Update on Silicosis

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan State University. College of Human Medicine
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) held a meeting of federal and state organizations who work on silica exposure and silicosis on December 8th and 9th, 2009. Key points from the meeting include: International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) is evaluating the medical literature that has been published since its 1997 decision that silica is a human carcinogen. A presentation from a member of the IARC committee was that the evidence published since 1997 is "very strong" that silica is a carcinogen. The updated evaluation has not yet been published. No change is expected in IARC's 1997 conclusion that silica is a human carcinogen. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is moving ahead to propose a comprehensive standard for silica that will include requirements for medical monitoring. OSHA plans to publish the proposed standard in the Federal Register in July 2010. Two states, California and New Jersey, have banned the dry cutting and grinding of masonry because of the hazard from silica released during dry cutting. NIOSH is moving forward to facilitate "B" reading of digital radiographs with digital standards and electronic recording of the radiographic interpretation. The Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made silicosis a nationally notifiable condition. Discussions were held on how to facilitate reporting in states that, unlike Michigan, do not have an active tracking program for silicosis. The incidence of interstitial lung disease in coal miners, which had been decreasing, is now increasing in areas of Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia and is attributed to mining smaller seams of coal which require drilling and digging through more silica-containing rock around the coal seams. Annually, the use of silica as an abrasive in the United States is approximately 400,000 tons, down from 1.4 million tons/year in the 1990's. Most European countries have banned the use of silica as an abrasive. State Departments of Transportation in 22 states, including Michigan, have banned the use of silica as an abrasive on bridges and highway overpasses. Michigan made a number of presentations at the 2-day meeting including information on spirometric results and connective tissue disease among the individuals with silicosis identified in Michigan since 1985. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Coal Coal Mining Epidemiology Lung Diseases Mining Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Coal Mining Lung Disease Masons Silica Silicosis Surveillance
• Publisher:
  Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054543
• Citation:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News 2009 Dec; 21(1):1-4
• Contact Point Address:
  MSU-CHM, 117 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1316
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:801e72d3626bdfceb4cc6f792dc76ac42fa586602f551ea0161323a61f18aa9d68f399df21a6317dc51076afa93c3232f5b522ace7c76cdd5b50f5f60fa35c0d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217071/cdc_217071_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 68.19 KB ]