Asbestos Report Preface: Work-Related Lung Disease

Read the preface from the report from the CDC regarding the lung diseases associated with exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens.

This Work-Related Lung Disease (WoRLD) Surveillance Report is the sixth in a series of occupational respiratory disease surveillance reports produced by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

It presents summary tables and figures of occupational respiratory disease surveillance data focusing on various occupationally-relevant respiratory diseases, including pneumoconioses, occupational asthma and other airways diseases, and several other respiratory conditions. For many of these diseases, selected data on related exposures are also presented.

The 2002 WoRLD Surveillance Report has three major sections: (1) a section that provides data highlights and data usage limitations; (2) a section comprised of 15 subsections, each concerning a major disease category and (where available) related occupational exposures, and one subsection concerning smoking status; (3) a section of appendices that provide descriptions of data sources, methods, and other supplementary information.

Similar to the 1999 WoRLD Surveillance Report, this report includes data on hypersensitivity pneumonitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory conditions due to chemical fumes and vapors, and other work-related respiratory conditions, in addition to the pneumoconioses.

This report updates pneumoconiosis mortality data published in the 1999 WoRLD Surveillance Report by the addition of currently available data for 1997 through 1999.

Pneumoconiosis conditions highlighted include asbestosis, coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, silicosis, byssinosis, and pneumoconiosis coded as either “unspecified” or “other,” and all pneumoconioses aggregated.

The current report presents data on conditions not included in earlier reports (e.g., malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other interstitial pulmonary disease), plus data on smoking status by industry and occupation.

Courtesy of the CDC.

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