[Fibrogenic effect of anthracite dust compared with the effects of hard and bituminous coal dust on the lungs of albino rats]

Abstract

In experiments on white rats the fibrogenic effects of the dust of anthracite and other types of coal, from the U.S.A. and Poland, were tested. What was found basing on hydroxyproline measurements in lungs was that the extent of fibrogenic effects of anthracite equals fibrogenic effects of bituminous coal dust containing 30% alpha-quartz. Non-anthracite coal dusts containing SiO2 crystalline phases (alpha-quartz) as an admixture--exhibit fibrogenic effects on white rats' lungs--proportional to free silica content. It is probable that fibrogenic effects of anthracite on the pulmonary tissue result from its structure and active free radicals.