PULMONARY DUST RETENTION IN A SILICON-CARBIDE WORKER

This paper reports on pulmonary dust retention in a man who worked 42 years in the vicinity of an Acheson furnace of a silicon carbide plant and had a carborundum pneumoconiosis. Special attention is paid to th e retained silicon carbide fibers in the lung parenchyma. The concentr ation of silicon carbide fibers longer than 5 mum is 39 300 fibers/mg dry lung. These fibers have a similar morphology to fibers observed in the working environment. The result is compared to pulmonary retentio n of workers exposed to asbestos.