Symptoms
Symptoms of silicosis include:
- Shortness of breath
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Chest pain
- Dry, nonproductive cough
- Respiratory failure
Effects of Silicosis
Silicosis makes an individual more susceptible to the following:
- Lung cancer
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Bronchitis/Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- Scleroderma
- Possible renal disease
Who is exposed?
Silica exposures occur across a broad range of industries and activities. These include:
- Construction work
- Sandblasting
- Tunneling
- Mining
- Quarrying
- Railroad track work
- Stone cutting
- Glass manufacturing
- Steel industry work
Safeguards and Prevention
Prevention is the best way to avoid silicosis. There are many steps individuals and employers can take in order to avoid exposure, including:
- Use water spray systems to keep dust levels down
- Use proper ventilation
- Wear dust masks or respirators
- Do not eat or drink near exposed areas
- Wash hands and face before eating or drinking away from exposed areas
- Shower and change into clean clothes before leaving work to help prevent contamination of your car and home
Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster
The Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster illustrates the severity of silicosis and the importance of safeguards in the workplace. Beginning in 1927, the construction of a three-mile-long tunnel turned out to be one of America’s worst industrial disasters. The mountain rock that workers were drilling near Gauley Bridge, West Virginia contained extremely high levels of silica. Wet drilling techniques were not used to keep dust levels down and the 3,000 underground workers were not given masks or respirators. These factors all contributed to workers contracting silicosis at alarming rates. Over half of the men who worked underground at Hawk’s Nest for at least two months died within five years of the tunnel’s completion. The average length of work at Hawk’s Nest was between 15 and 16 weeks. The total death toll is thought to be well over 1,000 workers. Most of the workers were migrants and an accurate death toll will never be known because many of the sickened workers returned home to die.
