From quartz hazard to quartz risk: the coal mines revisited.
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| Abstract |
Following the classification of quartz as a human carcinogen by the IARC, many standard-setting committees are currently trying to convert this hazard into their national or EU standards. Since human data to set a safe exposure limit for quartz are limited, we hypothesized that lung burden data on quartz in coal miners' lungs after lifetime exposure could be used to set a non-carcinogenic lung burden of quartz, and that this might be valid for other groups occupationally exposed to quartz. A review of data shows that lungs of coal miners with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis (sCWP) typically contain up to 30 g of dust, and in one specific study lung burdens between 0.7 and 1.7 g of quartz were associated with macules only, and no sCWP. Assuming independent actions of coal and quartz and no clearance of quartz, and sCWP as a prerequisite for lung cancer due to quartz exposure in coal mine dust, a simple kinetic approach was applied. A no observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) for quartz of between 0.03 and 0.13 mg/m3 (40 yr exposure) is derived, but it is concluded that more refined physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling is needed for a better estimate, also including interindividual differences in lung clearance. Considering the independent effects of, and the well-known interaction between coal and quartz, these data could be important to other workplaces with usual mixed-dust exposure.
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| Authors | Paul J A Borm, Lang Tran |
| Journal | The Annals of occupational hygiene (Ann Occup Hyg) Vol. 46 Issue 1 Pg. 25-32 (Jan 2002) ISSN: 0003-4878 [Print] England |
| PMID | 12005128 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review) |
| Chemical References |
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