Harriet L. Hardy

Beryllium disease: a clinical perspective.

A relatively new occupational disease, beryllium poisoning, is discussed. The history of this respiratory disease among workers after beryllium exposure from extraction and alloy manufacturing is not well documented in the US Attempts by industry to delay investigations into beryllium toxicity are described. The specific incidents occurring at a fluorescent lamp manufacturing plant in Salem, Massachusetts are presented. Clinical observations of chronic beryllium disease are discussed. Symptoms are described. The current status of diagnosis and treatment of beryllium poisoning is presented.

Respiratory disease in U.S. soft-coal miners: Clinical and etiological considerations: A study of 30 cases☆

Abstract Thirty soft-coal miners with respiratory disease volunteered for hospital study. An attempt was made to characterize their disability as to its clinical features, etiologic correlation with work exposures, ageing, and to such insults as smoking habits and intercurrent infection. While this group is too select and too small to allow broad generalizations or definite conclusions, several points appear certain and suggest profitable lines of study for the epidemiologist. 1. (1) In this series, varying syndromes of respiratory disease, which are characterized by combination of clinically detectable bronchitis, respiratory insufficiency measurable by lung-function study, and discrete or conglomerate X-ray pneumoconiosis, support the concept that disabling pulmonary disease of soft-coal miners is not only a penumoconiosis arising from dust deposition in the parenchyma of the lung. It is rather a disease of the respiratory tract which may be due to inhalation of harmful chemicals and dust during work interacting with other individually determined factors, such as physiological ageing, smoking habits, and infection. 2. (2) Chemical fumes encountered in underground mining are a factor to be considered in the production of disabling respiratory disease in United States soft-coal miners. 3. (3) Two biopsy-proven cases of silicosis emphasize the crucial importance of knowledge of the character of the dust inhaled in correctly assessing work-related pulmonary disease in under ground miners. 4. (4) There was little correlation among the indices used here (chest X-ray, cardiac catherization, lung-function tests, biopsy) in establishing a correct diagnosis of respiratory disease with or without important disability. 5. (5) The low incidence of overt emotional illness in these thirty ill coal miners is striking. The tendency of this group to deny the seriousness of their physical symptoms provides a possible hindrance to the public health goal of early detection and prevention of respiratory disease, if case-finding and avoidance of further exposures depends on the initiative of the individual miner to report early symptoms or to change his employment.