Silica
About 2.3 million workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in their workplaces, including 2 million construction workers who drill, cut, crush, or grind silica-containing materials such as concrete and stone, and 300,000 workers in general industry operations such as brick manufacturing, foundries, and hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.
Prevent Overexposure
Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica. It accounts for almost 12% by volume of the Earth's crust. Quartz is present in many materials in the construction industry, such as brick and mortar, concrete, slate, dimensional stone (granite, sandstone), stone aggregate, tile, and sand used for blasting. Other construction materials that contain crystalline silica are asphalt filler, roofing granules, plastic composites, soils, and to a lesser extent, some wallboard joint compounds, paint, plaster, caulking, and putty.
Inhaling respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. Respirable particles are small enough to travel deep into the lungs, where they can cause damage. Ordinary sand particles are much larger and are generally not respirable.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-8. What characteristic allows respirable crystalline silica particles to travel deep into the lungs?
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