Prevalence of Silicosis in a Marble Factory after Exposure to Quartz Conglomerates
2011; Elsevier BV; Volume: 47; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s1579-2129(11)70008-8
ISSN1885-6195
AutoresSílvia Pascual, Isabel Urrutia, Aitor Ballaz, Itziar Arrizubieta, Lander Altube, Carlos Salinas,
Tópico(s)Legionella and Acanthamoeba research
ResumoIn this note we present the increased prevalence of silicosis found in a marble factory after exposure to a new presentation of silica. A prospective, observational study was conducted on 11 workers who were exposed to different presentations of quartz surfaces since 1995. The jobs were divided into two groups: 4 subjects worked in the cutting workshop; the rest of the workers worked in assembly. Up to that date they had not used any specific respiratory protection apparatus. Six cases of silicosis have been diagnosed, which assumes a disease prevalence in this environment of 54.5%. Of the 6 affected, 5 (83.3% are assemblers. We highlight the high risk of developing silicosis in the handling of different products which make up the range of quartz surfaces.
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