Silicosis

Silicosis is the scarring of lungs caused by the inhalation of fine dust containing silica, usually over a long period of time working closely with certain materials. Engineered stones can contain up to 90% of silica, whereas natural stones around 30%, such artificial stones are often used in stead of natural stine such as marble for kitchen worktops and issue occur when cutting without protective measures. Vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can be used in factory settings to reduce risks or wet spray sweeping instead of dry sweeping.

There is currently no effective treatment for silicosis, the highest risk workers are likely to be miners, construction workers, stonecutters, and manufacturers. In 2020 the All Party Parliamentary Group for Respiratory Health published Silica – the next asbestos, which stated: “Construction workers are still 100 times more likely to die from a preventable occupational disease than from an accident. We also know that approximately 12,000 deaths in the industry each year are linked to exposure to dust and chemicals” and revealed: “… the UK lags other developed nations in terms of exposure limits to respirable crystalline silica, that the scale of silicosis in the construction industry remains unknown and that awareness of the risks is low amongst both workers and employers" It goes on to state: ‘RCS is created when it is fractured through processes such as stonecutting and drilling and is the most toxic form of the substance. It increases the risks of tuberculosis, kidney disease, arthritis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, lung cancer and chronic bronchitis.”

There are similarities between asbestosis and silicosis, though asbestosis is a chronic fibrotic lung disease resulting from long-term inhalation of asbestos fibres whilst silicosis is a respiratory disease caused by inhaling silica dust which leads to inflammation and scarring of lung tissue. The Health & Safety Executive’s ‘Control of Exposure to Silica Dust’ advises that when cutting, sanding or carving materials containing silica, a fine dust Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) is created that may get into the lungs.

Pneumoconiosis (also called CWP or black lung) is also a respiratory disease but one caused by the inhalation of coal mine dust. The word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is also sometimes used to describe this disease, though it is thought to have only been introduced to become the longest word in the English language, it is an official medical term, and most commonly this kind of disease is referred to as pneumonoconiosis, pneumoconiosis, or silicosis.

Silicon (chemical symbol Si) is a naturally occurring, non-metallic element and, after oxygen, is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust, found mainly as silica in sand. Silicates are the chief constituents of many rocks, clays and soils and make up more than 90% of the Earth’s crust. Silica is silicon dioxide (SiO2) whilst Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) is the fine dust form of silica.

In September 2020, The British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) wrote to MPs urging them to take action to prevent these avoidable deaths and illness. Kelvin Williams, President of the Society said: “The society is concerned that Covid-19 is accelerating the rate of death for those exposed to harmful substances, like silica, in the workplace. It is reasonable to believe that the higher Covid-19 mortality rates in older males has an association with inhaling dust in the workplace. However, without the changes recommended in the report, we will not be able to make that connection.”

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