What is silica dust?
Crystalline silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), the agent responsible for silicosis, is formed when oxygen combines with silicon. Crystalline silica is most commonly found in the form quartz and is a component of sand, common rocks, almost every mineral, and occurs in most soils. The clays and shales used in brickmaking all contain variable amounts of crystalline silica and the sands used in coatings similarly contain crystalline silica. How does silica dust affect the body? In extremely, or even some moderately dusty conditions, the number silica particles breathed in can exceed the ability of the lung to remove them. Extremely tiny particles of silica (too small to see with the naked eye) then build up in the lungs leading to the dust disease silicosis. Silicosis is caused by scarring of the lungs inhalation of dust containing crystalline silica. In severe cases, silicosis can be disabling, sometimes fatal, and there is no cure for silicosis. But, it is preventable. What is silicosis?
