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. 2003 Aug;93(8):1236-44.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.93.8.1236.

The fox guarding the chicken coop: monitoring exposure to respirable coal mine dust, 1969-2000

James L Weeks  1
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The fox guarding the chicken coop: monitoring exposure to respirable coal mine dust, 1969-2000

James L Weeks. Am J Public Health. 2003 Aug.

Abstract

Following passage of the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, underground coal mine operators were required to take air samples in order to monitor compliance with the exposure limit for respirable dust, a task essential for the prevention of pneumoconiosis among coal workers. Miners objected, claiming that having the mine operators perform this task was like "having the fox guard the chicken coop." This article is a historical narrative of mining industry corruption and of efforts to reform the program of monitoring exposure to coal mine dust. Several important themes common to the practice of occupational health are illustrated; most prominently, that employers should not be expected to regulate themselves.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Left: Miner at the end of a day shift wearing coal dust monitor in Bluefield, Va, ca. 1980. Photo by Earl Dotter.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Closeup: Detail of dust sampling apparatus. Photo by Earl Dotter.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

    1. This phrase was common among miners whenever they discussed the dust-monitoring program. It has been heard many times by the author from the late 1970s to the present.
    1. A. Derickson, Black Lung: Anatomy of a Public Health Disaster (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998); B. E. Smith, Black Lung: The Social Production of Disease (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983); D. M. Fox and J. F. Stone, “Black Lung: Miner’s Militancy and Medical Uncertainty, 1968–1972,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine 34 (1980): 43–63. - PubMed
    1. Mine Safety and Health Act, 30 USC §801, et seq (1977).
    1. Miner Participation in the Respirable Dust Sampling Program, Notice of Proposed Rule-Making, 42 Federal Register 47001 (20June1977).
    1. K. L. Williams and R. J. Timko, Performance Evaluation of a Real-Time Aerosol Monitor, Information Circular 8968 (Pittsburgh: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1984); K. L. Williams and R. P. Vinson, Evaluation of the TEOM Monitor, Information Circular 9119 (Pittsburgh: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, 1986).

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