Comparative study of pulmonary impairment among diverse working groups in coal mine

Abstract

Sarang Dhatrak, Subroto Nandi, Shweta Gupta

Aim: There are different categories of workers depending upon their involvement in mining operation who are exposed to different levels of dust and for different durations. The occurrence and degree pulmonary impairment may differ among different workers in the same mining environment. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the respiratory function parameters of actively engaged exposed mine workers to that of supportive workers with respect to their duration of work exposure. Methods: 207 workers from coal mine were divided into two groups as per job profile. Group 1 consisting of 115 workers engaged in active mining operations and Group 2 consisting of 92 workers not continuously exposed to mining operations during their working hours. The lung functions of the workers were assessed by using Spirometer. ANOVA and Independent “t” test were used p value of ≤0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: Lung parameters, i.e., forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and forced expiratory flow (25–75%) were significantly reduced among Group 1 workers except for peak expiratory flow rate which was non-significantly reduced. The differences among the parameters of lung function were statistically significant with exposure 30 years of exposure. Conclusion: Pulmonary impairment is more evident in early years among the mine worker actively engaged in mining operations as compared to workers engaged in allied mining operation as the level of exposure to dust varies largely. However, after long-term exposure the impairment of allied workers is also in line with that of actively engaged mine workers.