Abstract

Silicosis is one of the major occupational lung diseases among stone miners; currently, it is a major concern in India given its 12–30% prevalence. The objective of this study was to determine the exposure profile of respirable dust and crystalline silica concentrations from sandstone, masonry stone, and granite stone mines in India. Personal respirable dust samples were collected from each type of mine and analyzed for dust and respirable crystalline silica concentrations. The mean dust concentrations were found to be 0.47 mg/m³, 1.24 mg/m³, and 3.28 mg/m³ for sandstone, masonry stone, and granite stone mines, respectively. The mean respirable crystalline silica concentrations were 0.12 mg/m³ for sandstone mines and 0.17 mg/m³ for masonry stone and granite stone mines. The concentrations in sandstone mines was below the standard stipulated by the Directorate General of Mine Safety in India (0.15 mg/m³), whereas in the granite and masonry mines the concentrations just exceeded the limit. The Indian standard for respirable crystalline silica is three to six times higher than the standard set elsewhere (i.e., by OSHA, ACGIH^®, and Egyptian Labor Law standards). Considering the large number of silicosis cases among stone miners in India, the present standard appears inadequate. It is recommended that the standard be lowered to match international standards that minimize the risk of silicosis.

摘要

矽肺病是石矿工中主要的职业性肺病之一；目前，由于印度的流行率在12％至30％之间，因此这是一个主要问题。这项研究的目的是确定印度砂岩，砖石和花岗岩石材矿山中可吸入粉尘和晶体二氧化硅浓度的暴露曲线。从每种类型的矿山中收集个人可吸入粉尘样品，并分析其粉尘和可吸入的结晶二氧化硅浓度。平均粉尘浓度被发现是0.47毫克/米³，1.24毫克/米³，和3.28毫克/米³分别为砂岩，砖石石，和花岗岩石矿山，。砂岩矿山的平均可吸入晶体二氧化硅浓度为0.12 mg / m ³，而0.17 mg / m 3³用于砌石和花岗岩石材矿山。砂岩矿山中的浓度低于印度矿山安全总局规定的标准（0.15 mg / m ³），而花岗岩和砖石矿山中的浓度刚刚超过限值。可吸入结晶二氧化硅印度标准比标准设置更高的其他地方三至六倍（即通过OSHA，ACGIH ^®和埃及劳动法标准）。考虑到印度石矿工人中有大量矽肺病病例，目前的标准似乎不足。建议降低标准以匹配国际标准，以最大程度地减少矽肺病的风险。