ABSTRACT
This chapter is intended as a summary review of the types of particles commonly inhaled in the workplace, the situations in which exposures commonly occur, and the health risks known or thought likely to result from deposition in the respiratory tract. This chapter, although lengthy, falls far short of an exhaustive description of all occupational particle exposures or their effects. The level of detail given varies considerably among classes of particles. Emphasis is given to materials, such as coal dust and diesel soot, for which there are currently widespread exposures and regulatory concern, and radionuclides, volcanic ash, and environmental tobacco smoke, which are seldom mentioned in texts and reviews. Other particles, such as most carcinogenic chemicals, are treated in less detail because the class is so diverse or because the materials are commonly described in other reviews. For example, environmental tobacco smoke is described only briefly as a workplace contaminant, because it is treated at length in other publications.
