SILICOSIS

1. Silicosis, one of the oldest occupational diseases, still kills thousands of people every year, everywhere in the world. It is an incurable lung disease caused by inhalation of dust containing free crystalline silica. It is irreversible and, moreover, the disease progresses even when exposure stops. Extremely high exposures are associated with much shorter latency and more rapid disease progression.

2. Of all the dust diseases, or pnuemoconioses, silicosis produces the largest number of victims according to NIOSH. According to the World Health Association.

3. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies inhaled crystalline silica (in the form of quartz or crystobalite) from occupational sources as a Group 1 human lung carcinogen.

4. Frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed, silicosis causes progressive asphyxiation often complicated by tuberculosis and infection. Over a million American workers are exposed to silicosis-producing dust in the 21st century and more than 50,000 will develop disease, even though methods to prevent the disease have been known to employers since Ancient Greece.

5. Harmful silica dust is invisible to the naked eye and is so light that it can remain airborne for hours; thus affecting workers in trades far from the point of origin.

6. Sandblasting is one of the high-risk operations for silicosis. Any abrasive blasting, even if the abrasive does not contain silica, may pose a silicosis hazard when it is used to remove materials that contain silica, such as remains of sand moulds from metal castings. Some operations, like dry sweeping, the clearing of sand or concrete, or the cleaning of masonry with pressurized air can generate large dust clouds. Thus even in open air these activities can be hazardous.

Silica dust is released during operations in which rocks, sand, concrete and some ores are crushed or broken. Work in mines, quarries, foundries, and construction sites, in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, and abrasive powders, and in masonry workshops are particularly risky.

• Quarry workers
• Truck Drivers & Haulers
• Sandblasters
• Shipbuilders
• Concrete Workers
• Chipping, Drilling, Sawing, etc.
• Miners
• Railroad Workers
• Foundry Workers
• Glass Manufacturing
• Pottery Workers
• Demolition Workers
• Ceramic Workers
• Grinders, polishers
• Welders
• Abrasive Manufacturers

7. Silicosis is 100% preventable. The methods of preventing silicosis are simple and have been known for centuries. European countries banned silica in sandblasting over 59 years ago, while American companies continue to make, sell and use silica in sandblasting materials. Liable defendants include silica suppliers, premises owners, equipment manufacturers and respirator manufacturers.