| |
When crystalline silica (a component of silica dust) is inhaled, it causes inflammation of the lung tissue. This inflammation leads to scar tissue formation on the lungs, also known as nodules, which obstructs the flow of oxygen into the lungs and into the bloodstream. Before it was identified and named in the 1930s, silicosis was known by a variety of names, such as dust consumption, grinder's asthma, grinder's rot, grit consumption, mason's disease, miner's asthma, miner's phthisis, potter's rot, rock tuberculosis, and stonemason's disease.
Texas Accident Help Center - Types of Silicosis Injury
There are three types of silicosis: chronic silicosis, accelerated silicosis, and acute silicosis.
- Chronic silicosis injury- occurs due to long-term exposure to low amounts of silica (10 to 20 years).
- Accelerated silicosis injury- also known as progressive massive fibrosis; occurs more quickly than chronic silicosis, usually due to exposure to larger amounts of silica over a shorter period of time (five to 10 years).
- Acute silicosis injury- occurs due to short-term exposure to extremely large amounts of silica. Acute silicosis can develop within several weeks or up to five years after exposure. Silicosis has also been linked to adverse health effects such as tuberculosis and lung cancer.
Texas Accident Help Center - Silica Exposure
Silica, or silicon dioxide, is a naturally occurring mineral that is composed of one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms. When silica molecules line up and create a repeating pattern they form a crystal (crystalline silica). Different crystal patterns are given different names, such as quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite, to name a few. People who work with quartz and other types of crystalline silica are at an increased risk of silica exposure.
Silica exposure most often occurs in people who work in construction, mining, sandblasting, stonecutting, abrasives manufacturing, and in people who work with glass, pottery, and on railroads. - Get a silicosis injury lawyer if you have these symptoms
|
|