Silicosis and Lung Cancer News
Silica feared as 'next asbestos'
By Yvette Essen
20/09/2004
Silica sand, which is often turned into a gel and put into handbags and electronic goods to soak up moisture, has become the latest substance to join a list of toxic products worrying underwriters.
Aon, the second-largest insurance broker, said individuals extracting silica or working on manufacturing sites may be overexposed to the product, which could lead to silicosis - "a disabling, non-reversible and sometimes fatal lung disease". Other problems can include lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis, airway diseases, autoimmune disorders and chronic renal disease.
The broker has added silica to its toxic substances database, which lists materials troubling the insurance and reinsurance industry. Asbestos and tobacco are also on the list, as is toxic mould - a fungus that grows on walls and carpets, and can lead to respiratory problems. Aon said the potential for class action is "possible".
While there has been no medical evidence of a link between silica gel and silicosis, reinsurers are investigating whether exposure to silica sand could lead to numerous insurance claims.
Mark Hewett, deputy chairman of Guy Carpenter, the world's largest reinsurance broker, said his company is conducting research into silica. He said: "It is a common product in a natural environment but it starts to get hazardous if it is cut and the dust particles get in the air. The big question is, is it the next asbestos? We think it is probably not but it raises a number of similar issues."
Silica is used in the stone masonry business, for glass production and pool-filter sand. Aon says ground silica is "ideal for plastics and rubber, polishes and cleansers, glassfibre and precision castings."
Fine-ground silica is a high-quality filler used in paints and coatings.
Silicosis is a potentially deadly lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica, mineral dust and sand. More than one million U.S. workers are exposed and each year hundreds of these workers die from silicosis.
The crystalline silica is commonly found in sandstone, granite, slate, coal, and pure silica sand. It is generally recognized that people working in the following industries have the greatest risk of being exposed to silica dust and contracting silicosis: construction, mining – tunneling, sandblasting, stone crushing, rock quarries, masonry - cement work , foundry workers, demolition, sandblast dust exposure to other non-sandblasters in work area, cutting or manufacturing heat-resistant bricks (fire brick), manufacturing of glass products, railroad construction, plumbing & painting. Workers exposed to silica dust are often exposed to asbestos as well and many will develop asbestos lung diseases including a rare lung disease called mesothelioma.
Damage to the lung tissue means that the lungs cannot perform their function of supplying oxygen to the blood as well as they should. The symptoms resulting from this include a cough, with or without sputum, shortness of breath particularly on exertion, chest tightness, fatigue, loss of appetite and cyanosis (bluish skin). These symptoms of silicosis develop over time as the lung tissue becomes irreversibly damaged by fibrosis and is replaced with solid nodules of scar tissue. This gets getting worse as the lung damage increases. Silicosis treatment is very limited as there is no cure for the disease.
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