Silicosis

Silicosis
Other namesMiner's phthisis, Grinder's asthma, Potter's rot,[1] pneumono­ultra­micro­scopic­silico­volcano­coniosis[2][3]
Slice of a lung affected by silicosis
SpecialtyPulmonology
TypesChronic silicosis: includes two types itself, simple silicosis and progressive massive fibrosis, Accelerated silicosis, Acute silicosis
Differential diagnosisPulmonary talcosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis

Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis.[4] Silicosis, particularly the acute form, is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever, and cyanosis (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Using workplace controls, silicosis is almost always a preventable disease.[5]

Silicosis resulted in at least 43,000 deaths globally in 2013, down from at least 50,000 deaths in 1990.[6]

The name silicosis (from the Latin silex, or flint) was originally used in 1870 by Achille Visconti (1836–1911), prosector in the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan.[7] The recognition of respiratory problems from breathing in dust dates to ancient Greeks and Romans.[8] Agricola, in the mid-16th century, wrote about lung problems from dust inhalation in miners. In 1713, Bernardino Ramazzini noted asthmatic symptoms and sand-like substances in the lungs of stone cutters. The negative effects of milled calcined flint on the lungs of workers had been noted less than 10 years after its introduction as a raw material to the British ceramics industry in 1720.[9]

With industrialization, as opposed to hand tools, came increased production of dust. The pneumatic hammer drill was introduced in 1897 and sandblasting was introduced in about 1904,[10] both significantly contributing to the increased prevalence of silicosis. In 1938, the United States Department of Labor, led by then Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, produced a film titled Stop Silicosis to discuss the results of a year-long study done concerning a rise in the number of silicosis cases across the United States.[11]

In the early 21st century, an epidemic of silicosis was caused by the unsafe manufacturing of engineered stone countertops containing quartz (and obsidian), which became popular.[12]

  1. ^ Jane A. Plant; Nick Voulvoulis; K. Vala Ragnarsdottir (13 March 2012). Pollutants, Human Health and the Environment: A Risk Based Approach. John Wiley & Sons. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-470-74261-7. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  2. ^ "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2020-03-22.
  3. ^ "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
  4. ^ Derived from Gr. πνεῦμα pneúm|a (lung) + buffer vowel -o- + κόνις kóni|s (dust) + Eng. scient. suff. -osis (like in asbest"osis" and silic"osis", see ref. 10).
  5. ^ "Prevention of Silicosis Deaths". July 22, 2015.
  6. ^ GBD 2013 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators (17 December 2014). "Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–71. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442. {{cite journal}}: |author1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ United States Bureau of Mines, "Bulletin: Volumes 476–478", U.S. G.P.O., (1995), p 63.
  8. ^ Rosen G: The History of Miners' Diseases: A Medical and Social Interpretation. New York, Schuman, 1943, pp.459–476.
  9. ^ 'The Successful Prevention Of Silicosis Among China Biscuit Workers In The North Staffordshire Potteries.' A. Meiklejohn. British Journal Of Industrial Medicine, October 1963; 20(4): 255–263
  10. ^ "Diseases associated with exposure to silica and nonfibrous silicate minerals. Silicosis and Silicate Disease Committee". Arch. Pathol. Lab. Med. 112 (7): 673–720. July 1988. PMID 2838005.
  11. ^ Stop Silicosis, retrieved 2022-04-21
  12. ^ Lungs of stone: How Silica has sickened a generation of quartz cutters