A Monumental Study—Reconstruction of a 1920 Granite Shed

Ayer, Howard E.; Dement, John M.; Busch, Kenneth A.; Ashe, H. B.; Levadie, B; Burgess, William A.; DiBerardinis, Louis J.

doi:10.1080/0002889738506835

Cited by 25 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Estimates for the middle time period, when dust controls were being implemented, are averages of the earlier and later time periods. Impinger counts (mppcf) were converted to gravimetric respirable free silica (mg/m 3 ) using 10 mppcf=0.1 mg/m 3 , based on earlier studies and NIOSH recommendations 12 13. A worker's exposure level for each year of employment was determined by classifying his job into one of the 22 categories and assigning the silica concentration for that category and year as specified in the JEM.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality in Vermont granite workers and its association with silica exposure

et al. 2010

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ObjectivesTo assess mortality in Vermont granite workers and examine relationships between silica exposure and mortality from lung cancer, kidney cancer, non-malignant kidney disease, silicosis and other non-malignant respiratory disease.MethodsWorkers employed between 1947 and 1998 were identified. Exposures were estimated using a job–exposure matrix. Mortality was assessed through 2004 and standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were computed. Associations between mortality and exposure to silica were assessed by nested case–control analyses using conditional logistic regression.Results7052 workers had sufficient data for statistical analysis. SMRs were significantly elevated for lung cancer (SMR 1.37, 95% CI 1.23 to 1.52), silicosis (SMR 59.13, 95% CI 44.55 to 76.97), tuberculosis (SMR 21.74, 95% CI 18.37 to 25.56) and other non-malignant respiratory disease (SMR 1.74, 95% CI 1.50 to 2.02) but not for kidney cancer or non-malignant kidney disease. In nested case–control analyses, significant associations with cumulative exposure to respirable free silica were observed for silicosis (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.21 for each 1 mg/m3-year increase in cumulative exposure) and other non-malignant respiratory disease (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.16) but not for lung cancer (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.03), kidney cancer (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.09) or non-malignant kidney disease (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.08).ConclusionsExposure to crystalline silica in Vermont granite workers was associated with increased mortality from silicosis and other non-malignant respiratory disease, but there was no evidence that increased lung cancer mortality in the cohort was due to exposure. Mortality from malignant and non-malignant kidney disease was not significantly increased or associated with exposure.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality in Vermont granite workers and its association with silica exposure

et al. 2010

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“…The impinger dust measurements in mppcf had to be converted to mass per volume (mg/m 3 ) to compare them to the respirable quartz measurements collected with a cyclone pre-separator. Based on comparisons of side-by-side impinger and respirable dust cyclone measurements reported by other researchers, the impinger dust count measurements in mppcf were converted to respirable dust mass in mg/m 3 by multiplying them by 0.1 [Ayer et al, 1973;Rice et al, 1984;Sheehy and McJilton, 1987]. These converted values were then multiplied by 1000 and by the average percentage of quartz found in the historical dust mass samples to provide an estimate of the respirable quartz concentration in mg/m 3 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical respirable quartz exposures of industrial sand workers: 1946-1996

2000

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Background Besides a clear relationship to silicosis, crystalline silica—quartz—has been associated with lung cancer, nonmalignant renal disease, and auto‐immune disease. To study diseases associated with crystalline silica further, NIOSH conducted a cohort mortality study of workers from 18 silica sand plants, which had quarry, crushing, and bagging operations to produce industrial sand. Twelve of these plants also had grinding mills to produce fine silica powder. The historical crystalline silica exposures of workers at these plants were estimated to facilitate exposure–response analyses in the epidemiologic study. Methods NIOSH obtained personal respirable dust measurement records from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) compliance inspections at all 18 plants and from the archives of seven plants which had collected samples. These samples had been analyzed for quartz content by x‐ray diffraction. Although no personal samples were available before 1974, impinger dust measurements were reported for 19 silica sand plants in 1946; these data were converted and used to estimate exposures prior to 1974. Statistical modeling of the samples was used to estimate quartz exposure concentrations for workers in plant–job–year categories from the 1930s when mortality follow‐up of the cohort began until 1988 when follow‐up stopped. Results Between 1974 and 1996, there were 4,269 respirable dust samples collected at these 18 plants. The geometric mean quartz concentration was 25.9 μg/m3 (GSD = 10.9) with a range from less than 1 to 11,700 μg/m3. Samples below 1 μg/m3 were given a value of 0.5 μg/m3. Over one‐third of the samples ‐37%) exceeded the MSHA permissible exposure limit value for quartz (PEL = 10 mg/m3/(%quartz + 2)) and half (51%) of the samples exceeded the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL=50 μg/m3). The samples were collected from workers performing 143 jobs within the 18 plants, but too few samples were collected from many of the jobs to make accurate estimates. Therefore, samples were combined into 10 categories of jobs performing similar tasks or located within the same plant area. Conclusions The quartz concentrations varied significantly by plant, job, and year. Quartz concentrations decreased over time, with measurements collected in the 1970s significantly greater than those collected later. The modeled exposure estimates improve upon duration of employment as an estimate of cumulative exposure and reduce exposure misclassification due to variation in quartz levels between plants, jobs, and over time. Am. J. Ind. Med. 38:389–398, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical respirable quartz exposures of industrial sand workers: 1946–1996

Sanderson¹,

Steenland²,

Deddens³

2000

Am. J. Ind. Med.

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Background Besides a clear relationship to silicosis, crystalline silicaÐquartzÐhas been associated with lung cancer, nonmalignant renal disease, and auto-immune disease.To study diseases associated with crystalline silica further, NIOSH conducted a cohort mortality study of workers from 18 silica sand plants, which had quarry, crushing, and bagging operations to produce industrial sand. Twelve of these plants also had grinding mills to produce ®ne silica powder. The historical crystalline silica exposures of workers at these plants were estimated to facilitate exposure±response analyses in the epidemiologic study. Methods NIOSH obtained personal respirable dust measurement records from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) compliance inspections at all 18 plants and from the archives of seven plants which had collected samples. These samples had been analyzed for quartz content by x-ray diffraction. Although no personal samples were available before 1974, impinger dust measurements were reported for 19 silica sand plants in 1946; these data were converted and used to estimate exposures prior to 1974. Statistical modeling of the samples was used to estimate quartz exposure concentrations for workers in plant±job±year categories from the 1930s when mortality follow-up of the cohort began until 1988 when follow-up stopped. Results Between 1974 and 1996, there were 4,269 respirable dust samples collected at these 18 plants. The geometric mean quartz concentration was 25.9 mg/m 3 (GSD 10.9) with a range from less than 1 to 11,700 mg/m 3 . Samples below 1 mg/m 3 were given a value of 0.5 mg/m 3 . Over one-third of the samples (37%) exceeded the MSHA permissible exposure limit value for quartz (PEL 10 mg/m 3 /(%quartz 2)) and half (51%) of the samples exceeded the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL 50 mg/m 3 ). The samples were collected from workers performing 143 jobs within the 18 plants, but too few samples were collected from many of the jobs to make accurate estimates. Therefore, samples were combined into 10 categories of jobs performing similar tasks or located within the same plant area. Conclusions The quartz concentrations varied signi®cantly by plant, job, and year. Quartz concentrations decreased over time, with measurements collected in the 1970s signi®cantly greater than those collected later. The modeled exposure estimates improve upon duration of employment as an estimate of cumulative exposure and reduce exposure misclassi®cation due to variation in quartz levels between plants, jobs, and over time.

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A Monumental Study—Reconstruction of a 1920 Granite Shed

Cited by 25 publications

References 2 publications

Mortality in Vermont granite workers and its association with silica exposure

Mortality in Vermont granite workers and its association with silica exposure

Historical respirable quartz exposures of industrial sand workers: 1946-1996

Historical respirable quartz exposures of industrial sand workers: 1946–1996

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