TIL that McIntyre Powder, aluminum dust, was inhaled by miners in Canada and the United States as late as 1979 and was thought to protect said workers from silicosis

Read more: https://www.occupationalcancer.ca/2020/mcintyre-powder-study/

What do you think?

12 Points
Upvote Downvote

aluminumCanadadustInhaledlateMcIntyreminersPowderprotectsilicosisstatesthoughtTILToday I learnedunitedworkers

4 Comments

Leave a Reply

  1. Buddy Ebsen had lung issues for the rest of his life after he inhaled aluminum powder as the original Tin Man before Jack Haley took the role – using a cream-based silver instead of the powder that caused Ebsen’s problems.

  2. tldr; it didn’t protect them against silicosis in the final analysis.

    Might be associated with increased Parkinson’s , but so far there is no evidence of any link to increased Alzheimer’s

    > It was thought to prevent silicosis among miners, but later was found to have no protective effect. Now, there is concern that it may have resulted in increased risk of neurological diseases among exposed miners. While a few previous studies examined the risks of neurological diseases due to McIntyre Powder, the results have been inconclusive.

Leave a Reply