Silicosis News

We post articles from around the US featuring Silicosis News and related information.

Ground to dust: fracking, silicosis and the politics of public health

Attempts to block new standards for exposure to silica dust highlight tensions between public health and corporate power in America’s fracking boom.

Let me tell you an outrageous yet all-too-common tale of how public health science is politicized to serve powerful interests. There are many poison pills attached to a recent funding bill passed by a U.S. Senate committee, but none taste as bitter to scientists and advocates of worker safety as a provision that would prevent the government from protecting workers from exposure to silica dust.

Silica dust is created through construction, mining and other industries that grind down rock, concrete, masonry and sand. Over-exposure to the dust causes an irreversible scarring of the lungs called silicosis. Approximately 2.2 million American workers are exposed to this hazard, and this contributed to the death of 1,437 Americans from silicosis between 2001 and 2010.

NIOSH: New data show silicosis is a continuing threat

According to a new Science Blog post from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, new national data show that silicosis continues to cause or contribute to the deaths of about 100 Americans each year. Keep reading to learn more about this important workplace safety issue.

Silicosis is a potentially fatal but preventable occupational lung disease caused by inhaling respirable particles containing crystalline silicon dioxide (silica). Quartz, a type of crystalline silica, is the second most abundant mineral in the earth’s crust, and workers across a wide range of occupations and industries are exposed to silica-containing dusts. The risks, causes, and prevention of this avoidable disease have been known for decades. There is no cure for silicosis and only symptomatic treatment is available, including lung transplantation for the most severe cases.

Fall 2015 regulatory agenda: OSHA prioritizes silica, recordkeeping updates

OSHA ’s recently released fall 2015 regulatory agenda outlines the status of the agency’s currently pending prerules, proposed rules, and final rules. While most of the items on the fall 2015 list are holdovers from previous regulatory agendas, the Department of Labor (DOL) identified two major rule making efforts, both in the final rule stage, as top areas of focus for 2016.

Tile Company Fined $261,000 for Silica Exposures

According to L&I inspectors, company employees were exposed to silica quartz dust at 3.4 times the permissible limit during stone slab grinding operations.

Dec 23, 2015

Wall to Wall Tile & Stone of Vancouver, Wash., has been fined $261,000 because employees were exposed to silica dust and other health hazards associated with stone slab grinding, the Washington state Department of Labor & Industries announced Dec. 22. L&I cited the company for seven “failure to abate” serious violations after its follow-up inspection found it had not corrected violations for which it was cited during November 2014.

Silicosis is a long-term lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of crystalline silica dust, usually over many years.

Silica is a substance naturally found in certain types of stone, rock, sand and clay. Working with these materials can create a very fine dust that can be easily inhaled.

Once inside the lungs, the dust particles are attacked by the immune system. This causes inflammation (swelling) and gradually leads to areas of hardened and scarred lung tissue (fibrosis). Lung tissue that’s scarred in this way does not function properly.