Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust

This document examines the occupational health risks associated with exposures to respirable coal mine dust over a working lifetime. Such exposures are associated with the development of occupational respiratory diseases, including simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), progressive massive fibrosis (PMF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated that miners have an elevated risk of developing simple CWP, PMF, or deficits in lung function when they are exposed to respirable crystalline silica are also at risk of developing silicosis or moxed-dust pneumoconiosis.

Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust [PDF - 13,791 KB]