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Health & Medicine
Mahesh

11/08/24 07:29 AM IST

Silica dust could become the ‘new asbestos’ health risk

In News
  • New limits to a person’s daily exposure to silica dust in the construction, mining, dentistry and other industries could save about 13,000 lives worldwide.
About Silicosis
  • Silicosis is a respiratory disease which causes a hardening of the lungs.
  • It is caused by silica dust or silica crystals, which are found in soil, sand, concrete, mortar, granite and artificial stone.
  • It is common in construction, mining, oil and gas extraction, kitchen engineering, dentistry, pottery and sculpting.
  • People working in these industries are often exposed to silica every day, and are at higher risk of developing silicosis as a result.
  • The illness has, for instance, wreaked havoc in small mining communities in India.
  • Silicosis is a progressive disease and has no cure.
  • When the materials are cut or drilled, crystalline silica is released into the air as a very fine dust.
  • Workers breathe it in as they work, especially where industrial health and saftey standards are poor.
  • It can take a long time for silicosis to develop — typically 10 to 20 years of occupational exposure to silica dust.
  • Silicosis can lead to other serious diseases, including lung cancer, but scientists aren’t sure exactly how this happens.
  • Some speculate that the silica dust forms deposits in the lungs and that those deposits cause persistent inflammation.
Source- Indian Express

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