Pulmonary function in workers inhaling iron oxide dust

Summary Lung function studies (static lung volumes, FEV_1.0, transfer factor, blood oxygen tension) in fourteen workers (mean age 43 years) exposed (average length 10 years) to pure iron oxide dust did not reveal abnormalities compatible with pulmonary fibrosis, although nodular opacities were present in the chest radiographs. The results seem to support the opinion that pure iron oxide is not fibrogenic in the lung.