Correct Answer: (b) Coal mining industry
Solution:Pneumoconiosis is a respiratory disease caused by the inhaling various type of dust, such as coal dust, silica dust, asbestos dust etc. So, it is very common in workers of coal mining industries and related industries.
• The disease appears in different forms, depending on the type of dust you inhale. One of the most common forms is black lung disease, also known as miner’s lung. It’s caused by breathing in coal dust. Another is brown lung, which comes from working around dust from cotton or other fibers. Other types of dusts that can cause pneumoconiosis include silica and asbestos. Diacetyl, the compound used to give movie popcorn its buttery flavor, also can lead to the disease. This is known as popcorn lung.
• Pneumoconiosis can be simple or complicated. Simple pneumoconiosis causes a small amount of scar tissue. The tissue may appear on an X-ray as round, thickened areas called nodules. This type of disease is sometimes called coal worker pneumoconiosis, or CWP. Complicated pneumoconiosis is known as progressive massive fibrosis, or PMF. Fibrosis means that a lot of scarring is present in the lungs.
• For either simple or complicated pneumoconiosis, the damage causes the loss of blood vessels and air sacs in your lungs. The tissues that surround your air sacs and air passages become thick and stiff from scarring. Breathing becomes increasingly difficult. This condition is called interstitial lung disease.