In the last 30 years there has been a handful of studies on the effects of long-term exposure to chalk dust on school teachers (see Zsuzsánna Ágnes Szász et al, “Chalk-induced Lung Fibrosis — Case Report.” Journal of Interdisciplinary Medicine 2017; 2(4):357-61, and its accompanying references). It’s likely that with the increased use of whiteboards, respiratory tract diseases will be less of an occupational hazard for teachers.
I’ve come across a couple of references in humor magazines to brown-nosing schoolkids getting sick from inhaling chalk dust after much clapping of erasers. Did kids in the real world ever worry about “white lung”?
George W. S. Trow & Anne Beatts, "Doctor Warns of New Diseases," National Lampoon, September, 1971, p. 27.
White lung happens when a little boy or a little girl is a little too eager to help teacher. Little boys and little girls who volunteer to help teacher in the hope of winning favors usually end up clapping blackboard erasers. If little boys and little girls clap blackboard erasers too often, they will get dread white lung due to chalk-dust inhalation[.]
Dennis Snee, "Former Eraser Cleaner Claims Chalk Dust Damages,” MAD magazine #246, March 1984, p. 31.
ATLANTA, Ga. (UPI) – In the third such suit filed recently, high school senior Matthew Binkowitz claimed today in municipal court that his experience cleaning erasers in elementary and junior high school caused him to develop a chronic respiratory ailment.
"I used to pound the things every day till my hands got tired," Binkowitz said, "but it wasn't until a year ago that I realized breathing in all that chalk dust was bad for my health."
Robert Triptow, Class Photo (Seattle: Fantagraphics, 2015), 32.
Charles Schulz, Peanuts, 17 & 19 February 1969.
