| Characterization by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy of Silica Particles from Alveolar Macrophages of Coal Miners Lenore C. Rainey, Peter Bolsaitis, Barbara Dirsa, and John B. Vander Sande Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA Abstract
The structure and composition of silica-rich particles recovered by lavage from the lungs of three active miners with different medical histories were studied using high-resolution electron microscopy and chemical microanalysis. The results are compared to the similarly determined structure and composition of respirable-size mineral particles obtained from roof-bolter dust-box samples from two coal mines of widely different bulk quartz concentrations. The results show that the lungs of the miners contain silica-based particles with structures not found in the mine samples. Also, the particle structures and compositions found in the macrophages were different in each of the miners. The results suggest the possibility that intracellular processes may affect the susceptibility of individuals to silica-induced pneumoconioses. Key words: alveolar macrophages, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, quartz, scanning transmission electron microscopy, silica. Environ Health Perspect 102:862-868 (1994) http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1994/102-10/rainey.html Address correspondence to L.C. Rainey, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Building 4-053, MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139. The research presented in this article was conducted under the auspices of the Generic Mineral Technology Center for Respirable Dust (USBM grant no. 1115142/Project 2521) . Many researchers active within the GMTCRD have contributed to this research: Douglas Kuhn of the Hershey Medical Center supplied the lung-lavaged macrophages from which particles were extracted ; R. Hogg of the Pennsylvania State University prepared and classified the bolter box dusts samples ; and M. Seehra and V.S. Babu of the Physics Department of the University of West Virginia performed Rietveld X-ray analyses of the mineral dust samples. Also, P. Parobek and T. Tomb of MSHA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were instrumental in obtaining and supplying roof bolter box samples from representative coal mines, and Dr. W. Wallace of NIOSH, Morgantown, West Virginia, assisted with valuable comments throughout the project. Received 4 April 1994 ; accepted 20 July 1994.
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