ABSTRACT
E xcept in a few special instances, norm ally covered by legislation, the presence o f dust in the industrial environm ent has no t uncom m only come to be regarded as a norm al occurrence, som eth ing to be considered as a nuisance and cleared up once in a w hile. This v iew , o f course, is no t only e rroneous b u t, i f persisted in, m ay give rise to conditions that encourage the onset o f a w ide variety o f occupational diseases. Indeed, it is n o t norm ally the dust that one can see that gives rise to the p rob lem b u t m ore com m only the dust that one cannot. T he dust that one can see can cause derm atitis and irrita tion , b u t the dust that one cannot see can be inhaled and absorbed in to the b lood stream , o r it can accum ulate in the lung. T he form er can give rise to a num ber o f system ic diseases, from lead po ison ing to m etal fum e fever, w hile the latter gives rise to a group o f lung dust diseases collectively k n o w n as the pneum oconioses. This chapter w ill focus on the latter, a lthough m en tion w ill be m ade o f som e o ther p roblem s. T he m aterial fo r the chapter is derived in part from the sources no ted in the p rev ious chapter. In addition, valuable in fo rm ation is available from the N ational Safety C ouncil D ata Sheet 1 -5 3 2 -R ev .80, D u st, F u m e s , and M ists in Industry (1980), as w ell as from T h resh o ld L im it V alues and Biological E x p o su re Indices (1986-1987) published by the A m erican C onference o f G o v ernm en t Industria l H ygienists.
