PREVALENCE OF RADIOGRAPHIC APPEARANCE OF PNEUMOCONIOSIS IN AN UNEXPOSED BLUE COLLAR POPULATION

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Abstract
Blue collar employees currently working in environments free from exposure to respiratory hazards were examined with chest radiography and a standard occupational history questionnaire. Workers who had worked for a total of 5 yr or more in previous jobs with possible hazardous respiratory exposures were excluded. Each radiograph was read independently by 3 NIOSH-[National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health]-certified "B" readers. For small opacities, the median profusion was accepted as a summary reading. The 1422 readable films represented a population of 50.6% males, 49.4% females, 52.5% whites, 44.2% blacks, 47.0% current smokers and 38.5% nonsmokers. The mean age was 33.8 yr, with a range from 16-70 yr. Small opacities of profusion .gtoreq. 1/0 were identified in only 3 (0.21%) of the radiographs; 2 with small rounded opacities and 1 with small irregular opacities. Small irregular opacities of profusion category .gtoreq. 0/1 were statistically associated with age, gender and pack-years of smoking. Using the median of 3 independent readings should rarely result in interpretation of chest radiographs as positive for pneumoconiosis in active workers with no significant dust exposure.

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