Knowra Silicosis Silicosis Silicosis is a progressive lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica particles. The particles trigger inflammation and scarring that can impair breathing.
Crystalline silica : Silicon dioxide in an ordered crystal structure, including quartz, cristobalite, and tridymite. Respirable particles of these crystalline forms cause silicosis.
Occupational hygiene : The practice of identifying and controlling workplace exposures that can harm health. Exposure assessment and controls can reduce workers’ inhalation of silica dust.
Mining : The extraction of minerals and other geological materials from the Earth. Drilling and cutting silica-bearing rock can generate hazardous dust.
Asbestosis : Lung fibrosis caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. It is another dust-related fibrotic lung disease, but its cause is asbestos rather than silica.
Alveolar macrophage : An immune cell in the lung’s air sacs that engulfs inhaled particles and microbes. Macrophages ingest silica but can be injured by it, sustaining inflammation.
Respirable crystalline silica : Crystalline silica particles small enough to enter the gas-exchanging regions of the lungs. This inhalable fraction, rather than larger dust, causes silicosis.
Silica dust exposure in engineered-stone fabrication : Inhalation of dust released while cutting, grinding, or polishing engineered-stone slabs. Intense exposures in this work have caused rapidly progressive silicosis.
Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis : A lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust, often containing carbon and mineral particles. Its occupational source differs, though it can also produce nodules and progressive massive fibrosis.
NLRP3 inflammasome : A multiprotein immune sensor that activates inflammatory signaling in response to cellular danger signals. Silica-triggered activation helps drive inflammatory responses in lung tissue.
Spirometry : A lung-function test that measures how much air a person exhales and how quickly. It can assess airflow and track respiratory impairment in people with silicosis.
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