" MINERS' COMPLAINT."

Otago Witness, Issue 2861, 13 January 1909, Page 30

" MINERS' COMPLAINT."

DESCRIPTION OF ITS EFFECTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) GREYMOUTH, January 8. In the course of an article in the Grey mouth Star Dr Conlon, of Reefton, deals at length with '• miners' complaint." He states that the first thing to be noted in a miner is a reduction of the normal exI pansion of the chest. The minimum ex- ; pansion accepted by all life insurance j offices is 2gin, and many miners cannot , reach this minimum, even though they do not ail or complain. Frequently with this lessened capacity for expansion of the chest miners get an ordinary cold, are treated for it, and recover apparently altogether. This cold is succeeded, perhaps in six months' time, and perhaps next winter, by a fresh cold that is still amenable to treatment, but of .somewhat | tardier cure. The process is repeated I from year to year, till the man finds he has always some cough -more or less, and begins to notice that his " wind is short. ' This fact fiist becomes plain to the man in climbing ladders or walking up hill, and he seeks medical aid for what he calls a slight cough and great shortness ot breath. Perhaps at this time by rest and medical treatment he may recover a little, and he may resume work ; but at this stage, whether he works or does not, his doom is sealed. He finds now that he cannot compete with navvies or outside labourers, and is obliged either for this reason or because he cannot obtain employment other than in a mine to re-enter the mine. He now works with some difficulty, and his condition is apparent to all. There is a chronic cough with expectoration of mucus, difficulty of breathing on the least exertion, and he begins to lose weight in the limbs and body, though his face remains almost without change. Frequently he 6ays " his face is the bfi3t part of him." Even now the man's condition, while he is resting, appears good to himself. He has no pain, and can eat well, but should he attempt to walk up ' hill or do a hurried piece of work he finds himself forced to stop and gaEp tor breath. He may continue working for a little time with difficulty, but he is finally forced to give up all work. During ill this time he has no feverlshness, never or rarely ever raises blood, has no pain, and while at rest he feels as good a man as ever he was, but the feeling is delusive. He now spends his days cough, ing and expectorating and fighting for breath till death ends his earthly troubles. " After death I have," says Dr Conlon, " made autopsies of many of these cases of chronic fibrosie of the lungs, sometimes in men dying of other causes, such as accident, apoplexy, and ruptured aneurism. I have discovered this I " miners' disease" of the lungs sometimes far advanced, though during life no trouble or great inconvenience was caused by it, an,d these men would have been considered healthy as far as their lung Condition was concerned. The appearance and feel gf this condition of the lungs is very characteristic. There are granules of Quartz scattered all over the

c surface of the lungs and embedded in the lung tissues, and ttia.tr is in an early s case of the disease. On passing the hand s over the lungs it conveys to one's sense 3 of touch the feeling of sandpaper. These b granules are scattered all through the t lung. Wherever it is cut the knife grits - on them, and the lung feels on its surface > like sandpaper or sometimes like a nutt meg grater. I know no old working I quartz miners in this community. With 3 possibly 700 miners I can point to only > one working miner of the age of 56. The disease usually manifests itself at about I 40 years of age, and death ensues after E that in from five to ten years. The disease is so insidious in its onset and : so stealthy in its advance that men rarely ■ seek aid till within a few years of their r death. Even in those who consult no I doctors you notice the signs of the diss ease, which they come to recognise as the - common lot — shortness of breath, cough, > expectoration." The factors that go to the making of ' " miners' disease " are — (1) Inhalation of ! dust ; (2) forced inspiration and expiration such as is needed in hammer work; ■ (3) impure air and faulty ventilation; (4) idiosyncrasy of the miner — i.e., the susceptibility to the disease of the individual; (5) abuse of alcohol. The situation of Reef ton, up in ihe hilly country, with a germ- free air and an extremely cold and wet winter season, with an absence of sunshine for long periods, may be a factor in the disease by predisposing men to catch cold after working in the hot air of the mine?, but the farmers here, the dredge hands, and timbergetters suffer no such ailment as indicated above. In my opinion the first real great cause of " miners' disease " is the inhalation of dust particles of quartz with razorlike edges into the lungs. Further, the atmosphere these x miners work in in mining puts an undue strain on the lungs. These, with the idiosyncrasy of the miner, and in some cases the abuse of alcohol, go to the making up of this formidable foe of human life. The remedies needed to combat this great affliction are, naturally — (1) Free ventilation, with an abundance of oxygen, and consequently p. minimum of those poisonous gases that emanate from the earth, decaying timber, ar.d the miner himself ; (2) scrupulous cleanliness as to the habit of expectorating and good hygienic measures for the disposal of fa?cal matter and decomposing debris oi food, and lastly and above all (o) the use of a water spray in every . pliici where quarts is being broken.