Underground Mining - Prevalence of Anthraco-silicosis among Hard-coal Mining Employees

It has long been comnlon knowledge that workers in anthracite are prone to develop a disabling disease of the lungs. Some of the earliest scientific contributors dealing with anthracosis were: Pearson1, in his report in 1813, on the coloring matter of the bronchial glands and black spots in the lungs; Stratton2, in 1838, who first termed the condition anthracosis; Greenhow3, who reported to the pathological society in 1865, on the Black Lung of the Collier, and Pick4 in 1870, who reported on the chemical composition of the ash of a collier's lungs. Visconti5, in 1870, is accredited with being the first to use the term "silicosis" to denote the pathological condition of the lungs resulting from the inhalation of silica. Rovida6 confirmed the reports of Pick and Visconti in 1871, in his report on a case of silicosis and chemical examination of the lungs for silica content. The relationship of pulmonary infection, as associated with disabling pneumoconiosis affecting the coal miner, has frequently been discussed. While most reports have emphasized the role of infection, there has been some disagreement regarding the prevalence of tuberculosis among those suffering from anthracosis. The report by Wainwright and Nichols7 in 1905 has frequently been cited to show that the incidence of pulmonary tuberculosis among coal miners was less than that among the general population. It was their opinion that pulmonary tuberculosis was more prevalent among the miners' families than among the miners themselves. Collis and Gil-christ, in 1928 in their study of the Effects of Dust upon Coal Trimmers, concluded that among such workers there was an excess of deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia but not from pulmonary tuberculosis. They