Coal workers' pneumoconiosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are a direct result of exposure to coal dust by people who have worked underground in coal mines and even those who have worked in opencast mines. "They generally will affect mineworkers ... it has not been documented on people living adjacent or near the coal mines," said Rajen Naidoo, associate professor of occupational medicine and head of discipline for occupational and environmental health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Naidoo said it could take more than 10 years before an infected person realised they had one of the diseases. Their longevity depended on how much dust they had been exposed to, and for how long. "Generally, the disease will progress after the exposure has stopped," he said. The diseases were similar to silicosis - the only difference was that silicosis arose from inhaling silica dust in gold mines, he said. In court papers, lawyer Richard Spoor suggested that coal workers' pneumoconiosi...
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