Flour mill lung: a pneumoconiosis of mixed aetiology.

Abstract

We report two cases of mixed dust fibrosis which occurred in the setting of poorly ventilated flour mills where various kinds of grain, chiefly wheat, were ground using stones whose silica content was analysed to be greater than 80 percent. While one patient was a non-smoker and the other was an ex-smoker, both cooked on kerosene stoves in the same room. We propose the term 'Flour mill lung' for this form of pneumoconiosis. A larger study would be required to establish the entity and its incidence among flour mill workers.