Health alert: silica exposure in construction workers

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Connecticut. Department of Health
• Description:
  Hundreds of workers with silicosis die each year in the U.S. and hundreds more become disabled and are unable to take care of themselves or their families. Since 1968, more than 14,000 workers in the U.S. have died from silicosis and more than one million workers are at risk of developing silicosis. The construction industry has one of the highest numbers of deaths due to silicosis. When workers inhale silica dust deep into the lungs, silica particles scar lungs, causing a disabling, irreversible, and incurable lung disease called silicosis. Silicosis is 100% preventable and there are a variety of things that employers and workers can do to reduce the risks of silicosis. Employers need to train their workers about the health effects, work practices, and protective equipment available to prevent exposure to crystalline silica dust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aluminum Silicates Construction Industry Dust Irritants Lung Lung Diseases Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Quartz Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Silicon Compounds Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Breathing Construction-industry Exposure-levels Lung-disease Lung-disorders Lung-function Lung-irritants Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Pulmonary-disorders Pulmonary-function Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Quartz-dust Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Silica-dusts Silicates Silicon-compounds Silicosis Workers

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• Publisher:
  State of Connecticut Department of Public Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Connecticut ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040944
• Citation:
  Hartford, CT: State of Connecticut Department of Public Health, 2009 Oct; :1-2
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Wholesale and Retail Trade
• Performing Organization:
  Connecticut Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Health alert: silica exposure in construction workers
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e87515ffde2220217a632e01a6ca86cf9da2af871041fb4656a38c723387f2172cc2d4420d527271cfe354aeb2ffc16b48024d15a1a89ed1ed632dbf9705e331
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193633/cdc_193633_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 179.31 KB ]