Silicosis Information Center
SILICA EXPOSURE: ARE YOU AT RISK?

Some workers think of silicosis as a disease of the past. But each year, more than 250 American workers die from the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between 1968 and 1994, the federal government recorded a total of 14,824 silicosis-associated deaths.

According to the CDC, industries that pose the greatest potential risk for worker exposure are agriculture, construction, mining, ceramics (clay and pottery), soap and detergent manufacture, stone cutting, glass manufacturing, agriculture, ship building, railroading, and the manufacture and use of abrasives. Quarry workers, sandblasters, and foundry workers are among those most affected.

Use this chart to help identify where and when you may have been exposed to silica fibers. This chart is taken from www.osha.gov. Please refer to this site for more in depth information on protecting yourself from the dangers of silica.

Industry Do you work in any of these?	Occupations Are you one of these?	Materials Are any of these involved?
Abrasive blasting Asphalt pavement manufacturing Blast furnaces Cement manufacturing Ceramics, clay, and pottery Concrete mixing Concrete tunneling Construction (mainly cement, concrete work) Demolition Electronics industry Foundry industry: grinding, molding, shakeout, core room (High Risk) Hand molding, casting, and forming Jack hammer operations Manufacturing abrasives,paints, soaps, and glass Mining Repair or replacement of linings of rotary kilns and cupola furnaces Rolling and finishing mills Sandblasting (High Risk) Setting, laying, and repairing railroad track Steelwork Stone, brick, and concrete block cutting, blasting, chipping, grinding, and sawing Tunneling operations	Brickmason/stonemason Construction laborer Crane and tower operator Crushing and grinding machine operator Furnace, kiln, non-food oven operator Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing machine operator Hand molder/shaper (not jeweler) Heavy-equipment mechanic Janitor or cleaner Machinist Metals/plastics machine operator Molding and casting machine operator Mining machine operator Miscellaneous material moving equipment operator Millwright Operating engineer Painter who sandblasts (High Risk) Production supervisor Rock driller (High Risk) Roof bolter (High Risk) Sandblaster (High Risk) Steelworker Welder/cutter	Abrasives Coal Dust Concrete Dirt Filter Aids Graphite, natural Mica Mineral Products Paints Pavement Perlite Plant Materials Plastic Fillers Polishing Compounds Portland Cement Sands Silicates Slag Soapstone Soil

Here are examples of how silica affects four major industries:

Foundry Work
Foundry work is still a major source of "free" silica exposure. In all stages of the foundry process from core making through "shake-out" to maintenance and repair, "free" Silica exposures occur along with other potentially hazardous exposures to metal fumes, asbestos and toxic gases. As the quartz-containing sand used in the molds is exposed to hot metal, formation of cristobalite may occur. It is not uncommon for such sand to be used on a repeated basis leading to further increases in the concentration of cristobalite.

Blasting
Abrasive blasting with silica sand, often used to prepare surfaces for painting, has been associated with exposures 200 times greater than the level recommended by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. This agency recommended that silica sand be prohibited as an abrasive blasting agent.

Mining
Mining or quarrying of any rock that contains siliceous material may produce hazardous exposures to "free" silica. Thus, the mining of copper, gold, platinum, tin, uranium or even coal may produce high exposures. Tunneling in rock containing high concentrations of quartz may produce severe exposures. The quarrying of granite, sandstone and slate may produce exposures from the quarry face where modern flame cutters may have increased exposure through all aspects of cutting, dressing, and polishing the quarried stone.

Brick Work
The production and use of refractory brick containing Silica may pose significant health hazards particularly after they have been exposed to high temperatures as a significant major proportion of the Silica is transformed to cristobalite or tridymite. Bricklayers and others who maintain and dismantle the refractory brick of ovens, furnaces and other similar devices are exposed to a serious silica hazard.

Signs & Symptoms of Silicosis

If you think you may have been exposed to dangerous levels of silica, call a silicosis attorney immediately.

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