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PubMed1978

Occupational health hazards of mine workers.

Mining has always been among the most hazardous of occupations, and with the increasing demand for coal and minerals safety in mines assumes even greater importance. This article describes the present situation with regard to conditions in mines, the diseases and disabilities resulting from them, and measures that can be taken to prevent or treat them. The hazards covered are: accidents, dust (including poisoning by certain ores), high temperature and humidity, noise and vibration, toxic gases, and miscellaneous other hazards.

Dust↗
PubMed1987

Lung cancer mortality (1950-80) in relation to radon daughter exposure in a cohort of workers at the Eldorado Port Radium uranium mine: possible modification of risk by exposure rate.

A cohort study of 2,103 workers employed between 1942 and 1960 at a uranium mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada, was conducted. A total of 57 lung cancer deaths was observed (expected = 24.73, P less than .0001). There was a highly significant linear relationship between exposure and increased risk of lung cancer, giving estimates for the relative and attributable risk coefficients of 0.27 per working level month (WLM) and 3.10 per WLM per 10(6) person-years. These risk coefficients were substantially less than those estimated from the experience of miners in the Beaverlodge mine, which have previously been reported. Any biases in the present estimates are likely to have been upward, and therefore they probably represent an upper limit. The major difference between the two mine cohorts is in the exposure rate, since the Port Radium miners were exposed to much greater concentrations of radon daughters than the Beaverlodge miners. It is postulated that risk of lung cancer from radon daughter exposure may be modified by exposure rate, for which hypothesis there is some support from other epidemiologic data.

Humans↗
PubMed1987

[Evaluation of the effectiveness of medical prevention of pneumoconiosis based on studies of its incidence in selected coal mines].

In a group of 3,938 persons--pit miners of 3 coal mines--employed over 8 years, full-size X-ray pictures of the chest have been taken and through a special questionnaire information has been collected on the length of employment, workstation, risk of dustiness, exposure to fibrogenic dusts outside the mine. Basing on the studies, the mean annual incidence of pneumoconiosis in particular mines has been calculated. The data has been compared with the mean annual incidence rate of pneumoconiosis calculated for 10 years prior to epidemiological studies and based on the primary selection by means of small-size pictures. This comparison indicated that the full-size pictures revealed 3-7 times more pneumoconioses as compared to the hitherto applied system. The comparison of full-size and small-size X-ray pictures demonstrated that the lesions visible in full-size pictures have not been registered in small-size pictures in as many as half of the cases. The obtained results indicate that the effectiveness of the hitherto applied system of medical prevention of pneumoconiosis is insufficient. A change in this system is indispensable; miniature roentgenography should be replaced by full-size X-ray pictures.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

[Medico-legal studies on the deaths from coal-mine accidents. 3. Causes of death (author's transl)].

Thirty-four deceased who were killed from twenty cases of coal-mine accidents during fourteen years from 1965 to 1978 were autopsied in our laboratory and their causes of death have been discussed. In the explosion of methane gas and coal dust chemical energy stored in coal or methane is converted to mechanical energy and thermal energy which act upon the human bodies to bring about seven sorts of causes of death. Deaths are caused more frequently by thermal energy directly or indirectly than by mechanical energy. It is a characteristic found in the explosions of coal mines which are large and closed underground spaces consisting of inflammable material. In gas spurt major cause of death is asphyxia from the lack of oxygen resulting from the substitution of air by methane gas and the effects of mechanical energy developed by gas spurt is slight in degree. In the coal-mine accidents the causes of death are so much concurred that is is difficult to certify the cause of death. A new concept of a cause of death has been proposed to solve such a problem.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1995

[Indications for an increase in lung disease caused by Mycobacterium kansasii in the former Limburg mining area?].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the occurrence of lung disease caused by Mycobacterium kansasii in order to determine whether the incidence has increased since 1991. DESIGN: Descriptive and retrospective. SETTING: The former coal-mining region (Limburg) of the Netherlands. METHOD: The occurrence of lung disease caused by M. kansasii and other non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in the Netherlands and in the former coal-mining region in particular, was inferred from reports of tuberculosis of the national and local Public Health Authorities and of the Regional Public Health Laboratory. RESULTS: Between 1991 and 1993 in the former coal-mining region of the Netherlands 43 cases of tuberculosis were reported, of which 12 afterwards proved to be caused by M. kansasii, i.e. more than were diagnosed in the ten preceding years. An epidemiological relationship between these patients could be neither established nor disproved. CONCLUSION: The incidence of NTM diseases may be increasing with falling prevalence rates of tuberculosis infection. As lung disease caused by M. kansasii is not transmissible from man to man and its treatment is different from that of lung tuberculosis, it is essential to be able to differentiate between these diagnoses quickly by using rapid modern microbiological identification methods, and to determine the epidemiological links.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Recent developments in coal mining technology and their impact on miners' health.

Advances in technology have significantly reduced the long-term health risks associated with underground coal mining. While the potential risks include exposure to hazardous substances and noise, the reduction of respirable dust in the workplace has been emphasized here because of the greater probability of exposure and the well-documented consequences. Since enactment of the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, great strides have been made in reducing worker exposure to respirable dust. As production rates continue to increase, particularly in longwall sections, continued advances in dust control technology will be required. These advances will be needed to meet existing, and perhaps even more stringent future, exposure limits. Mechanization has resulted in a significant reduction in exposure to hazards while increasing productivity. Use of remotely controlled equipment is also increasing rapidly, and efforts are underway to develop completely automated mining systems. These automated systems may further reduce the risk of health impairment due to the underground working environment.

Automation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Injuries in the mining industry.

This chapter reviews the history, statistics, and epidemiology of mining injuries in the United States. Although injuries in mining have been drastically reduced since the start of this century, their rates have not changed substantially in the past decade, and mining injury rates remain among the highest of all US industries. The injuries are often severe, as indicated by both high fatality rates and the high average number of days lost from work for nonfatal injury. Cumulative trauma disorders and acute traumatic injuries are common.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Problems in monitoring dust levels within mines.

The collection of dust samples in mines is a multifaceted problem. Initially, one must define the situation being sampled and the purpose of the sampling in order to establish an appropriate sampling plan, including specification of the type of mining process (surface vs. underground, metal vs. nonmetal vs. coal) as well as the mining system employed (equipment). The next step is to decide the nature of the hazard being monitored (i.e., dust depositing in alveolar air spaces entails use of respirable dust sampling, upper airways entails thoracic-fraction sampler, and systemic effects call for an inhalable-fraction sampler) in order to select the appropriate sampler. Deciding on a particular sampling strategy is a complex issue involving federal regulations as well as compliance.

Coal Mining↗
PubMed1998

Blood mercury and auditory neuro-sensory responses in children and adults in the Nambija gold mining area of Ecuador.

This study investigated blood mercury (B-Hg) levels and the auditory neuro-sensory status of children and adults in the remote Andean settlement of Nambija, Ecuador where Hg is used in the extensive gold mining operations. The mean B-Hg level in 75 Nambija (Study Area) inhabitants (36 children and 39 adults) was 17.5 micrograms/L (SD = 11.0) vs 3.0 micrograms/L (SD = 1.6) in a second group of 34 subjects (15 children and 19 adults) in a non-gold mining area (Reference Area), the difference being statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Neuro-otological examinations revealed 34 subjects (45%) with complaints of headaches and/or memory loss, 3 cases of severe neurological impairment and 4 cases of middle ear pathology. Audiological tests on 40 persons in the Study Area (21 children and 19 adults) showed hearing thresholds ranging from normal to mildly abnormal at 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 kHz for children, and normal to severely abnormal for adults. Correlation coefficients showed a significant relationship between B-Hg level and hearing level in children at 3 kHz in the right ear, and at no frequency for adults. Auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABR) on subjects in the Study Area showed a significant correlation between B-Hg and the I-III interpeak latency on the right side. The results indicated that the study population of the Nambija gold mining area had abnormally elevated B-Hg levels, and may be at neurological risk from exposure to methylmercury (MeHg) from the consumption of contaminated food and possibly from elemental Hg vapors inhaled during amalgam burning in the gold extraction process.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Low back pain in mineral sand mine workers. Incidence and management.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence of low back pain suffered by workers in three mineral sand mining companies operating in the south west of Western Australia; to determine what use was made of health care providers by those experiencing low back pain; to derive the perceptions of the value of the treatment for low back pain by health care providers. METHOD: A total of 350 questionnaires were distributed to sand mine workers who were asked to complete the questionnaires which were collected 1 week later. RESULTS: completed questionnaires were returned by 204 workers giving a 58% response rate. Seventy-seven percent of male workers and 60% of female workers could remember suffering low back pain sometime in their lives. Low back pain was experienced by 61% of male sufferers and 57% of female sufferers at least two to three times a month. A total of 16% of men and 12% of women experienced low back pain on a daily basis while 30% of men and 22% of women reported that the type of work they were doing increased their low back pain. Only 19% of all male workers and 6% of all female workers had ever taken time off work due to low back pain with the average time taken off work for an acute episode, being 14 days. Overall, 47% of respondents indicated that the treatment received from general practitioners was ineffective, and only 16% of respondents assessed GPs as being better than average. Chiropractors were rated higher than physiotherapists or general practitioners in providing the most effective treatment for low back pain. Mobilising exercises were considered to be better treatment than analgesics or anti-inflammatory medication. CONCLUSION: Low back pain is a common problem among mineral sand mine workers who preferred the services of the chiropractor or the physiotherapist to the general practitioner. Physical treatment modalities with stretching and mobilising exercises were preferred to pharmacological treatment.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Source contribution of lead in house dust from a lead mining waste superfund site.

The relative contribution to household dust of lead particles from a mining waste superfund site and lead-based paint is investigated. Automated individual particle analysis (IPA) based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray energy spectroscopy (EDX) is used to develop a classification algorithm for determining lead particle source contribution in household dust vacuum bags. On a volume basis the proportion derived from the mining waste is found to be 26%, the proportion derived from a paint source is 16%, and the proportion from soil is 37%. In 15% of the lead particles identified a specific originating source could not be determined. Using a weighting method accounting for the lead concentration per particle rather than volume the contributions were similar for mining waste and paint, 21% and 23%, respectively, but the soil contribution was reduced to 8%, and the source for 29% of the lead could not be identified. These results suggested that the contribution of waste piles to the lead present in household dust is at least as important a source as paint. There is evidence to suggest that a large percentage of lead in the soil also originated from the waste piles and the overall contribution, therefore, of the waste piles may be greater than the contribution from paint.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1998

[Mining and dentistry].

Major Norwegian 19th-century mines had their own company physicians. Some of their reports and the mine sick-lists have been kept. From the Modum Blue Colour Works we have more than 80 such reports or sick-lists (each covering a four-week mining period) from 1823 to 1839. Of a total of 8,798 patients, 67 (0.8%) were diagnosed as suffering from odontalgia. The treatment was extraction or medication. Patients who underwent tooth extraction had fewer subsequent sick-days than those who were only given medication. Other registrated dental or oral disorders included dental abscess, caries, dental cancer with growth on the gums, thrush, dentition, dental fever and scorbutus.

History of Dentistry↗
PubMed2003

Data mining and computationally intensive methods: summary of Group 7 contributions to Genetic Analysis Workshop 13.

The Framingham Heart Study data, as well as a related simulated data set, were generously provided to the participants of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 13 in order that newly developed and emerging statistical methodologies could be tested on that well-characterized data set. The impetus driving the development of novel methods is to elucidate the contributions of genes, environment, and interactions between and among them, as well as to allow comparison between and validation of methods. The seven papers that comprise this group used data-mining methodologies (tree-based methods, neural networks, discriminant analysis, and Bayesian variable selection) in an attempt to identify the underlying genetics of cardiovascular disease and related traits in the presence of environmental and genetic covariates. Data-mining strategies are gaining popularity because they are extremely flexible and may have greater efficiency and potential in identifying the factors involved in complex disorders. While the methods grouped together here constitute a diverse collection, some papers asked similar questions with very different methods, while others used the same underlying methodology to ask very different questions. This paper briefly describes the data-mining methodologies applied to the Genetic Analysis Workshop 13 data sets and the results of those investigations.

Bayes Theorem↗
PubMed2001

In silico mining of EST databases for novel pre-implantation embryo-specific zinc finger protein genes.

Progress in the understanding of early mammalian embryo development has been severely hampered by scarcity of study materials. To circumvent such a constraint, we have developed a strategy that involves a combination of in silico mining of new genes from expressed sequence tags (EST) databases and rapid determination of expression profiles of the dbEST-derived genes using a PCR-based assay and a panel of cDNA libraries derived from different developmental stages and somatic tissues. We demonstrate that in a random sample of 49 independent dbEST-derived zinc finger protein genes mined from a mouse embryonic 2-cell cDNA library, more than three-quarters of these genes are novel. Examination of characteristics of the human orthologues derived from these mouse genes reveals that many of them are associated with human malignancies. Expression studies have further led to the identification of three novel genes that are exclusively expressed in mouse embryos before or up to the 8-cell stage. Two of the genes, designated 2czf45 and 2czf48 (2czf for 2-cell zinc finger), are zinc finger protein genes coding for a RBCC protein with a RFP domain and a protein with three C2H2 fingers, respectively. The third gene, designated 2cpoz56, codes for a protein with a POZ domain that is often associated with zinc finger proteins. These three genes are candidate genes for regulatory or other functions in early embryogenesis. The strategy described in this report should generally be applicable to rapid and large-scale mining of other classes of rare genes involved in other biological and pathological processes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 59:249-255, 2001.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Data mining for signals in spontaneous reporting databases: proceed with caution.

PURPOSE: To provide commentary and points of caution to consider before incorporating data mining as a routine component of any Pharmacovigilance program, and to stimulate further research aimed at better defining the predictive value of these new tools as well as their incremental value as an adjunct to traditional methods of post-marketing surveillance. METHODS/RESULTS: Commentary includes review of current data mining methodologies employed and their limitations, caveats to consider in the use of spontaneous reporting databases and caution against over-confidence in the results of data mining. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should focus on more clearly delineating the limitations of the various quantitative approaches as well as the incremental value that they bring to traditional methods of pharmacovigilance.

Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems↗
PubMed2003

Visual data mining.

Data mining strategies are usually applied to opportunistically collected data and frequently focus on the discovery of structure such as clusters, bumps, trends, periodicities, associations and correlations, quantization and granularity, and other structures for which a visual data analysis is very appropriate and quite likely to yield insight. However, data mining strategies are often applied to massive data sets where visualization may not be very successful because of the limits of both screen resolution, human visual system resolution as well as the limits of available computational resources. In this paper I suggest some strategies for overcoming such limitations and illustrate visual data mining with some examples of successful attacks on high-dimensional and large data sets.

Computational Biology↗
PubMed2005

Concentrations of cadmium, lead, and zinc in fish from mining-influenced waters of northeastern Oklahoma: sampling of blood, carcass, and liver for aquatic biomonitoring.

The Tri-States Mining District (TSMD) of Missouri (MO), Kansas (KS), and Oklahoma (OK), USA, was mined for lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) for more than a century. Mining ceased more than 30 years ago, but wastes remain widely distributed in the region, and there is evidence of surface- and groundwater contamination in the Spring River-Neosho River (SR-NR) system of northeastern OK. In October 2001, we collected a total of 74 fish from six locations in the SR-NR system that included common carp (Cyprinus carpio), channel- and flathead catfish (Ictalurus punctatus and Pylodictis olivaris), largemouth- and spotted bass (Micropterus salmoides and Micropterus punctulatus), and white crappie (Pomoxis annularis). We obtained additional fish from locations in MO that included three reference sites and one site that served as a "positive control" (heavily contaminated by Pb). Blood, carcass (headed, eviscerated, and scaled) and liver (carp only) samples were analyzed for cadmium (Cd), Pb, and Zn. Our objectives were to assess the degree to which fish from the OK portion of the SR-NR system are contaminated by these elements and to evaluate fish blood sampling for biomonitoring. Concentrations of Cd and Pb in carp and catfish from OK sites were elevated and Pb concentrations of some approached those of the highly contaminated site in MO, but concentrations in bass and crappie were relatively low. For Zn, correlations were weak among concentrations in the three tissues and none of the samples appeared to reflect site contamination. Variability was high for Cd in all three tissues of carp; differences between sites were statistically significant (p < 0.05) only for blood even though mean liver concentrations were at least 100-fold greater than those in blood. Blood concentrations of Cd and Pb were positively correlated (r2 = 0.49 to 0.84) with the concentration of the same element in carp and catfish carcasses or in carp livers, and the corresponding multiple regression models were highly significant (p < or = 0.001). Our data indicate that potentially nonlethal blood sampling can be useful for monitoring of selected metals in carp, catfish, and perhaps other fishes.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

RESEARCH: Assessment of Nonpoint Source Pollution from Inactive Mines Using a Watershed-Based Approach

/ A watershed-based approach for screening-level assessment of nonpoint source pollution from inactive and abandoned metal mines was developed and illustrated. The methodology was designed to use limited stream discharge and chemical data from synoptic surveys to derive key information required for targeting impaired waterbodies and critical source areas for detailed investigation and remediation. The approach was formulated based on the required attributes of an assessment methodology, information goals for targeting, attributes of data that are typical of basins with inactive mines, and data analysis methods that were useful for the case study. The methodology is presented as steps in a framework including evaluation of existing data/information and identification of data gaps; definition of assessment information goals for targeting and monitoring design; data collection, management, and analysis; and information reporting and use for targeting. Information generated includes the type and extent of and critical conditions for water-quality impairment, concentrations in and loadings to streams, differences between concentrations in and loadings to streams, and risks of exceeding target concentrations and loadings. Data from the Cement Creek Basin, located in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, USA, were used to help develop and illustrate application of the methodology. The required information was derived for Cement Creek and used for preliminary targeting of locations for detailed investigation and remediation. Application of the approach to Cement Creek was successful in terms of cost-effective generation of information and use for targeting.KEY WORDS: Water quality assessment; Nonpoint source pollution; Inactive mines; Watershed

Journal Article↗