Masonry Magazine December 1998 Page. 28
SILICOSIS
When workers inhale crystalline silica, lung tissues react by developing fibrotic nodules and scarring around the trapped silica particles. This fibrotic condition of the lung is called silicosis. If the nodules grow too large, breathing becomes difficult and death can result.
Are you or your workers at risk for silicosis? What do you know about silicosis? Can silicosis be prevented? We asked these questions of masonry contractors and What do Contractors and Workers Really Know? workers in a series of focus group interviews as part of a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the spring of 1998. Participants included masonry contractors and workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Pittsburgh group represented the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers; the groups in North and South Carolina represented open-shop operations.
Similar responses were found among the groups and while these finding do not represent the total population of masonry contractors and workers, they do provide a glimpse of this industry's knowledge and beliefs about silicosis and methods to prevent it.
Knowledge about Silicosis
Even though researchers and physicians in the occupational health field have long known about silicosis, our focus group interviews indicated masonry contractors and workers knew little about the disease and its health consequences. Neither union nor non-union contractors had specific knowledge about silica dust and silicosis; they thought they knew the source of silica dust but not specifically what it is. Union workers knew that silicosis involved the lungs and could even describe specific characteristics of the disease. Non-union workers said they knew little or nothing about silica dust and silicosis.
What is Silicosis?
Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by breathing respirable crystalline silica. Crystalline silica may be of several distinct types. Quartz, a form of silica, is the most common mineral in the earth's crust; concrete and masonry products contain silica sand and rock containing silica. Even materials containing small amounts of crystalline silica may be hazardous if they are used in ways that produce high dust concentrations.
Risk of Getting Silicosis
With the high levels of dust that accompany certain tasks on the masonry worksite-such as mixing mortar and brick sawing-exposure to silica dust certainly exists. Nonetheless, the contractors who participated in our focus groups believed the danger of contracting silicosis, by any of their workers, was minimal. While union workers believed that they were at high risk of getting silicosis and knew of workers who had gotten the disease, non-union workers knew little about it and/or believed that they were at low risk of getting silicosis.
Who is at Risk?
More than 14,000 workers have died from silicosis and hundreds more add to the death toll each year. Deaths from silicosis have been recorded in every state in the U.S., with construction being one of the most frequently recorded industries on death certificates with mention of silicosis. Overexposure to crystalline silica is well documented in this industry, particularly in brick laying and masonry. According to a recent study, approximately 17,400 masonry and plastering workers are exposed to at least five times the NIOSH recommended exposure limit (REL) for crystalline silica and of these workers, an estimated 80 percent are exposed to at least 10 times the NIOSH REL This study clearly indicates that masonry workers are at risk for exposure to dangerous levels of silica dust.