The Social Consequences of Pneumoconiosis among Coalminers in South Wales

Abstract

Until 1933 the yearly number of certificates issued to miners in Britain on account of respiratory dust disease was less than 100. Partly owing to alterations in legislation dealing with workmen's compensation, partly because of a real increase in the incidence, the number of certifications has risen greatly since then, reaching a peak of 5,754 in 1945. Of that number 5,180 were issued to men in the South Wales coalfield. From the beginning of 1931 until the middle of 1948 over 22,000 new cases of pneumoconiosis of miners were certified in the whole country, and of these 19,000 were in South Wales. As the number of coal miners in South Wales is only about a sixth of all British coal miners, the incidence there is about 40 times greater than in the rest of the country. This excessive incidence, still largely unexplained, has led to the development of important sociological problems. These, as well as the purely medical aspects of the disease have been studied by the Pneumoconiosis Research Unit of which the authors are members, Dr. Fletcher being its Director. It is estimated that the number of certified men alive today in the South Wales area is i6,000 and of these, 5,000 are known to be unemployed. The effects are felt by the individual and by the community. The affected man suffers an impairment in his general health, with consequent curtailment of his ability to work and his freedom to enjoy leisure. The loss of employment means considerable loss of income, and there are often serious psychological effects. The coal mining industry suffers a loss of skilled workers, added to which are the costs of paying compensation, unemployment benefit, and the maintenance of government departments for these and other functions. The Memorandum contains a chapter giving statistical information, and another containing 12 case histories of patients chosen to represent different facets of the social problem. In addition, there are three useful appendices. The first gives a description of pneumoconiosis, principally for those who do not know much about the disease; the second, entitled " Administrative Aspects of Coalworkers' Pneumoconiosis ", deals with the different compensation schemes and their working. Appendix III gives some results of two hitherto unpublished sampling enquiries, one by H.M. Social Survey in 1945, and the other a report by Doig and Hillier to the National Joint Pneumoconiosis Committee in 1947. It includes information about various matters such as age distribution, degrees of disability, reasons for leaving jobs, and travelling difficulties. The authors emphasize that the greatest need of these disabled men is suitable work. They quote evidence showing that some 75% of the unemployed pneumoconiosis cases are fit for medium or light work under ordinary conditions of employment, and this figure is