Browsing by Author "Franko, Angela"

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    Mining Tenure and Job Duties Differ Among Contemporary and Historic Underground Coal Miners With Progressive Massive Fibrosis
    Zell-Baran, Lauren M.; Go, Leonard H. T.; Sarver, Emily A.; Almberg, Kirsten S.; Iwaniuk, Cayla; Green, Francis H. Y.; Abraham, Jerrold L.; Cool, Carlyne; Franko, Angela; Hubbs, Ann F.; Murray, Jill; Orandle, Marlene S.; Sanyal, Soma; Vorajee, Naseema; Cohen, Robert A.; Rose, Cecile S. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2023-04)
    Objective: To characterize differences in mining jobs and tenure between contemporary (born 1930+, working primarily with modern mining technologies) and historic coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Methods: We classified jobs as designated occupations (DOs) and non-DOs based on regulatory sampling requirements. Demographic, occupational characteristics, and histopathological PMF type were compared between groups. Results: Contemporary miners (n = 33) had significantly shorter mean total ( 30.4 years vs 37.1 years, P = 0.0006) and underground (28.8 years vs 35.8 years, P = 0.001) mining tenure compared with historic miners (n = 289). Silica-type PMF was significantly more common among miners in non-DOs (30.1% vs 15.8%, P = 0.03) and contemporary miners (58.1% vs 15.2%, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Primary jobs changed over time with the introduction of modern mining technologies and likely changed exposures for workers. Elevated crystalline silica exposures are likely in non-DOs and require attention.