The current scientific debate upon silica and cancer has often taken minds off the persistence of risks of lung fibrosis caused or, at least, triggered by crystalline silica dusts. Certainly, in Western Europe quartz dust exposures are now less frequent and, on average, less heavy than in the past, but this doesn't mean a vanishing of the possibility of new silicosis cases, in severe forms too. Short but intense quartz exposures are always possible from occasionally uncontrolled work circumstances and accidents. Quartz dusts can develop in unusual work settings, where the hazard is more often unacknowledged and then neglected. Increasing rates of progressive massive fibrosis are being reported in the United States, partly attributable to occupational silica exposure; certainly this problem in not confined to the United States and it is probably understudied and underestimated in several parts of the world.
The GBD studies have data on silicosis deaths ,DALYs and YYLD by country.
see also several papers on my RG site for silicosis risk,prevalence,incidence.
see link att
vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/
www.ihmeuw.org/GBDregionalviz
The GBD studies have data on silicosis deaths ,DALYs and YYLD by country.
see also several papers on my RG site for silicosis risk,prevalence,incidence.
see link att
vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/
www.ihmeuw.org/GBDregionalviz
http://www.ins.es/es/web/guest/documentacion/memorias_estadisticas/estadisticas
Thank you very much for the rich and skilled contributions by both Leigh and Gonzàlez-Outòn !
These confirm the necessity of a wide attention about new silicosis cases and about current exposures to crystalline silica in developed countries too.
Yours sincerely
Roberto Calisti
All the assessments of the prevalence and incidence of silicosis remain undervalued, as it has always been the case. The epidemic of silicosis growing in Chinese or Indian workers is quite visible but in Western Europe and other industrialized countries, statistics "forget" workers in exposed activities, particularly construction and agricultural workers, and also self-employed workers whose health (more generally) is insufficiently known.
The French General Health Insurance Scheme counts only 248 cases of occupational diseases linked to crystalline silica exposure eligible for a first payment in 2011, and 16 deaths.
In very specific activities, silicosis has happened to get some visibility for a few years: see articles in Spain and Israel on silicosis linked to the use of artificial stone made up of 90% of quartz (under the commercial names of Caesarstone, Silestone, etc.). And an alert was issued a few monts ago by RNV3P (ANSES) on serious cases of silicosis in workers using these materials in France : http://www.sante-travail-limousin.org/?Alerte-sanitaire-Cas-de-silicose
Thanks to Catherine too ! I delayed a replay just waiting for more contributions, but now it seems to me that the item "severe and fatal silicosis" has not a lot of followers. Anway, I'm very satisfied from the suggestions and theveru relevant data given by the three answerers.
I know this is a very late reply....but Silicosis had great coverage recently in south Africa among mine workers. My research field is better exposure monitoring for crystalline silica. The exposure to crystalline silica in dust is still quite high among miners in the U.S. and everywhere in the world. And not only miners.
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