WORKPLACE HEALTH: Topic of Concern - Silica

About Silica

Silica is one of the most common minerals in the earth's crust. Glass, beach sand, silicone, and granite are all silica materials. There are two forms of silica - crystalline and noncrystalline. Crystalline silica is a bigger worry for the health of our lungs.

The most common form of crystalline silica is quartz, which is found in sand, gravel, clay, granite, diatomaceous earth, and many other forms of rock. Non-crystalline silica is found in glass, silicon carbide, and silicone. These materials are much less hazardous to the lungs.

When we talk about silica exposure we are talking about crystalline silica or quartz. Construction, foundry and mining workers could be exposed to silica when cutting, grinding, drilling, sanding, mixing or demolishing materials containing silica.

The size of the airborne silica particles determines the amount of risk. Smaller particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs where they can cause damage. Larger particles, such as beach sand, are not as great a concern because they are too large to inhale.

-UW silica website

UW Involvement

Faculty

Staff

Gerry Croteau, research industrial hygienist

Courses

ENV H 557 Workplace Exposure Controls

Services

News Coverage

UW silica website

Job hazards - silica. Field Research and Consultation Group website

A safer workplace, Environmental Health News, Winter 2000

Breathing safely in the dusty trades, DEOHS Biennial Report 1999-2001

Wetting the Stone--Consulting Group Helps Countertop Industry, Environmental Health News, Spring/Summer 1999

Research

Graduate Students

Gerry Croteau: The effect of local exhaust ventilation controls on dust exposures during masonry activities (Noah Seixas) 2000
Maria Majar, MS: Respirable dust and silica exposure assessment in construction tasks (Noah Seixas) 2001
Phoung Thi Nguyen, MS: Silica exposure assessment of refractory brick workers in Vietnam (Mike Yost) 2004
Son Phan, MPH: A Study of Silicosis Risk on Vietnamese Refractory Brick Workers (Matt Keifer) 2006
Thomas Sultze: Work on the edge: Factors affecting respirable dust exposures during concrete grinding (Noah Seixas) 2003
Tanongsak Yingratanasuk, MS: An assessment of lung diseases and silica exposure in a stone carving company in Chonburi Province, Thailand (Noah Seixas) 2001

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Carlsten C, DeRoos AJ, Kaufman JD, Checkoway H, Wener M, Seixas N. Cell markers, cytokines and immune parameters in cement mason apprentices. Arthritis Care and Research, 2006 [in press]

Croteau GA, Flanagan ME, Camp JE, Seixas NS. The efficacy of local exhaust ventilation for controlling dust exposures during concrete surface grinding. Ann Occup Hyg. 2004 Aug;48(6):509-518.

Croteau GA, Guffey SE, Flanagan ME, Seixas NS. The effect of local exhaust ventilation controls on dust exposures during concrete cutting and grinding activities. AIHA J 2002 Jul-Aug;63(4):458-67.

Flanagan ME, Loewenherz C, Kuhn G. Indoor wet concrete cutting and coring exposure evaluation. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 2001 Dec;16(12):1097-1100.

Flanagan ME, Seixas N, Becker P, Takacs B, Camp J. Silica exposure on construction sites: Results of an exposure monitoring data compilation project. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 2006 Mar;3(3):144-152.

Flanagan ME, Seixas N, Majar M, Camp J, Morgan M. Silica dust exposures during selected construction activities. Am Ind Hyg J 2003; 64(3):319-328.

Lan TN, Son PH, Trung LV, Hong NT, Keifer M, Barnhart S. Distribution of silica-exposed workers by province and indus-try in Vietnam. Int J Occup Environ Health 2003; 9:128-133.

Mannetje A, Steenland K, Attfield M, Boffetta P, Checkoway H, DeKlerk N, Koskela R-S. Exposure-response analysis and risk assessment for silica and silicosis mortality in a pooled analysis of six cohorts. Occup Environ Med 2002; 59:723-728.

Mannetje A, Steenland K, Checkoway H, et al. Development of quantitative exposure data for a pooled exposure-response analysis of 10 silica cohorts. Am J Ind Med 2002; 42:73-86.

Park R, Rice F, Stayner L, Smith R, Gilbert S, Checkoway H. Crystalline silica exposure, silicosis, and lung disease other than cancer in diatomaceous earth industry workers: a quantitative risk assessment. Occup Environ Med 2002; 59:36-43.

Peretz A, Checkoway H, Kaufman JD, Trajber I, Lerman Y. Silica, silicosis, and lung cancer. Isr Med Assoc J. 2006 Feb;8(2):114-118. Review.

Simcox NJ, Lofgren D, Leons J, Camp J. Silica exposure during granite countertop fabrication. Appl Occup Environ Hyg. 1999 Sep;14(9):577-582.

Steenland K, Mannetje A, Boffetta P, Stayner L, Attfield M, Chen J, Dosemeci M, DeKlerk N, Hnizdo E, Koskela R, Zhuang Z, Checkoway H. Pooled exposure-response and risk assessment for lung cancer in 10 cohorts of silica-exposed workers: an IARC multi-center study. Cancer Causes Control 2001; 12:773-784.

Yingratanasuk T, Seixas N, Barnhart S, Brodkin D. Respiratory health and silica exposure of stone carvers in Thailand. Int J Occup Env Heal 2003; 8:301-308.

Conference Presentations

Croteau G, Use of ventilation fans for reducing worker exposures, 2nd International Scientific Conference on Occupational and Environmental Health, Nov. 16–18, 2005, Hanoi, Vietnam

Croteau G, Camp J, Nguyen PT, Yost M, Comparison of Vietnamese high volume particulate sampling device to NIOSH total and respirable sampling devices, 2nd International Scientific Conference on Occupational and Environmental Health, Nov. 16–18, 2005, Hanoi, Vietnam

Croteau G, Camp J, Yost M, Nguyen F, Nguyen B. Silica dust exposures in Vietnamese refractory brick plants, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, May 13–18, 2006, Chicago

Croteau G, Flanagan ME. Engineering controls for silica in the construction industry, Northwest Occupational Health Conference, October 2001, Belllingham, WA

Croteau G, Flanagan ME. Silica dust exposure during common construction tasks, Puget Sound Safety Summit, April 10, 2002, Seattle

Croteau G, Flanagan ME. Silica dust exposure during common construction tasks, Portland Safety Summit, Oct. 22, 2002, Portland, OR

Croteau G, Flanagan ME. Silica in construction: Exposure assessment and control, Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety & Health Conference, March 2, 2005, Portland

Flanagan ME. Chemicals of Controversy – Crystalline silica: Toxicology, detectability and control feasibility, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, May 23, 2005, Anaheim, CA

Flanagan ME, Control of silica exposure for concrete surface grinding – a case study, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, May 7, 2001, New Orleans

Flanagan ME. Silica data compilation project, Construction Safety Conference, Feb. 10, 2004, Chicago

Flanagan ME. Silica dust exposure during common construction tasks, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, June 6, 2002, San Diego

Flanagan ME. Silica dust exposure during common construction tasks, Washington Governor’s Safety and Health Conference, September 2001, Seattle

Flanagan ME. Silica dust exposure and controls during common construction tasks, Construction Safety Conference, May 21, 2002, Chicago

Flanagan ME. Silica in construction – Sampling data compilation project, American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, May 13, 2004, Atlanta, GA

Flanagan ME. Wet concrete cutting inside: Does the amount of water used make a difference? American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Expo, May 7, 2001, New Orleans

Gleason R. Respiratory hazards and respiratory protection, Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety & Health Conference, March 2, 2005, Portland

Nguyen PT, Camp JE, Croteau G, Yost M, Silica dust exposures in Vietnamese brick plants, 2nd International Scientific Conference on Occupational and Environmental Health, Nov. 16–18, 2005, Hanoi, Vietnam

Seixas N, Flanagan ME. Research on engineering controls for silica in construction masonry, Construction Safety Conference, Feb. 7, 2001, Chicago

Other Resources

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