Public Health Ascertainment and National Notification for Silicosis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Stanbury, Martha
• Description:
  Background: Silicosis, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica, occurs widely across the U.S. It is estimated that over 1 million U.S. workers are exposed to crystalline silica and at risk for the development of silicosis. Silicosis most commonly occurs as a diffuse nodular pulmonary fibrosis. This lung disease (which is sometimes asymptomatic) is caused by the inhalation and deposition of respirable crystalline silica particles (i.e., particles <10 um in diameter). According to a report from the U.S. Surgeon General, cigarette smoking has no significant causal role in the etiology of silicosis. Probably the most important factor in the development of silicosis is the "dose" of respirable silica-containing dust in the workplace setting; that is, the product of the concentration of dust containing respirable silica in workplace air and the percentage of respirable silica in the total dust. Other important factors are (1) the particle size, (2) the crystalline or noncrystalline nature of the silica, (3) the duration of the dust exposure, and (4) the varying time period from first exposure to clinically apparent disease and diagnosis (from several months to more than 30 years). Freshly ground, or fractured, crystalline silica, such as that which occurs with sandblasting, may be more toxic or fibrogenic, than aged silica. A worker may develop one of three types of silicosis, depending on the airborne concentration of respirable crystalline silica and duration of exposure: 1. chronic nodular silicosis, which usually occurs after 10 or more years of exposure at relatively low concentrations; 2. accelerated nodular silicosis, which develops 5 to 10 years after the first exposure and often progresses after exposure has been discontinued; or 3. acute silicosis, which develops after exposure to high concentrations of respirable crystalline silica and results in symptoms within a period ranging from a few weeks to 5 years after the initial exposure. The symptoms of accelerated silicosis are similar to those of chronic silicosis, but clinical and radiographic progression is rapid. Fibrosis may be irregular and more diffuse, or not apparent on the chest radiograph. Acute silicosis is typically associated with a history of high exposures from tasks that produce small particles of airborne dust with a high silica content, such as sandblasting, rock drilling, or quartz milling. The pathologic characteristics of acute silicosis (sometimes referred to as silicoproteinosis) differ from those of nodular silicosis-with very little of the typical nodular fibrosis-and resemble those of alveolar proteinosis. Justification: Silicosis meets the following criteria for a nationally and standard notifiable condition, as specified in CSTE position statement 08-EC-02: A majority of state and territorial jurisdictions-or jurisdictions comprising a majority of the US population-have laws or regulations requiring standard reporting of silicosis to public health authorities CDC requests standard notification of silicosis to federal authorities CDC has condition-specific policies and practices concerning the agency's response to, and use of, notifications. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Epidemiology Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Public Health Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Airborne Dusts Crystalline Silica Dust Exposure Occupational Exposure Public Health Silica Dusts Silicosis Surveillance
• Publisher:
  Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Michigan ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060341
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, 2009 Jul; :1-9
• Contact Point Address:
  Martha Stanbury, Division of Environmental Health, Michigan Department of Community Health, PO Box 30195, Lansing MI 48909
• Email:
  stanburym@michigan.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, Atlanta, Georgia
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20060701
• Source Full Name:
  Public health ascertainment and national notification for silicosis
• End Date:
  20111231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a826a7470df9376e989c483183270ec9a0223a4836423ff633375590d229b71c0403d35950dd2c596f4ce3fd448f94b7fafa23f6f58a71974d0c57fd1771bdf3
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224282/cdc_224282_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 43.03 KB ]