Respiratory disability in coal miners
It has been suggested that the assessment of ventilatory capacity alone is inadequate for the determination of disabling occupational respiratory impairment in coal miners. The Department of Labor has accepted this view and now routinely requests blood gas analyses in those claimants not meeting the ventilatory criteria. We tested the validity of this contention by selecting two groups of coal miners claiming total disability. The first consisted of 150 claimants who were referred for spirometry, while the second consisted of 50 claimants who had been referred for blood gas studies. Of those in group 1, eight met the extant criteria for disability, while only two of those in group 2 satisfied the criteria, and, in both, cardiac disease was responsible. We conclude that blood gas analyses are unnecessary in the determination of pulmonary disability in coal miners.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of West Virginia Medical Center, Morgantown
- OSTI ID:
- 5203331
- Journal Information:
- J. Am. Med. Assoc.; (United States), Vol. 243:23
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
COAL MINERS
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISEASES
DIAGNOSIS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
EVALUATION
GASES
MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE
PERSONNEL MONITORING
BODY FLUIDS
DISEASES
FLUIDS
MATERIALS
MINERS
MONITORING
PERSONNEL
RADIATION MONITORING
016000* - Coal
Lignite
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560306 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Man- (-1987)
550600 - Medicine