UIC researchers seek to determine how mining dust contributes to black lung disease

The rates of serious pneumoconiosis of coal miners – also known as black lung disease – among coal miners have increased recently despite the regulation of dust exposure badociated with mining.

Researchers believe that higher rates of more serious lung disease may be due to increased exposure to silica, possibly as a by-product of the search for increasingly shrunken coal seams that require more rock digging. . Silica dust is much more toxic to the lungs, but little is known about its contribution to black lung disease at the molecular level, and researchers do not know how silica dust and coal or other dust could interact to influence the development of the disease.

A new $ 750,000 grant from the Alpha Foundation for Improved Safety and Health in the Mining Industry will support researchers at the University of Illinois Information and Research Center on Industry mining company, who are working to discover how various mineral dusts contribute to lung disease.

The center, which is located at the UIC School of Public Health, manages several research projects in UIC coal mines, including a $ 1.8 million three-year grant from the Alpha Foundation. to improve mine safety and health, which will help determine why lung diseases badociated with mining dust, including progressive mbadive fibrosis and rapid pneumoconiosis, are progressing.

"We know that coal dust and silica dust increase the risk of developing black lung disease, but we know little about the behavior of mixtures and combinations that are worse for lung health," said Dr. Leonard. Go, Assistant Professor of Environment and Health. health sciences at work at the UIC School of Public Health and grant researcher. "We want to be able to create" mine dust risk profiles "for lung diseases, which can be used to inform policies and improve regulations limiting exposure to these dusts."

Go and his colleagues will collect various types of dust badociated with mining in the Appalachian region, including silica, coal and "rock dust" -; a substance applied to the walls of coal mines to reduce the risk of explosion due to fine coal dust.

Researchers will determine the exact composition of all collected dust. They will then expose the mice to various combinations of these dusts to determine if there is a specific mixture that particularly damages the lungs. They will collect data on changes in gene expression in the lung tissue of mice after exposure to dust to determine if there are changes in biomarkers indicating the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

Researchers will also examine public mine and health data available on respirable dust at various coal mines in the United States, as well as employment data, to determine if there are any profiles available. specificities of coal dust that appear to be related to higher rates of lung disease among US workers. these mines.

From what we know of the recent outbreak of black lung disease, we believe that there could have been a significant change in the exposure of respirable dust, which could result in an increase number of cases. The more we know about the risk profiles of these dusts, both individually and in combination, the more the industry will be able to focus its monitoring and protection efforts. "

Dr. Leonard Go, Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, UIC School of Public Health