Aim: In addition to the usual work-related stress and strain in underground mining, uranium miners in East Germany were exposed to carcinogenic substances and ionizing radiation. Exposure to respirable dust and to radon and radon decay products reached levels up to 15 mg/m3 fine dust and up to 350 WLM/year in the middle of the 1950s. Exposure levels decreased to 1—2 mg m—3 fine dust and less than 4 WLM a—1 from the 1960s to 1980s. This survey shows the relationship between this specific exposureprofile and the number of recognized occupational diseases. Methods: For 1946—1989 data from the occupational disease claims were used, and for 1990—2000 files which are established at the German institutions for statutory accident insurance and prevention. Results: The two most frequent occupational diseases were illnesses of the lung. From 1946 to 2000 16,692 cases of silicosis and 7,963 cases of disease resulting from ionizing radiation (most of them lung cancer) were recognized as occupational diseases. The next most frequent diseases were hearing loss due to noise (5,034 cases), diseases due to partial body vibration (4,838 cases), non-malignant skin diseases (630 cases) and degenerative diseases of the spine (534 cases). Diseases caused by asbestos or arsenic were not frequent. Conclusions: The two most frequent occupational diseases reflect the high level of exposure to dust during the early years of mining and the exposure to ionizing radiation. The further pattern of recognized occupational diseases reflects the typical hazards from underground mining. Due to the improvements in occupational hygiene the number of recognized occupational diseases decreased. Over the next ten years the incidence of silicosis and lung cancer will decline slowly but steadily.
