# NIOSH UPDATE - NIOSH Issues Nationwide Alert on Silicosis/NIOSH Issues Nationwide Alert on Silicosis

NIOSH Issues Nationwide Alert on Silicosis
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a nationwide Alert to warn workers involved in rock drilling that they may be at risk for developing silicosis -- a chronic, irreversible, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease which is completely preventable. NIOSH Director Dr. J. Donald Millar, calls the disease "...an occupational obscenity because there is no scientific excuse for its persistence."
The Alert, "Preventing Silicosis and Deaths in Rock Drillers," documents 23 cases of silicosis among rock drillers, describes the working conditions that favor the development of silicosis, and recommends appropriate preventive measures. These cases are not unique. Silicosis disables many workers, and hundreds of Americans die each year with the disease. Many of those afflicted have no knowledge of the disease which plagues them.
Silicosis is caused by breathing in fine particles of crystalline silica -- a primary component of much of the earth's crust. Once the silica particles enter the lung, they become trapped, and areas of swelling (or nodules) form around them. As the condition worsens, the nodules become progressively larger and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. Eventually the worker may die of respiratory failure. Because of the ambiguity of the symptoms--cough and shortness of breath--silicosis is frequently misdiagnosed as bronchitis, emphysema, or tuberculosis. Once diagnosed, there is little hope for recovery; there is no cure. The only known treatment for advanced silicosis is a lung transplant. This high-risk procedure costs more than $300,000.
Dr. Gregory Wagner, Director of the NIOSH Division of Respiratory Disease Studies, believes there is. an urgent need to notify workers who are clearly at risk of exposure to silica. "Transplantation is no solution. What we are doing is replacing part of a worker rather than replacing a process," he said. "It is unacceptable."
Silicosis first received widespread public attention in 1936 when as many as 1,500 men died near the town of Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, as a result of breathing in silica dust. The incident has been called "America's worst industrial disaster." These men were asked to tunnel through a mountain of almost pure silica, even though the health effects of silica exposure had been documented for decades. In this element of extreme risk, no safety precautions were taken. Nearly six decades after the catastrophic happenings at Gauley Bridge, an estimated two million American workers remain at risk for developing silicosis.
One example of this continuing tragedy was documented in May 1992. A 45-year-old surface coal miner was admitted to West Virginia University Hospital with respiratory failure, unable to breath without the aid of a mechanical ventilator. He had worked for 22 years as a surface driller, had not seen a doctor in years, and had never received a chest X-ray. Although the drilling rigs he worked with had dust-suppressive devices (filters, pumps, and water spray units), they were in disrepair and were rarely used. He was diagnosed with severe silicosis.
NIOSH urgently requests assistance in disseminating the crucial prevention information contained in the Alert. The following page summarizes the key information from the document. It is essential that rock drillers, driller helpers, employers of drillers, and drill rig manufacturers be informed of the respiratory hazards associated with drilling operations so that preventive actions can be taken.