Recommended standards for occupational exposure to silica.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dunnom DD ; Lemen RA ; Mazzuckelli LF ; Wagner WD
• Description:
  The effects of silica, specifically quartz (14808607), dust on the lung were compared. There have been no reports of tumors or fibrotic lung disease from exposure to synthetic amorphous silicas. Many studies have been conducted in attempt to prove an association between exposure to quartz dust and the development of pulmonary cancer. Conclusive proof was still lacking because most of these studies were confounded by exposures to known or suspected human carcinogens. Many of these studies also suffer from lack of proper exposure data and smoking histories. Both animal and human studies have shown that massive pulmonary fibrosis does predispose to development of lung cancer, but the mechanism is not known. Since exposure to quartz dust does promote fibrotic lung disease, the authors recommend that the NIOSH silica dust exposure standard of 50 micrograms per cubic meter be adhered to. Even this level of exposure may pose a hazard if there is concurrent exposure to other carcinogens. The authors conclude that concurrent exposure to other carcinogens and cigarette smoking must be avoided in workers exposed to quartz dust. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Epidemiology Hazardous Substances Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Quartz Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Occupational-respiratory-disease; Silica-dusts; Quartz-dust; Respirable-dust; Epidemiology; Health-hazards; Occupational-hazards; Health-standards; Industrial-health-programs
• ISBN:
  9780275913052
• Publisher:
  Praeger
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSDTT - Division of Standards Development and Technology Transfer
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00168473
• Citation:
  Silica, silicosis, and cancer: controversy in occupational medicine. Goldsmith DF, Winn DM, Shy CM, eds. New York: Praeger, 1986 Jan; :505-509
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Editor(s):
  Goldsmith DF; Winn DM; Shy CM
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Silica, silicosis, and cancer: controversy in occupational medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/242229/cdc_242229_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]