The cytotoxicity of respirable coal dusts

Abstract

The pathogenesis of coal-workers pneumoconiosis has been related to three factors: total lung dust, rank of coal and the effect of quartz (Morgan et al, 1976,Parkes, 1982, Seaton, 1983), but the relative contribution of each constituent of the mineral dust remains incompletely understood as the incidence of disease in many collieries cannot be entirely explained by these factors (Policard et al, 1967; Seaton et al, 1981; Schlipköter et al, 1971; Hilscher and Schlipköter,1972; Walton et al, 1976, Reisner et al, 1976, Heppleston et al, 1988). The risk of pneumoconiosis varies between collieries and these factors are not always providing satisfactory explanations. Nonetheless, it is accepted that the mining of high rank coal is generally associated with an increased risk of pneumoconiosis. This lead to the hypothesis that differences in the physico/chemical properties of coal mine dust could be the determinants of the toxicity of the coal dust. Thus, the concept of specific toxicity of coal mine dusts emerged (Sébastien, 1990).