By inhaling a specific type of dust (especially coal dust) into the lungs, a coal worker's fungus (CWP), black lung (common name) is caused. It is most common in mining areas where people working directly at coal mines and people exposed to coal dust are plentiful.
When coal dust is inhaled, the lungs turn black (normal color is pink), hence the name "black lung". When it develops markedly, it becomes refractory progressive gigantic fibrosis (PMF), which causes the death of thousands of people (many people are exposed to coal dust).
Even though years of exposure to coal dust (in industrialized countries) has ended, it is still a hundreds of deaths (current and past coal mining workers [more in the many under developed countries were safe- working practices are still seen to be lax]).
Symptoms - Normally, a sustained chronic cough is noticed for the first time, but this disease may have been present for many years (as with most types of lung cancer it is usually diagnosed until a more advanced stage not). However, if it is done early, it may be possible to stop that progress.
Black lung is not a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it may proceed to either emphysema (a disease in which the lungs stretch and become difficult to breathe) (even cancer). Smoking is also affected, black lungs are more likely to develop.
Cause - The reason that coal dust affects the lungs is that when coal dust is inhaled, it associates with macrophages (leukocytes) and the lungs (abnormal tissues) grow into the lungs (called nodules). As the size of these nodules begins to increase, the airflow is limited and the blood oxygen level is reduced (breathing becomes more difficult at this stage).
prognosis (Life expectancy) - Black lung is thought to be about 10 millimeters in size of nodule, and if it progresses to PMF (which takes about 10 years for black lungs to develop), the patient's prognosis is considered to be rather short. However, when PMF does not develop, minimal side effects on the disease are experienced everyday (patient prognosis increases significantly).
