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KMID : 0381319810200020032
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Korean Journal of Occupational Health
1981 Volume.20 No. 2 p.32 ~ p.41
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Recent Trends of Pneumoconiosis Prevalence in Korean Coal Miners.
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Abstract
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There are 110 collieries and 40 heavy metal mines in which approximately 53,000 workers are employed in Korea. These coal miners produce approximately 18 million tones of coal annually. Pneumoconiosis is one of the most important and well-known occupational disease in this country.
There have been about a dozen of experimental studies on this particular disease in Korea, but this study is the one that covers the larger number of coal mine workers than any other studies in necessaring the prevalence of the pneumoconiosis. Prevalence of pneumoconiosis in coal miners was previously reported 4.9％ excluded and 10.6％ included suspected pneumoconiosis in 1973-1974 (Yun, 1977).
In order to determine the recent prevalence of the pneumoconiosis, 9,154 miners working in major coal mining area in Korea such as Kangwon and Kyongsang Buk Do provinces, were taken chest radiograph and the results were classified by International Classification of radiographs of Pneumoconiosis (ILO-U/C, 1971). Pulmonary tuberculosis with or without pneumoconiosis was also radiographically detected.
The results were as follows;
1. Nine small scale colleries with 99 miners or less were 0.3％, six collieries with 100-499 miners 12.2％, six collieries with 500-999 miners 41.3％ and large scale collieries with more than 1,000 miners were 43.3％ of total examinees for this study.
2. Prevalence of suspected pneumoconiosis and pneumoconiosis with over category 1/0 were 11.3％ and 10.6％ respectively in collieries with less than 499 miners and the prevalence were 7.2％ and 7.8％ respectively in collieries with more than 500 miners.
3. Prevalence of pneumoconiosis including suspected cases was 22.4％ in tunnel drivers, 15.9％ in coal miners and 14.4％ in other underground workers.
4. Prevalence including suspected pneumoconiosis by age was 2.0％ in the age group of 21-30, 13.4％ in 31-40, 40.0％ in 41-50 and 44.1％ in the age group of 50 and more respectively. No single case of pneumoconiosis was found in the age group of 20 or less.
5. Prevalence including suspected pneumoconiosis by years of underground work was 7.1％ in the group of less than 5 years experience, 32.2％ in 6-10 years exprience, 50.5％ in 11-15 years experience, 56.6％ in 16-20 years experience, and 76.3％ in the group of more than 20 years experience respectively.
6. Daily average amount of the inhaled dust was accounted for 2,686.7 mp (million particle) in coal miners group, 1,757.2 mp in tunnel drivers group, and 547.5 mp in transporter group.
7. 5.3％ of all pneumoconiosis cases was complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis, while prevalnce of pulmonary tuberculosis in the healthy miners was only 1.3％.
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