Sandblasters' Silicosis

Our plain-English summary of Sandblasters' Silicosis, by M.M. Ziskind.

The study

• Author: M.M. Ziskind
• Published: n.d.
• Type of article: Conference paper
• Our copy: from Johns-Manville's own medical library. The article is still under copyright, so we describe it here rather than post it.

In plain English

This short article by Morton M. Ziskind is about silicosis in sandblasters, a lung disease caused by silica dust. It is not about asbestos. It gives no methods and reads as a brief overview. The author wrote that a rapidly developing form of silicosis was recognized in sandblasters around 1930, and that it produced fatal disease after average exposures of ten years. Blasting sand contained 60% to 95% free silica. In sandblasters' silicosis, shortness of breath, cough, weight loss and even fever had occurred after two to three years of exposure. The author described a recent series of 85 silicotic sandblasters. In that series, half of the mycobacterial infections were atypical, and five people developed body-wide fungal infections. Forty-five percent of a large series of sandblasters with silicosis developed antinuclear antibodies, and 10% developed frank collagen disease. The author stated there is no specific treatment for silicosis. The author concluded that using sand as an abrasive in ship and steel yard work will remain unacceptable until the risk during the painting period after blasting is reduced.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: brief narrative overview (no study methods described)
• Who was studied: sandblasters with silicosis, including a recent series of 85 silicotic sandblasters (place and dates not given); the work discussed was in shipbuilding and the oil industry
• Exposure: free (crystalline) silica from sand used as a blasting abrasive, containing 60% to 95% free silica, blown at 60 to 120 pounds per square inch; no asbestos exposure is discussed
• Main results:
  • Around 1930, the rapidly developing silicosis seen in sandblasters produced fatal disease after average exposures of ten years
  • In sandblasters' silicosis, symptoms such as shortness of breath, cough, expectoration, weight loss and even fever occurred after exposures of about two to three years
  • In a recent series of 85 silicotic sandblasters, half of the mycobacterial infections were atypical, and five individuals developed systemic mycotic (fungal) complicating infections
  • Forty-five percent of a large series of sandblasters with silicosis developed antinuclear antibodies
  • In 10% of the patients, frank collagen disease appeared, most commonly rheumatoid arthritis and localized and diffuse scleroderma
  • There is no specific treatment for silicosis
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that substituting abrasives with little or no free silica appears the most practical protection. Until the risk during the painting interval after blasting is reduced, using sand as an abrasive in ship and steel yard operations and steel structure maintenance will continue to be unacceptable.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Silicosis, Collagen.

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