A lung model to study the magnetic field of lungs of miners

Miners who inhale ferromagnetic dust, such as magnetite which is found in many minerals, will display a remanent field after the dust in their lungs has been magnetized with an externally applied magnetic field. Measurements on asbestos and coal miners, using a SQUID magnetometer, show that the field produced can be successfully approximated by the field of two uniformly magnetized cut-off ellipsoids, approximately equal in size to the lungs. Using this lung model, estimates were made of the total dust load in the lungs, showing amounts from 0 to 8 g for 6 coal workers and from 0 to 640 mg for 25 asbestos workers measured.