%0 Case Reports
%T Case cluster of pneumoconiosis at a coal slag processing facility.
%A Fagan KM
%A Cropsey EB
%A Armstrong JL
%J Am J Ind Med
%V 58
%N 5
%D May 2015
%M 25851166
%F 3.079
%R 10.1002/ajim.22444
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>During an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of a small coal slag processing plant with 12 current workers, four cases of pneumoconiosis were identified among former workers.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The OSHA investigation consisted of industrial hygiene sampling, a review of medical records, and case interviews.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Some personal sampling measurements exceeded the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for total dust exposures of 15 mg/m(3), and the measured respirable silica exposure of 0.043 mg/m(3), although below OSHA's current PEL for respirable dust containing silica, was above the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' Threshold Limit Value (TLV). Chest x-rays for all four workers identified small opacities consistent with pneumoconiosis.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>This is the first known report of lung disease in workers processing coal slag and raises concerns for workers exposed to coal slag dust.