r e a t e r than 15 yea rs o f exposure, o c c u r r i n g i n n e a r l y one o u t o f every t h r e e t a l c workers. r a t e s were a l s o observed a f t e r a d j u s t i n g f o r smoking h a b i t s .

The s t u d y o f m o r t a l i t y among the workers who began employment between 1947 and 1960 demonstrated an increased number o f deaths due t o bronchogenic cancer. bronchogenic cancer was 20 years.

t-

. d :

Reduced FEV1, FVC, and f l o w

The average l a t e n c y p e r i o d f o r

A thorough rev iew o f the a v a i l a b l e l i t e r a t u r e demonstrated t h a t f i n d i n g s o f t he present s tud ies a r e i n agreement w i t h 'those o f o t h e r s t u d i e s o f occupat iona l groups exposed t o the same o r s i m i l a r m ine ra l s o r m ine ra l m ix tu res . This i s e s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r occupat iona l exposures t o a n t h o p h y l l i t e asbestos. These f i n d i n g s make i t impera t i ve t h a t workers f rom the mine and m i l l s tud ied , here in , be r o u t i n e l y observed us ing medical s u r v e i l l a n c e c r i t e r i a e s t a b l i s h e d i n the OSHA and MSHA asbestos standard. Furthermore, a l l p r o v i s i o n s o f these standards should be fo l lowed d u r i n g the produc t ion and subsequent use o f these t a l c s .

33

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(0 m x ur l 7 c m 4 al e:

r l m

0 C m al U rl a LI m N .d rl

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u C Y

35

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al rl n r m

E

m U h 0

P) U

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0 U

m r l nr l

C C - - r r

v v v v v v

o m i - O W N N - - " N

r - m r D p ' m v I

0 0 0 0 0 0 O - r O O O O

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V

O M N M N W

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$ x

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%

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x n m

a . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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m m

0.

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a:

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c

37.

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m u m

c .

Table 4

Summary of TWA Exposures BY Job, Mining Operations

' :

Job Title

Crusher Operator Trammer Scrapper Man Underground Laborer Driller Mucker Caqeman Repairman Repairman's Helper Blacksmith Maintenance Mechanic

Fibers fibers .5 um in lenqth/cc

(Optical Microscopy)

9 . 8 ( 4 )

5 . 6 ( 2 5 )

--

3.0 ( 5 )

Resp.Mass. ms/m3

-- 0 . 6 4 ( 3 )

1 . 2 9 (3) 0 . 5 8 ( 1 )

0 . 9 8 ( 3 )

0.23 ( 1 )

1 . 1 4 ( 1 )

0 . 8 6 ( 1 )

-- 0 . 4 2 ( 1 )

-- 1 0 . 1 (3) 1 1 . 8 ( 5 )

-- 0 . 7 ( 1 )

1 5 . 8 ( 1 )

2 . 0 ( 1 ) --

3.6 ( 1 )

-- 1 . 5 ( 1 )

( ) = Number of samples used for calculation of TWA values for each job category. Samples for respirable mass and free Si02 were full shift samples.

-- indicates no samples

38

G& i; li . .. F i b e r s

a. ( O p t i c a l Microscopy) mg/m3 :' kppcf mg/m3 j o b T i t l e f i b e r s > 5 urn i n l e n g t h / c c Resp. Mass ; . I m p i n g e r F r e e S i 0 2

1. M i l l Foreman 5.3 (9) 0 . 5 8 ( 2 ) 2.9 (2) 0 . 0 1 3 ( 2 )

Genera l 'Labore r 5.6 (5) 1.14 (1) 0.5 (1) 0.014 (1)

Hardinge O p e r a t o r 7.9 (14) 1.09 ( 2 )

Crushe r O p e r a t o r 5 . 1 (16) 0 . 8 5 ( 2 ) 2.6 (4) 0.020 (2)

3.4 ( 2 ) 0.012 ( 1 )

3.1 ( 2 ) 0.012 (1) Wheeler O p e r a t o r 8.4 (14) 1.56 ( 2 )

Packer 5.1 (48) .0.59 ( 9 ) ' 3.6 (6) 0.010 (7) ...

Packe r Serv iceman 3.6 (11) 0 . 4 2 ( 2 ) 2.1 (1) 0.007 (2)

Packhouse Foreman 1.5 ( 5 ) 0.25 ( 2 ) -- 0.014 ( 2 )

3) 1.6 ( 1 ) 0.000 ( 1 )

-- 0.000 (1) 1)

1) -- 0.016 (1)

2 ) -- 0.040 ( 2 )

2) -- 0.000 (1)

Fork L i f t O p e r a t o r 4.0 (15)

, Car L i n e r 3.4 (4)

Bulk Car Loader 2 . 0 (3)

M i l l w r i g h t 1.9 (3)

. .

I n s t r u m e n t Repairman 2.8 (6)

0.35

0.31

0.25

2.37

0.59

Wachini s t 1.8 (3) 0 . 4 0 ( 1 ) - - 0.016 (1)

M i l l w r i g h t He lpe r 4.0 ( 2 ) 2.96 (1) -- 0.000 ( 1 )

S h e e t Metal Worker 1 . 7 (3) 0.50 (1) -- 0.013 ( 1 )

O i l e r 4.0 ( 4 ) 0 . 7 2 ( 1 )

Welder 1.9 (3)

-- 0.016 (1) 0 . 7 5 (1) --

( ) = Number o f s a m p l e s used for c a l c u l a t i o n o f TWA v a l u e s f o r e a c h j o b c a t e g o r y . Samples f o r r e s p i r a b l e mass and f r e e SiOz were f u l l s h i f t s a m p l e s .

''

39

Table 6

Summary of TWA Amphibole Fiber Exposures (All Fiber Lengths) in Mining and Milling

Operations As Determined by Analytical Electron Microscopy

Job Title

Mine - Trammer

Griller

Cageman

Mechanic

flill - Mill Foreman

Gener~al Laborer

Crusher Operator

Hardinge Operator

Wheeler Operator

Packer

Packer Serviceman

Packhouse Foreman

Fork Lift Operator

Machin is t

Welder

Asbestos Fiber”,Copc. fibers/cc’* .

17.5 ( 4 )

9 . 5 ( 1 )

17.5 ( 1 )

16.7 ( 1 )

2 5 . 0 (2)

23.6 (2)

12.0 (2)

70.6 ( 2 )

22.9 ( 2 )

3 6 . 0 (2)

1 1 . 1 (2)

1 4 . 6 (2)

36.0 ( 1 )

2 4 . 9 ( 1 )

9.9 ( 1 )

‘Concentrations shown are only for those giving identifiable electron diffraction patterns and include tremolite and anthophyllite.

( ) Number of samples analyzed by electron microscopy.

4 0 .

$. Table 7

. . Summary of Airborne Fiber Types Determined By Analvtical Electron Microscouv

Percent of Airborne Fibers (All,Lgngths) . Positive

Chrysotile Operation

@I I

All Fibers

I 3 8

4 5

6 5

3

2

0

Non- Asbestos

1

2

3

Identi- fied***

39

Airborne fibcrs were identified as positive amphiboles by selected area electron diffraction.

* * Amphiboles differentiated by energy dispersive microchemical analysis. * * * Electron diffraction patterns are not suffficient for identification;

however, many had X-ray spectra identical to tremolite.

"

4 1 .

~~

T a b l e 8

Summary o f A i r b o r n e F i b e r D i a m e t e r s f o r P o s i t i v e Amphibo le s

Median D i a m e t e r O p e r a t i o n a n d

F i b e r Type wn

Geo. S t d . D e v i a t i o n

9 5 % Conf . I n t e r v a l F o r

Median D i a m e t e r urn

I A n t h o p h y l l i t e (N=164) I 0 . 1 3 I 2 . 4

% < 0 . 5 urn in- D i a m e t e r

I I I

~ i n e * - -

T r e m o l i t e (N=83)

1 M i l l -

0.19 1 2 . 3 0 . 1 6 - 0 . 2 3

0 . 1 2 - 0 > 1 5 ~

0 . 1 7 - 0 . 2 2

88

9 3

8 7 T r e m o l i t e (N=160)

A n t h o p h y l l i t e (N=687) 9 0 I 0 . 1 2 - 0 . 1 4

2 . 4

0 * 1 9 0 . 1 3 1 2 . 9

N = Number of i n d i v i d u a l f i b e r s i d e n t i f i e d a n d s i z e d u s i n g e l e c t r o n m i c r o - s c o p y .

O p e r a t i o n a n d F i b e r Type

9 5 % C o n f . I n t e r v a l F o r

u m Me d i an D i ame t e r

Mine* T r e m 0 1.i t e

A n t h o p h y l l i t e (N=164)

( N = 8 3 )

% < 0.5 Urn i n -L e n g t h

M i l l * ~

T r e m o l i t e (N=160)

An t h o p h y 11 i t e ( N = 6 8 7 )

1.4- 1 .8

1 . 3 - 1 . 1

1.4-1.7

1 . 3 - 1 . 5

Median Diameter

urn

9 7

90-92

9 7

9 0

1 . 6

1 . 5

1 . 5

1 . 4

Geo. S t d . D e v i a t i o n

1 .8

2 . 6

1 .9

2 .9

* R e s u l t s o f a l l s a m p l e s combined f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n a n a l y s i s .

N = Number of i n d i v i d u a l f i b e r s i d e n t i f i e d a n d s i z e d by e l e c t r o n micro- s c o p y .

42

p ,;- I

5 2 %

8 5 %

9 9 %

Table 70

Aspect Ratios for Positive Amphiboles Determined by Ete5tron Microscopy . (All Fiber Lengths)

5 2 %

8 8 %

> 9 9 %

Aspect Ratio

Measurement

Median Aspect Ratio

Aspect Ratio

< 5 / 1

c 1 0 / 1

< 2 0 / 1

< 5 0 / 1

- - - -

Tremolite*

Mine

7.5

2 3 %

7 0 %

9 6 %

>99%.

-Mill

7 . 5

2 4 %

7 0 %

9 6 %

9 9 %

Mine 1 Mill

Data shown are for all fiber lengths

4 3

C .*

r - 0 - m o . - . - * . -

m m m o - m - - Y c

alc E O

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r r - a

a - - Y o r r r

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.* X

W 0

m r - 0 N

ID N

m N

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U 0 R 0

m

m y I - Y m m 0

m m o m m N r r c 0

c

N m m m O - - - m - Y

U 0

n 0 b

m m o m - Y 1 m o m m o m o r r n m c c r

0 r

I

m C .* Y U 1 E (d

al C .* 4 m a U O

Ln C

.rl 5

0 cl

U UI

.rl 0 X

a

4 .:I E

U x m u L I C

a.c al C U I 4

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m .rl u

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W

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X

m

a

0 C 4

Ln m a m

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I

a a

- Y N

al u u c c m a

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0 m 4 u u a m m u o m

N & R - x o w m rl

rl U r l n m .rl m n x B .rl F a

C u l d .rl u m o c u 4 mx 4 X

W 0

>r U m E E a v1

!

I CI I

‘D C .rl U W

U .m 4 al 0) c %

C .rl U t3

m t n m c c .,-I .rl a m u m m m m m

m C

.rl a 0 4

x rl 3

m

m

m tn m m O’I C 4 a 0 cl

m

El ‘2

m

m

P I

m

m m U C m U m W a, U . In u U 0 l a % r U

4 5 .

Table 13

Comparison of Airborne Fiber Characteristics in Study of Mine and Mill

Operations with New York Talc Operations Acknowledged as Containing

Asbestiform Minerals

Asbestiform Study Mine Statistical Airborne Fiber Characteristic and Mill Significance . . Mine and Mill

. I ; Proportion Positive Amphiboles 0.50 0.58 p < 0.05 Proportion Anthophyllite 0.47 0.45 NS Proportion Tremolite 0.03 0.13 p < 0.001

Median Fiber Length Anthophyll i te Tremolite

Median Fiber Diameter Anthophyllite Tremolite

Median Fiber Aspect Ratio Anthophyllite Tremolite

Anthophyllite Tremolite

% of Fiber 5 5 urn in length

1.61 pm 1.45 pm NS -- 1.55 Um

0.16 pm 0.13 um NS * 0.19 pm --

9.9

9 2

9.5 7.5

90-92 9 7

NS --

NS -_

Insufficient number of fibers observed for calculation of size distribution parameters.

NS - Not significantly different at 0.05 level.

4 6

m u m R 4 w m U .4 d d x c 0 c U C

n

a U 0 \ a C m m U .4 d -0

ti, U U

0 U

W - a m

w m d o u x E m

m u m X u 0 ?

ly 0

m 4 a 1 U m

x 4J .r( a .4 R U 0 E

W 0

x U

E E 9 m

m a

m

m

m ..I

.4 h

m e .4 N m II 0 H . -4 H

d

o u u o R E

m a

P i m o m

ly

4 4 2 2

m d d ad

Ld E 4 a 6

m m u r n m e c m m

.r( m c E 4 - E o m d u m m m c

- u r l 0 d

P .4 W m E O

c m V

U W

m O m m LI ..I m d p 9 m N u m m 1 0 1 o a - o u .4 L o a 1 c o x m 0 ne w e 0 u x - a \o a1 0 - W N E W X 1 w m m e a * a x m z m I

m e

I I

5 c '4

C o . 4 N

0 o m r - m m - II - I1 m II m u m u m u m d m x r 4 w c w u .4 0 . d u o w E n 3 u

a n a p.l E O E O n m - N E

I Ldx I

u m m o w w m c c o 0 - 4 - r ( n E \ Y

.rl m u

U ? O - r n

E .AI 0 u m e ?

d U U X m m m m m U d 3 m

d m u 4 a.4 c a m ID E . 4 Y) E

e 0 7

U d m m - .r( U N W u u e u 0

P 1 w - w o m m

. 0 0 % d c u m e 4J - 9

m o m u u u .4 .4 .-I x 4 E L I m m u u u 9 m u =

u o m

N 0

47

dp

3 0 0 0 a -

"

. m r

m u - c ..-I z .. . . c r l - .r( x x a s u u a - c c o 1 o s 0 u u m u c u

a 0) 1 E .* U C 0 0 - v c

w m 4 h

Y

PI 1 :

s.4 u 0 01 c u m u .4 u -4 .d

0 m u 5 , c m 4 m x 3 2 2 0 * 3 Y r i m - l e n u u o . ~m a E m a m I1 u I1 x m o m u u - w ala m x r l c u 3 u 4 0 f. .4 0 E W N Z W

m - C o w E C

U w m 4 u m w c

>r .r( . U l E U P a 0 - 4 u r i

4 0 E

.rl m

a w .A

u

0 x .4 u u 'd x L!u 3 u m.4 w w w c u w .r( 0 c

0 0) 4 .4 d U U

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w s u O W R

m o z n

u m

n o m

a PI .rl

m o

m m . x 3 E V . C

E m v s : m a C U . r w c w . 4 - > m u 3 a

Q h

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m m (10

. . . . - N m m

01 0 h N -

m m

Q z 3 0 a

2 w 3

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u 3 c x 3 m c - 0 m . 4

a ~ m u m o m c u

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C .4 U C 0 0

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4

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m

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I 0 m

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P > * r l w I

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a 0 m w

I I1 I u u w I I m 4 m

€ 4 - > \ 4 . > 0

h e a' - 0 <

v P V . al V a l I U

,.- r -

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W w u

I1 0 II P A !A4 P P P W X P X E X u

aln 00 m N a l E @ o Q

> w > - > m i m~ m o D O N

FIN P I W N -

_ . P I 4 x x * '3 c 111 E P V V O m c v

u c u c m

r l m m a u - e

al .3 x u u

- . . I C . u d a m c 0 P O m E 4 .3 c a a - 4 4 m .r(

E U m 0 . v c a a l a u u a 4 .r( .rl 4 14 3 d u - r

Ln

50 .

^ c m .3 m E l \ O m - X -

E * E P \ . U P 0 - " N . a

3 4 - P I

3 0 u d p 4 a 3 0

I ~

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m

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a r c E

U

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1

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II m u (uu

c,l m

6 \ m X

E E \- u r U . r

N - . V

-J N e 0- U'

m

a . . 0

'1

5 1

- e Y

m

e - e a e e

m N

U

- 0 0 - 0

1 1 - 0 0 - I 0 p - 0 c X ' Ln A P) II

- n n m . x x u r n a l w a l w m~ v u al ' P ' R XI1 m n m n

S E S E e a m m m u 0 2 - m E m -

U r l l

u a l a c c o u u a m

5 2 .

e m e e m

a

w u .A e . e - - * m ..I v 3 n e

e a c a a l o . e m u N I1 a..Ie nrl a u o m n m 1 1 - u a u ..I ..I

Llu I1 m u (0

c 0 '4 o a o m a . - a m 4 n.4 ~ a e a l c a ~ e o u - u . 4 m o o u w - u n ! % v v

al N O 0 m e 3 N 3 U

I" _. 0 L) m

x e a n e e" u c c '.I 4lr

o m

VI P

5 3

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VI

m - o m N, r n m +

x - + W N

N

a a, 7 C .rl u C 0 U - P c

w cl m a: E+

U t t

T c B

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.r

r n: c

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.n

a, u 7 m 0 R x w

a, r(

P E

v) m

m U rl U m d U al u U a U a J

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4 i

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U 4 U 4 U I

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rlrl N E C a , \ o .rl a. o

m m w p .

+ P - - +

5 4

i.

Table 15

Age-Smoking Composition of Morbidity Study Population Who Had No Previous Occupational Exposure to Talc

Smoking Status

Nonsmoker

Ex-smoker

Smoker

Total

2 0 - 2 9

18 ( 1 9 )

40-49

n ( % )

3 ( 1 1 )

1 3 ( 4 8 )

1 1 ( 4 1 )

2 7 (29)

5 0 - 5 9

1 7 ( 1 8 ) 2 ( 2 )

Total

n ( % )

19 (20)

2 8 ( 3 0 )

4 6 ( 4 9 )

9 3

Cells are column percentages; marginals are percentages of the total.

5 5

Table 1 5 A

Age-Smoking Composition of Total Morbidity Study Population Regardless of Previous Employment

1 2 0 - 2 9

Nonsmoker 1 6 ( 4 6 )

Ex-smoker 1 ' 3 ( 9 )

Smoker 1 6 ( 4 6 )

Total 3 5 ( 2 9 )

3 0 - 3 9 4 0 - 4 9 5 0 - 5 9 6 0 + Total

n ( % I n ( % I n ( % I - , 5 ( 8 ) n ( % I

3 ( 1 3 ) 4 ( 1 1 ) 3 ( 1 3 ) 0 ( 0) 2 6 ( 2 1 )

3 ( 1 3 ) 16 ( 4 6 ) 13 ( 5 4 ) 2 ( 6 7 ) 3 7 ( 3 1 )

18 ( 7 5 ) 1 5 ( 4 3 ) 8 ( 3 3 ) 1 ( 3 3 ) 5 8 ( 4 8 )

2 4 ( 2 0 ) 3 5 ( 2 9 ) 2 4 ( 2 0 ) 3 ( 2) 1 2 1

Cells are column percentages; marginals are percentages of the total.

5 6

a z 0 c z C 0 -4 u ur l .-lr 1

o u e.

a, x u 1 m u o

X x w U

u) .4 rl

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w 1 o u

U c o 0 .4 m u 1 .r( 0 10 4 o > a m E U 0 % U 0

a,z U 1 m 0

w l a, m a:

m

m m

n o

a a

V I P

4 a m

2

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I - 0 O

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. . YI P) m a, C Y C a, U

e. C 4

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a c U u)

m

m

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57

c 0 .4 U

rl 1 R 0 e,

x a I U U C m a

E x x u o .4 rl

E

U o m

4 2 1 u) 0 rl rl .4

m 3 a, 00) 4 O h n re. m t. w w

0 0

a

a n n w

e m .rl a, u r l .rl a m u

E O o a CJ

a, U 1 m 0 X w I m m a:

o m

o m n m

n

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X w a

m c E O 0 .rl 4Ju P m E d x 7 0

w r 4 0

x - -a @ 7 - u

m m o x c + l w .rl r l v m .r( s n

W 7 4

> a.

m

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U 0 I1 h

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m u

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& w m Y N 0 E I1 m I C x w

u W ~ r n 0 - E m I1 C o c z

-

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\ .d m r a E 0 0 u .d 0.c E P

t 0

xm n u

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n w m o a - - m - l - c p 0 . - r n n c r

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a o n m a N l n m r r

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i - r l ~ m m - L n a ~ m . . . m - . . . . u m m 0 @ r = - "

" I - 0 II E.

C

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C

m m 4 U 0 m m Y

0

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a

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m m

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m a a 0

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c

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mx E 0 0 u s n z E x c . r o o

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m m N N I

O I I N

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a, Ll a

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C .*

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10 .d

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al c:4J 4Jc

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E a l w m r z m

7 x o

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n -rl

.rl k m m u a l .rl d s a R U U r n m a l o a .rl a c m o a .rl

U a m C d m i

P 0 0 E a 0 u x R 5 E l X U r n r n

w x 0 0

.-I -a dp .rl

U 0 0 V E a d r l m m u $ 0 ale U &

d m

- n

c I 0

O m N N O

al 3 - m m

P : o r w m o 0 0

r - . ; p e r o m r n r - - r n N ~ m - -

m o r n r o 0- 0

m o ~ a r n m - -

r m r - r o 0 0

r ~ r n - . - N 7

‘I .rl m x

E 4 J c m n m a l o l d E o c a u a x

n a 3 J 4 7

u 3 U

n al C U

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U

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T a b l e 19

P r e v a l e n c e ( 5 ) o f Symptoms and R a d i o g r a p h i c F i n d i n g s Among T a l c Workers I n c l u d e d i n M o r b i d i t y S t u d y W i t h N o P r e y i o u s O c c u p a t i o n a l E x p o s u r e t o T a l c

Compared t o C o a l and P o t a s h w o r k e r s A d j u s t e d f o r Age, H e i g h t and Smoking Habit

Symptoms /Rad iograph ic F i n d i n g s

Cough

Phlegm

Hemoptys is

Dyspnea

P l e u r a l T h i c k e n i n g

P l e u r a l C a l c i f i c a t i o n * *

(Grade 1 and 2 )

I r r e g u l a r O p a c i t i e s

R e g u l a r O p a c i t i e s

(Grade - > 1 )

(Grade - > 1 )

Y e a r s Worked

< 1 5 y e a r s > 15 y e a r s

< 1 5 y e a r s > 1 5 y e a r s

< 1 5 y e a r s > 1 5 y e a r s

< 15 y e a r s > 1 5 y e a r s

< 15 y e a r s - > 15 y e a r s

< 15 y e a r s * * > 1 5 y e a r s * * < 1 5 y e a r s * * - > 1 5 y e a r s

< 15 y e a r s * * - > 1 5 y e a r s

-

-

-

-

-

T a l c

3 1 i 3

-

34 ;f 3 4 . 4 2 4 . 1

1 0 . 9 0 . 0

1 2 . 5 1 7 . 2

1 . 6 3 1 . 0

0.0 3 . 4

0.0 3 . 4

0.0 3 . 4

C o a l

2 0 . 9 3 6 . 7

2 6 . 0 . 4 4 . 6

6 . 4 9 . 4

1 3 . 3 3 7 . 9

0 . 3 1 . 6 '

0.0 0 . 1

0 . 5 5 . 3

1 . o 1 3 . 7

- P o t a s h

2 3 . 2 2 5 . 6

2 7 . 2 2 3 . 7

6 . 4 6 . 7

5 . 3 1 1 . 3

0 . 5 4 . 4 .

0.0 0 . 0

0 . 0 0 . 7

0.0 1 . 1

* p = < 0 . 0 5 H y p o t h e s i s b e i n g t e s t e d i s t h a t t h e r e i s no d i f f e r e n c e i n r a t e s be tween t h e c o a l and t a l c p o p u l a t i o n s , o r be tween t h e p o t a s h a n d t a l c p o p u l a t i o n s .

* * E x p e c t e d v a l u e s n o t l a r g e enough f o r c h i s q u a r e t e s t .

6 2

-- I T a b l e 19A

. I

p r e v a l e n c e ( a ) o f Symptoms a n d R a d i o g r a p h i c F i n d i n g s Among A l l ~ a l c w o r k e r s I n c l u d e d i n M o r b i d i t y S t u d y Compared w i t h C o a l a n d P o t a s h

W o r k e r s A d j u s t e d f o r Age, H e i g h t , a n d Smoking H a b i t s

G r a d e 1 a n d 2 )

~~

( G r a d e 21)

* p = < . o s H o : T h e r e i s n o d i f f e r e n c e i n

* * * p = < .005 t a l c p o p u l a t i o n s , o r b e t w e e n p = C.02 r a t e s b e t w e e n t h e c o a l a n d * *

* * * * p = < .0005 t h e p o t a s h a n d t a l c p o p u l a -

+ N = 3 ? for p o t a s h c o m p a r i s o n s .

t i o n s .

++ E x p e c t e d v a l u e s n o t l a r g e e n o u g h for c h i s q u a r e t e s t .

Tab le 20

Dose-Response R e l a t i o n s Among T a l c W o r k e r s O b s e r v e d P u l m o n a r y F u n c t i o n A s Compared t o P u l m o n a r y F u n c t i o n o f C o a l a n d P o t a s h M i n e r s , A d j u s t e d F o r Age, H e i g h t , Smoking H a b i t s a n d Years Worked.

( S t a n d r a r d Error i n P a r e n t h e s i s )

A. Mean P e r c e n t P r e d i c t e d a n d P u l m o n a r v F u n c t i o n of T a l c W o r k e r s Compared t o C o a l a n d P o t a s h W o r k e r s

C o a l - FEV a . n = 9 3 * * * * 94 .0

b . n = 121 * * * * 93 .8

FVC a . n = 9 3 * * * * 9 2 . 4 b. n = 121 * * * * 9 1 . 9

FEV% a . n = 9 3 b . n = 121

Peak Flow c . n = 8 9 d . n = 114

FEF25 C . n = 89 d . n 114

FEF50 C . n = 8 9 d . n = 114

FEF75 c . n = 8 9 d. n ' = 1 1 4

#

1 . 3 ) 1 . 3 )

1 . 2 ) 1 . 1 )

101 .3 ( 0 . 7 ) '101.5 (0 .7 )

* * 1 0 8 . 1 ( 2 . 8 ) ***108 .5 ( 2 . 5 )

* 9 3 . 6 ( 2 . 8 ) 9 4 . 0 ( 2 . 7 )

* * * * 85.9 ( 3 . 1 ) * * * * 8 6 . 8 ( 2 . 9 )

* * * * 7 9 . 5 ( 3 . 1 ) * * * * 7 9 . 9 ( 2 . 9 )

, P o t a s h

****94.5 ( 1 . 4 ) * * * * 9 4 . 1 ( 1 . 3 )

****94.7 (1. .3) ****94 .0 ( 1 . 2 )

9 9 . 8 ( 0 . 7 ) 9 9 . 9 ( 0 . 7 )

9 9 . 4 ( 2 . 6 ) 9 9 . 5 ( 2 . 3 )

* * * * 8 8 . 8 ( 2 . 7 ) * * * * 8 8 . 9 ( 2 . 6 )

****85.3 ( 3 . 2 ) ****85.6 ( 2 . 9 )

****83.7 ( 3 . 3 ) ****83 .6 ( 3 . 0 )

Ho: Mean p r e d i c t e d p u l m o n a r y f u n c t i o n i s n o t d i f f e r e n t f r o m 1 0 0 .

+ P e r c e n t p r e d i c t e d f o r FEV, FVC, P e a k F l o w , FEF50, FEF75 =

o b s e r v e d

p r e d i c t e d 1 0 0 x ; F o r FEV% = 1 0 0 + o b s e r v e d - p r e d i c t e d .

64 .

T a b l e 20 ( c o n t i n u e d ) B b

~ 1 . Change i n p e r c e n t p r e d i c t e d p u l m o n a r y f u n c t i o n p e r 100 f i b e r - y e a r s / c c

* * - 9.4 (3.2) * * * * - 13.7 (3.4) * * * - 10.3 (3.0) * * * * - 14.4 ( 3 . 1 )

FEVl a . n = 93 b. n = 121 c

* * - 9.6 (3.1) * * * - 12.7 (3.3) FVC a. n = 93 * * * * - 11.6 (2.6) * * * * - 14.7 (2.8)

+ 0.2 (1.7) - 0.7 (1.8)

b. n = 121

I FEV% a . n = 93

b. n = 121 + 0.8 ( 1 . 5 ) - 0.05U.6)

82

f

+ 2.7 (7.1) ' $ 2.3 (6.5) d . n= 114 + 0 . 4 (5.7) - 4.0 (5.2)

c . n = 89 t 4.8 (6.9) - 0.3 (6.8) d . n = 114 + 3.0 (6.2) - 1.5 (5.9) FEF25

c . n = 89 - 2.5 (7.7) d . n = 114 - 5.0 (6.7) FEF50

- 7.6 (7.9) - 9.7 (6.6)

FEF-15 c. n = 89 d . n = 114

- 9.7 (7.7) - 13.8 (8.3) * - 15.9 (6.9) -12.0 (6.6)

Change i n p e r c e n t p r e d i c t e d p u l m o n a r y f u n c t i o n p e r 1 0 m g - p a r t i c u l a t e y r s / m g 3

FEVl a . n = 93 - 5.2 (1.9) * * * - 7.5 (2.2) b . n = 121 * - 3.8 (1.8) * * - 6.2 (1.9)

i * * - 6.7 (2.1)

b. n = 121 * * * - 5.5 (1.6) * * * * - 7.1 (1.8) j FEV a. n = 93 * * - 5.3 (1.9) L

FEV% a . n = 93 b. n = 121

P e a k . F l o w c . n = 89

I d. n = 114

c . n = 89 d . n = 114

C . n = 89 d . n = 114

c . n = 89 d . n = 114

FEF25

FEF50

FEF7 5

+ 0.2 (1.0) - 0.6 (1.1) + 1.2 (0.9) t 0.6 f O . 9 )

+ 1.6 (3.3) - 0.2 (3.1) + 1.2 (4.2) + O.OE(4.0)

- 0.03 (4.1) + 2.2 (3.6)

- 1.4 (4.6) + 1.2 (4.0)

- 4.6 (4.6) - 1.8 (3.9)

''

- 2.3 (4.2) - 0.4 (3.6)

- 4.8 (4.9) - 2.7 (4.0)

- 7.9 (5.1) - 5.1 (4.2)

H,: Change i n p u l m o n a r y f u n c t i o n i s n o t d i f f e r e n t from 0 . I-

Table 20 (continued)

p = s o . 0 5

* * p = < 0.005

* * * p = < 0 . 0 0 1

* * * * p = < O . O O O l

- - -

a. For potash comparison, n=91 for FEV, FVC, FEV%

b. For potash comparison, nil19 for FEV, FYC, ,FEV% * :

C . FOK potash Comparison, 11x87 f o r Peak Flow, FEF25, FEFso, FEF75.

d. For potash comparison, n=112 for Peak Flow, FEF25. FEFsO, FEF75.

Comparison of Talc Workers Included in Morbidity Study and Having No previous Talc Exposure With and Without Pleural Thickening (PT)’

D y Age, Exposure, and Smoking Habits. (Standard Error in Parentheses) N=93

N No P T P T

Age N O P T

Smoking No P T (pack years) P T

Years Worked No PT

P T

P T

Particulate Exposure No P T (mg-yrs/m3) P T

Fiber Exposure No PT

% Predicted FEV

(fibers-yrs/cc) P T

Coal No PT P T

Potash No P T P T

% Predicted FVC Coal No P T

P T

Potash No PT P T

40-49 50-59 6 O+

25 10 1 2 7 1

44.4 ( 0.5) 53.1 0.6) 63.0 46.5 ( 0.5) 51.9 ( 8.6) 51.9

27.8 ( 4.7) 39.0 ( 8.6) 99.0 39.0 (23.0) 18.6 ( 5.2) 44.0

13.8 ( 1.4) 16.5 ( 3.1) 28.0 14.5 ( 6.5) 23.7 ( 0.9) 28.0

8.7 ( 1.4) , 11.3 ( 2.6) 25.4 7.9 ( 3.9) ’ 11.2 ( 3.4) 2.0

52.5 ( 7.9) 55.9 (41.0)

97.9 ( 2.6) 80.8 i 3.2)

96.3 ( 2.8) 77.7 ( 5.3)

95.9 ( 2.4) 72.9 ( 7.1)

96.7 ( 2.5) 72.5 8.71

’* Pleural thickening (Grades 1 and 2).

6 7 .

T a b l e 21A

N O PT P T

NO PT PT

C o m p a r i s o n of A l l T a l c W o r k e r s in M o r b i d i t y S t u d y With a n d W i t h o u t P l e u r a l T h i c k e n i n g ( P T ) * By Age

E x p o s u r e a n d Smoking H a b i t s . ( S t a n d a r d E r r o r i n P a r e n t h e s e s ) N-121

40-49 50 -59 60+

1 2

* : 33 14 2 1 0

4 4 . 5 ( 0 . 4 ) 5 3 . 3 ( 0 . 5 ) 6 3 . 0 ( - - - - 1 4 6 . 5 ( 0 . 5 ) 5 2 . 4 ( 0 . 7 ) 6 0 . 5 ( 0 . 5 )

Smoking ( p a c k i n g y e a r s )

Y e a r s Worked

P a r t i c u l a t e E x p o s u r e

F i b e r E x p o s u r e

Z P r e d i c t e d FEV

(mg-yrs/m3)

( f i b e r - y r s / c c )

C o a l

P o t a s h

% P r e d i c t e d FVC C o a l

P o t a s h

No pT 2 6 . 8 ( 4 . 0 ) 3 0 . 4 ( 7 . 2 ) 9 9 . 0 ( - - - - 1 P T 3 9 . 0 ( 2 3 . 0 ) 2 4 . 6 ( 6 . 8 ) 2 7 . 0 ( 1 7 . 0 )

N o PT 1 4 . 0 ( 1 . 3 ) 1 6 . 6 ( 2 . 6 ) 2 8 . 0 (---- 1 PT 1 4 . 5 ( 6 . 5 ) 2 3 . 5 ( 1 . 5 ) 2 8 . 5 ( 0 . 5 )

N o P T 9 . 4 ( 1 . 3 ) 1 1 . 1 ( 2 . 2 ) 2 5 . 4 (---- 1

NO P T 5 5 . 6 ( 8 . 0 ) 5 7 . 8 ( 1 2 . 8 ) 8 8 . 0 ( - - - - ) P T 5 5 . 9 ( 4 1 . 0 ) 9 2 . 4 ( 1 8 . 9 ) 2 6 . 4 ( 2 0 . 4 )

P T 7 . 9 ( 3 . 9 ) 1 3 . 5 ( 2 . 7 ) 1 4 . 3 ( 1 2 . 4 )

N o P T 9 5 . 5 ( 3 . 1 ? 9 1 . 9 ( 3.8) 8 4 . 0 (---- ) PT 8 0 . 8 ( 3 . 2 ) 7 7 . 8 ( 5 . 8 ) 1 0 2 . 9 ( 1 5 . 6 )

NO PT 9 4 . 2 ( 3 . 3 ) 9 0 . 0 ( 3 . 9 ) -- P T 7 7 . 7 ( 5 . 3 ) 7 5 . 4 ( 6 . 0 ) 9 8 . 2 ( 1 1 . 5 )

NO PT 9 4 . 5 ( 2 . 6 ) 8 7 . 4 ( 3 . 4 ) 7 9 . 6 ( - - - - ) P T 7 2 . 9 ( 7 . 1 ) 7 7 . 6 ( 4 . 7 ) 8 9 . 0 ( 6 . 2 )

No PT 9 5 . 6 ( 2 . 8 ) 8 8 . 3 ( 3 . 6 ) -- P T 7 2 . 5 ( 8 . 7 ) 7 7 . 0 ( 4 . 8 ) 8 8 . 0 ( 4 . 8 )

P l e u r a l T h i c k e n i n g ( G r a d e s 1 a n d 2 )

6 8

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69 .

Table 2 3

Age (Average) Symptom Prevalence ( 9 5 %

Cough Phlegm Hemoptysis Dyspnea ( > Grade 2 )

Pleural Calcification Irregular Opacities

Symptom Prevalence, Radiographic Findings and Pulmonary Function By Pleural Thickening (PT) and Years Employment

PT E O PT = 0 PT = I ' PT = 2 > 1 5 Years > 1 5 Years

Employment Employment Employment EGp loymen t < 1 5 Years > I 5 Years

n = 8 1 n = 26" n = 8 n = 6 3 2 . 9 ( 1 . 1 ) 4 8 . 9 ( 1 . 0 ) 5 0 . 9 ( 1 . 1 ) 5 5 . 2 ( 2 . 0 )

Confidence Levels in Parentheses) ' 3 2 . 1 ( 2 2 - 4 4 ) 3 4 . 6 ( 1 8 - 5 5 ) 1 2 . 5 ( 0-50) 8 3 . 3 ( 4 0 - 1 0 0 )

3 7 . 0 ( 2 6 - 4 9 ) 2 3 . 1 ( 9 - 4 3 ) 1 2 . 5 ( 0-50) 6 6 . 7 ( 2 5 - 9 5 )

9 . 9 ( 4 . 5 - 1 9 ) 0 ( 0 - 1 3 ) 1 2 . 5 ( 0-50) 3 3 . 3 ( 4 - 7 5 )

1 3 . 6 ( 7 - 2 4 ) 1 9 . 2 ( 7 - 3 9 ) 25 .0 ( 3 - 6 5 ) 3 3 . 3 ( 4 - 7 5 )

0 ( 0- 5 ) 0 ( 0 - 1 3 ) 2 5 . 0 ( 3 - 6 5 ) 0 ( 0 - 4 5 )

0 ( 0- 5) 3 . 9 ( 0 - 2 0 ) 25 .0 ( 3-65) 1 6 . 7 ( 0 - 6 0 )

Parentheses)

9 5 . 0 ( 3 . 4 ) 9 1 . 5 ( 3 . 5 )

9 1 . 4 ( 3 . 1 ) 9 0 . 4 ( 3 . 1 )

7 5 . 3 ( 1 . 3 )

1 1 3 . 4 ( 5 . 5 ) 9 9 . 7 ( 4 . 5 )

9 8 . 4 ( 6 . 1 ) 8 9 . 9 ( 5 . 9 1

9 1 . 1 (7.2) 8 6 . 2 ( 7 . 0 )

8 0 . 3 ( 7 . 0 ) 8 2 . 2 (7.5)

Pulmonary Function (St

FEV 1 Coal

FVC Coal ( % Pred) Potash

( % Pred) Potash

FEV%

8 3 . 8 ( 3 . 2 ) 8 0 . 9 ( 3 . 5 )

8 0 . 1 ( 3 . 6 ) 7 9 . 5 ( 3 . 7 )

7 6 . 0 ( 1 . 7 )

113 .2 ( 1 0 . 7 ) 9 9 . 8 ( 9 . 9 )

1 0 2 . 6 ( 1 0 . 1 ) 9 2 . 9 ( 9 . 6 )

8 2 . 9 ( 1 0 . 0 ) 7 9 . 1 ( 1 0 . 7 )

6 5 . 3 ( 6 . 3 ) 6 5 . 4 ( 5.1)

Peak Flow Coal ( 9 Pred) Potash

Coal Potash

FEF25 ( % Pred) FEF50 Coal ( % Pred) Potash

Coal Potash

FEF75 ( 0 Pred)

idard EfKOr j

9 5 . 5 ( 1 . 3 ) 9 7 . 5 (1.5)

9 4 . 4 ( 1 . 2 ) 9 7 . 9 ( 1 . 3 )

7 8 . 1 ( 0 . 9 )

n = 7 4 -.

1 0 6 . 1 ( 2 . 8 ) 9 9 . 5 ( 2 . 7 )

9 1 . 6 ( 3 . 0 ) 8 8 . 6 ( 2 . 9 )

8 6 . 6 ( 3 . 1 ) 8 7 . 3 ( 3 . 3 )

8 2 . 6 ( 3 . 2 ) 8 7 . 4 ( 3 . 5 )

7 9 . 1 (11.5) 7 6 . 5 ( 1 1 . 1 )

7 6 . 4 ( 7 . 4 ) 7 5 . 8 ( 7 . 7 )

7 0 . 2 [ 4 . 1 )

1 1 0 . 6 ( 1 7 . 2 ) 9 7 . 2 ( 1 6 . 3 )

9 3 . 4 ( 2 1 . 1 ) 8 3 . 5 ( 1 9 . 3 )

7 6 . 0 ( 2 4 . 5 ) 7 0 . 9 ( 2 0 . 0 )

65.5 ( 2 2 . 3 ) 6 6 . 7 ( 1 9 . 9 )

One individual has less than 15 years employment; all others with PT 2 1 have more than 15 Years employment.

* * n=24 for the potash comparisons.

70.

Table 2 4

Symptom Prevalence ( % ) of Talc Workers Compared to Asbestos1 and Synthetic Textile Workers2

By Age and Smoking Habits

3 6 - 6 9

Talc Workers 2 0 - 3 9 4 0 - 6 5

Anthophyllite Asbestos Workers-heavily exposed greater than 1 0 years3

Nonsmoker

Winter Cough ( 3 mos/yr)

3 5

0 0

1 6 . 8

Asbestos Workers 2 1 - 3 1 9

Grade 2 or More Ages -

Asbestos Workers 2 1 - 2 5 0 3 6 - 3 9

Synthetic Textile 1 5 - 3 9 Workers 4 0 - 7 0

Talc workers 2 0 - 3 9 4 0 - 6 5

Anthophyllite Asbestos3 (dyspnea at .rest)

2 2

6 4

6 0

1 9 . 8

Ex-smoker

2 7 2 1

3 3 2 1

2 1 3 0

0 5

1 7 1 1

0 2 3

5 7

1 7 1 4 --

Saokers

4 9 6.5

4 8 6 0

' :

< 1 5 = 3 2 . 0 > 1 5 = 3 5 . 6

4 3 5 1

1 2 2 2

4 5 6 0

1 3 2 3

6 9

1 4 < 1 5 = 2 3 . 0 2 0

> 1 5 = 1 3 . 3

Total

4 2 5 6

2 4 . 4 3 8 . 3

2 6 . 6

3 8 4 7

10 1 7

2 4 3 7

9 2 3

6 7

9 1 7 1 9 . 9

( 1 ) From J.C. ~cDonald et. al.: Respiratory Symptoms in Chrysotile Asbestos Mine and Mill Workers of Quebec. Arch Env. Health, 2 4 : 3 5 8 , ( 1 9 7 2 ) .

J. A. Merchant: ~pidemiological 'Studies of Respiratory Disease Among Cotton Textile Workers, 1 9 7 0 - 7 3 . (Rates are calculated from white men working in synthetic w o o l mills in North Carolina, 1 9 7 0 - 7 1 . )

L.O. Meurman, R. Kivilvoto, and M. Hakama: Mortality and Mor- bidity Among the Working Population of Anthophyllite Asbestos Miners in Finland, Brit. J. Ind. Med., 3 1 : 1 0 5 , 1 9 7 4 .

7 1

Table 25

Prevalence of Radiographic Findings in Talc Workers Compared to Asbestos Workers1 Over 3 5 Years of Age and After Age Adjustment

__ ~

Talc Workers with no previous occupational exposure

(n=52)

Asbestos Workers'

Talc Workers regardless of previous employment

(n=70)

Asbestos Workers'

Prevalence ( % ) of Raaiographic . Findings

Pleural Thickening

2 5 . 0

pc.01

4 . 8

2 8 . 6

p<.o1

4 . 9

Pleural Calcification

3 . 8

N.S.

2 . 9

7 . 1

N.S.

3 . 0

Irregular Opacities

1 . 9

N.S.

5.6

5 . 7

N.S.

5 . 8

( 1 ) Data from C.E. Rossiter et.al., ( 1 9 7 2 ) . Radiographic Changes in Chrysotile Asbestos Mine and Mill Workers of Quebec, Arch. Env. Health 24:388 (ref. 76).

This study of asbestos workers used the 1 9 6 8 ILO/UICC classifi- cation f o r pneumoconiosis. There are no differences in the 1 9 6 8 and 1 9 7 6 classification f o r irregular opacities, pleural thickening and pleural calcification.

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T a b i e 2 7

V i t a l S t a t u s of T a l c W o r k e r s I n c l u d e d i n M o r t a l i t y S t u d y Who Began Employment B e t w e e n 1947-1960

Known to be a l i v e , 3 0 8

Unknown v i t a l s t a t u s - T o t a l 398

Known t o b e d e c e a s e d $4

16

T a b l e 2 8

S t u d y C o h o r t o f T a l c W o r k e r s I n c l u d e d i n M o r t a l i t y S t u d y A c c o r d i n g t o L e n g t h of Employment

D u r a t i o n of Employment Number

< 1 month 7 4

1 month - 6 m o n t h s

6 m o n t h s - 12 m o n t h s

1 y e a r - 10 y e a r s

> 10 y e a r s '

T o t a l

97

31

90

106

3 9 8

75

I

Study

Table 2 9

Cohort of Talc Workers Included According t o Date of Initial

in Mortality Employmeat;

Study

Date of Initial Employment Number

1 9 4 7 - 1 9 4 9 1 7 4

1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 4 1 5 6

1 9 5 5 - 1 9 5 9 6 8

Total 3 9 8 -

7 6

Tab le 3 0 ’ ;

Observed a n d Expec ted D e a t h s A c c o r d i n g t o Major C a u s e s Among T a l c M i n e r s and M i l l e r s I n c l u d e d i n M o r t a l i t y S t u d y

I C a u s e o f D e a t h

R e s p i r a t o r y T . B .

M a l i g n a n t Neoplasms

D i s e a s e s o f t h e H e a r t

A l l N o n - m a l i g n a n t R e s p i r a t o r y D i s e a s e

A c c i d e n t s

O t h e r Known C a u s e s

T o t a l

p < 0 . 0 5

Number

0 0 1 - 0 0 8

1 4 0 - 2 0 5

4 0 0 - 4 4 3

4 7 0 - 5 2 7

E 8 0 0 - E 9 9 9

---------

Observed

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1 9 . 0

2 7 . 0

8 . 0

1 0 . 0

7 . 0

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E x p e c t e d

0 . 4 9

1 0 . 6

2 6 . 5

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Employment ( L a t e n c y )

I n t e r v a l S i n c e b s e t of Employment

( y e a r s ) O b s e r v e d

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10 -19 3

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T o t a l I -

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c X-rav Suec t rurn D i f f r a c t i o n P a t t e r n

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REFERENCES

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K l e i n f e l d , M.J., Messite, J., Shapiro, J., Kooyman, 0. and Swencickl, R., 1964. Lung Funct ion i n Talc Workers: A Comparat Ive Phys io log ic Study o f Workers Exposed t o F ib rous and Granular Ta lc Ws ts . Arch. Environ. Heal th 9:559566.

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Lynch, J.R., Ayer. H.E. and Johnson, D.L., 1970. The I n t e r - r e l a t i o n s h i p s of Selected Asbestos Exposure Ind i ces , h e r . Ind. Hyg. Assoc. J. 31: Sept.-Oct.

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New York Department o f Labor and Indus t r y , D i v i s i o n o f Ind. Hyg., 1972. Report o f F i e l d I n v e s t i g a t i o n , Gouverneur Talc Co., Balmat Mine, Ju l y 11.

New York Department o f Labor and Indus t r y , D i v i s i o n o f Ind. Hyg., 1973. Report o f F i e l d I n v e s t i g a t i o n , Gouverneur Talc Co., Balmat Mine, June 20.

New York Department o f Labor and Indus t r y , D i v i s i o n og Iad. Hyg., 1973. Report o f F i e l d I n v e s t i g a t i o n , Gouverneur Talc Co., Balmat M i l l , November 20.

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New York Department o f Labor and Indus t r y , D i v i s i o n o f Ind. Hyg., 1974. Report o f F i e l d I n v e s t i g a t i o n , Gouverneur Ta lc Co., Balmat M i l l , July 18.

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* :

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A Study o f the M o r t a l i t y o f Workers i n Work Env.

An A r t i f a c t i n the S t a t i s t i c a l

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Ross i ter , C.E. e t al., 1972. Radiographic Changes i n C h r y s o t i l e Asbestos Mine and M i l l Workers o f Quebec, Arch. Env. Hea l th 24:388.

Wei l l , H., Z iskind, M.M:, Wagenspack, 0. and Rossi ter , C.E., 1975. Lung Funct ion Consequences o f h s t Exposure i n Asbestos Cement Manufacturing Plants , Arch. Env. Hea l th 30:88.

Radiographic and Phys io log ic

Radon h a g h t e r Exposure and

95.

T a b l e A - 1

Summary of F i b e r E x p o s u r e s i n Mine ; O p e r a t i o n s a s Determined by O p t i c a l Microsdo$y

Median of I n d i v i d u a l

Samples

9.3

5 . 1

4 . 6

8 . 4

3.1

1.9

O p e r a t i o n or Job

Crusher O p e r a t o r ( 4 )

T r a m m e r ( 2 5 )

D r i l l e r ( 5 )

cageman ( 5 )

B l a c k s m i t h (3)

Mechanic ( 1 2 )

T i m e - Weighted

Average

9.8

5 . 6

3.0

9.5

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1 . 1

F:

Range o f I n d i v i d u a l

S amp1 e s

7 . 7 - 1 4 . 1

2.3 - 1 4 . 6

0.9 - 6 . 8

6 . 0 - 1 8 . 2

1 . 2 - 4 . 4

0 . 2 - 3.9

er >5 pm i n Lc

of I n d i v i d u a l Mean (+ SE)

Samples ~

10.3 + 1.5

6 . 4 + 0.7 3.9 + 1.0

10.3 + 2 . 1

3 . 1 + 1 . 0

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- - - - - -

( ) Number of s a m p l e s

SE S t a n d a r d error

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~ m ~ ~ m d m w w r l m m o m m m r l w P m P w l o . w m rl e e N m o P rl e rl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

P O m ~ r l ~ P N k 7 O N ~ P d r l ~ P P . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r l N O r l N O O o O d O o O r l e o 0 0

+ I +I + I + I + I + I + I + I + I +I + I + I +I + I + I + I + I + I m m m r - m m m m m m m m r n m m m w m m m m m m w ~ r l e n r l r l m d ~ d ~ r l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

~ ~ w m r l ~ m m n ~ ~ w o w m ~ m r l w m d w r n d m r l m m ~ ~ e m m ~ e m

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TABLE A - 6

Summary o f R e s p i r a b l e D u s t Exposure i n M i l l O p e r a t i o n s

O p e r a t i o n or J o b

M i l l Foreman ( 2 )

G e n e r a l L a b o r e r ( 1

C r u s h e r o p e r a t o r ( 2 )

Hardinge O p e r a t o r ( 2 )

Wheeler ope r a t o r ( 2

P a c k e r ( 2 )

P a c k e r Serv iceman ( 2 )

Packhouse Foreman ( 2 )

F o r k L i f t O p e r a t o r ( 3 )

Car L i n e r ( 1 )

Bulk C a r Loade r ( 1 )

M i l l w r i g h t ( 2 )

I n s t r u m e n t Repairman ( 2 )

M a c h i n i s t ( 1 )

M i l l w r i g h t H e l p e r (1 )

S h e e t Metal Worker ( 1 )

O i l e r ( 1 )

Welder ( 1 )

Median of I n d i v i d u a l Samples :

Respi : Range of

I n d i v i d u a l Samples

0.52 - 0 .64

1.14 - 1.14

0.60 - 1.13

0.65 - 1.56

0.45 - 2.73

0 .39 - 0.95

0 .40 - 0 .44

0 . 2 2 - 0 .28

0 .23 - 0.44

0 . 3 1 - 0 . 3 1

0.25 - 0.25

0.16 - 4 . 6 4

0 .58 - 0 .59

0 .40 - 0.40

2.95 - 2.95

0 .50 - 0 .50

0 .72 - 0.72

0.75 - 0.75

b l e D u s t Conc Mean (+ SEI

of I n d i v i d u a l S amp1 e s

0 .58 +_ 0 . 0 6

1.14 5 ---- 0 . 8 7 +_ 0 .27

1 .11 - + 0 . 4 6

1.59 +_ Y.14

0 .59 + 0 .07

0 . 4 2 5 0.02

0.25 5 0.03

0.35 5 0.06

0 .31 5 --- 0.25 +_ --- 2 . 4 1 + 2 .24

0 .59 + 0.01

0 .40 5 --- 2.95 5 --- 0.50 5 --- 0.72 5 ---

-

-

-

0.75 5 ---

0 .58

1.14

0 .87

1 .11

1.59

0 .50

0 .42

0 .25

0 . 3 7

0 . 3 1

0 .25

2 .40

0 .59

0 . 4 0

2 .95

0 . 5 0

0 .72

0 .75

T i m e - Weighted

Average

- 0 . 5 8

1.14

0.85

1.09

1 .56

0 . 5 9

0 . 4 2

0.25

0.35

0 . 3 1

0 . 2 5

2 . 3 7

0 . 5 9

0 . 4 0

2 .95

0 . 5 0

0 .72

0.75

( ) Number of s a m p l e s ( a l l f u l l s h i f t s a m p l e s )

SE S t a n d a r d E r r o r

102 *

' ; TABLE A-7

Operation or Job

Trammur ( 3 )

Scrapper Man ( 3 )

Laborer ( 2 1

Driller ( 2 )

Repairman's Helper ( 1 )

Mechanic ( 1 )

Summary of Respirable Free Silica Exposures in Mine Operations

Individual 1 of IndiGidual Individual Samples , Samples Samples

0 . 0 1 2 - 0 . 0 2 5 0 . 0 2 0 t - 0 . 0 0 4 0 . 0 2 4

0 . 0 1 2 - 0 . 0 1 2 0 . 0 1 2 t 0 . 0 0 0 0 . 0 1 2

0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 1 2 0 . 0 0 6 t - 0 . 0 0 6 C . 0 0 6

0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 2 4 1 0 . 0 1 4 t 0.007 0 . 0 1 4

O . O G O 0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 0 0 I 0 . 0 0 0 - ----- !

I 0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 0 0 i 0 . 0 0 0 - ----- 0 . 0 0 0

I I

I Respirable Free Si02 Concentrations - mg/m3 Time-

Weighte Averag

0 . 0 2 0

0 . 0 1 2

0 . 0 0 6

0 . 0 1 4

0 . 0 0 0

0 . 0 0 0

"

1 0 3

1 --

Range of I n d i v i d u a l

Samples

0.013 - 0 . 0 1 4

0 . 0 1 4 - 0.014

0 .012 - 0.028

0 .012 - 0.012

0 .012 - 0.012

0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 1 5

0 . 0 0 0 - 0.013

0 . 0 1 3 - 0.016

0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 0 0

0 . 0 0 0 - 0 . 0 0 0

0 .016 - 0 .016

I

Mean (5 SE) of I n d i v i d u a l

Samples

0 . 0 1 4 - 0 . 0 0 0

0 . 0 1 4 - ----- 0.020 + 0.008

0 .012 - ----- 0 .012 - ----- 0 . 0 1 9 + 0 .002

0 . 0 0 7 + 0.006

0 .015 + 0 .001

0 . 0 0 0 - ----- 0 . 0 0 0 - ----- 0 .016 - -----

-

- - -

TABLE A - 8

Summary of R e s p i r a b l e F r e e S i l i c a Exposures i n M i l l O p e r a t i o n s

O p e r a t i o n or J o b

M i l l Foreman ( 2 )

G e n e r a l Labore r ( 1 )

C r u s h e r O p e r a t o r ( 2 )

Hardinge O p e r a t o r ( 1

Wheeler O p e r a t o r ( 1 )

P a c k e r ( 7 )

Packe r Serv iceman ( 2 )

Packhouse Foreman ( 2 )

Pork L i f t O p e r a t o r ( 1 )

C a r L i n e r (1)

Bulk C a r Loader

R e s p i r a b l e F r e e SiOz Concentrat’ /ons - mg/m3 . Median of I n d i v i d u a l

Samples

0 . 0 1 4

0 . 0 1 4

0 .020

0 .012

0.012

0.013

0 . 0 0 7

0 .015

0 . 0 0 0

0 . 0 0 0

0 .016

T i m e - Weighted

A v e r a g e

0 . 0 1 3

0 . 0 1 4

0 .020

0 .012

0 .012

0 .010

0 . 0 0 7

0 .014

0 . 0 0 0

0 . 0 0 0

0 .016

( Number of f u l l s h i f t s a a p l e s c o l l e c t e d

SE S t a n d a r d e r r o r

1 0 4

TABLE A-9

Summary of A i r b o r n e D u s t C o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n Mine O p e r a t i o n s a s D e t e r m i n e d

’ : Median of I n d i v i d u a l

Sample s

1 2 . 4

1 8 . 4

1 1 . 7

1 5 . 8

by M i d g e t I m p i n g e r / O p t i c a l M i c r o s c o p y T e c h n i q u e s

,

. T i m e - Weigh ted

A v e r a g e

1 0 . 1

11.8

1 1 . 7

1 5 . 8

O p e r a t i o n or J o b

2 .0

3.6

T r a m m e r (3 1

S c a p p e r Man ( 5 )

D r i l l e r (1)

Mucker (1)

Cageman (1)

Repa i rman i i e l p e r (1)

M e c h a n i c

2.0

3.6

~ ~~ ~

I m p i n g e r D u s t C o n c e n t r a t i o n s , mppcf

Range of I n d i v i d u a l

S a m p l e s

6.0 - 1 2 . 7

3 . 8 - 2 4 . 5

1 1 . 7 - 1 1 . 7

1 5 . 8 - 1 5 . 8

2 .0 - 2 . 0

3.6 - 3.6

1.5 - 1 . 5

Mean (+ SEI of I n d i v f d u a l

S a m p l e s

10:4 - + 2.2

14 .0 + 4.2

1 1 . 7 - ---- 1 5 . 8 - ----

2 . 0 - ----

-

3.6 - ---- 1 . 5 - ----

( ) Number of i n d i v i d u a l samples

SE S t a n d a r d e r ro r

mppcf M i l l i o n s of p a r t i c l e s p e r c u b i c f o o t of a i r

1 . 5 I 1 . 5

TABLE A- 10

Summary o f A i r b o r n e D u s t C o n c e n t r a t i o n s i n M i l l O p e r a t i o n s D e t e r m i n e d by M i d g e t I m p i n g e r / O p t i c a l M i c r o s c o p y T e c h n i q u e s

O p e r a t i o n or J o b

M i l l Foreman ( 2 )

G e n e r a l L a b o r e r ( 1 )

C r u s h e r O p e r a t o r ( 4 )

H a r d i n g e O p e r a t o r ( 2

Wheeler O p e r a t o r ( 2 )

P a c k e r ( 6

P a c k e r S e r v i c e m a n ( 1 )

F o r k L i f t O p e r a t o r ( 1

I m p i n g e r D u s t C o n c e n t r a t i & s $ mppcf

Range o f I n d i v i d u a l

S a m p l e s

1 . 8 - 3 . 9

0 . 5 - 0 . 5

1 . 2 - 3 . 5

2 . 9 - 3 . 9

2 . 5 - 3 . 6

2 . 0 - 6 . 4

2 . 1 - 2 . 1

1 . 6 - 1 . 6

2 . 9 + 1 . 1

0 . 5 - --- 2 . 6 + 0 . 5

3 . 4 + 0 . 5

3 . 1 + 0 . 5

3 . 6 + 0 . 6

2 . 1 - --- 1 . 6 - ---

-

-

- -

2 . 9

0 . 5

2 . 8

3 . 4

3 . 1

3 . 3

2 . 1

1 . 6

( ) Number o f i n d i v i d u a l s a m p l e s

SE S t a n d a r d e r r o r

mppCf = M i l l i o n s o f p a r t i c l e s p e r c u b i c foot

1 0 6 .

T i m e - Weigh te i

Averaq!

2 . 9

0 . 5

2 . 6

3 . 4

3 . 1

3 . 6

2 . 1

1 . 6