Dangerous Dust
WHO SAYS CRYSTALLINE SILICA DUST CAUSES AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES ? THEY DO !
Some Snippets From Around The World
John Main and Caroline Wroe
There is an established link between silica exposure and the development of systemic vasculitis. There is no clear quantification of the risk of exposure, or how to protect workers against it. We report three cases of systemic vasculitis from similar workplaces and a dilemma relating to the son of one of the cases.
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, East Tennessee State Universityhttp://www.elcosh.org/document/1426/668/d000803/5.html
Silica
Although the most common health effect of silica exposure are the lung diseases occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica is also associated with a number of other diseases, including systemic autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and some of the small vessel vasculitides and with renal diseases i.e. rapid progressive glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and end stage renal disease.
http://www.sclero.org/scleroderma/causes/environmental/silica/a-to-z.html
Overview of Diseases Caused by Silica Exposure
Silica exposure can cause autoimmune diseases such as lupus, scleroderma, and vasculitis. It can also cause silicosis, kidney disease, lung cancer, tuberculosis, and other airways diseases. Environmental exposure to silica can occur in workers and bystanders in many industries, including agriculture, construction, and potters.
Scleroderma and Silica
Causes of Scleroderma: Silica and Occupational Exposure. Occupational exposure to silica is a known cause of scleroderma. It is legally recognized as an occupational disease in many countries, including the United States. Scleroderma predominantly affects women. A striking finding is that when scleroderma occurs in men, it is often due to occupational exposure, such as to silica.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/arthritis/2012/604187/
7. Conclusions and Remarks
Environmental factors belong to the large group of significant mediators in the mosaic of autoimmunity. The long exposures to these factors become a risk for specific populations. In this context, silica, asbestos, silicone, or nanoparticles not only generate various immunological alterations but are also extensively in contact with people (Table 1). They may be mediators together with the genetic background in the mechanism that leads to autoimmune diseases such as the case of RA. Furthermore, these compounds are derived from the same chemical group. All of them contain silicon, which is one of the most common elements on earth, and despite their similarities, it is very rare for them to be seen as group. The epidemiological evidence and experimental approach have revealed the role of these compounds in autoimmunity, especially in RA, and their potential in the activation of the cellular recruitment, Th1-Treg misbalance, inflammasome activation, cytokine production, or ROS release. All these responses have been related to autoimmune diseases for years
Environ Health Perspect. 2011;
Some of the best supported associations,Miller says, link occupational exposure to crystalline silica with illnesses such as RA, SLE, and systemic sclerosis (also known as scleroderma), a disease of the connective tissues.
Jean Pfau, an associate professor of immunotoxicology at Idaho State University, suggests that silica and asbestos—which has been associated with RA, SLE, and scleroderma in miners and other residents in the former asbestos mining town of Libby, Montana[30]—evoke autoimmune disease in similar ways. Both compounds embed in the lungs, she says, which serves to attract immune cells and to produce inflammation. Moreover, silica and asbestos are cytotoxic, so they kill cells in ways that can generate a lot of cellular debris.
Inhalation of dust containing crystalline silica is associated with a number of acute and chronic diseases including systemic autoimmune diseases. Evidence for the link with autoimmune disease comes from epidemiological studies linking occupational exposure to crystalline silica dust with the systemic autoimmune diseases systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Occup Med (Lond). 2014 Jul
- 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4TJ, UK, clucas@staffmail.ed.ac.uk.
- 2Department of Rheumatology, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
- 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK.
This case report and literature review highlight the link between occupational silica exposure and autoimmune disease including SLE, establishes that even simple silicosis appears linked to development of autoimmunity and emphasizes the importance of an occupational history, especially in male patients who develop SLE.
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/3/720.full
There is an established link between silica exposure and the development of systemic vasculitis. There is no clear quantification of the risk of exposure, or how to protect workers against it. We report three cases of systemic vasculitis from similar workplaces and a dilemma relating to the son of one of the cases.
We have said that we believe him to be at an unquantifiable increased risk of developing AASV because of his environmental exposure
While there is documented evidence that links silica exposure to renal disease, it is not a recognized industrial disease and no compensation is available. We have written to the UK Industrial Advisory Board regarding the likely renal effects of silica exposure.
Occup Med (Lond). 2015 Aug;65(6):444-50. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqv073. Epub 2015 Jun 12.
Outbreak of autoimmune disease in silicosis linked to artificial stone.
Shtraichman O1, Blanc PD2, Ollech JE1, Fridel L3, Fuks L1, Fireman E4, Kramer MR5.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
There is a well-established association between inhalational exposure to silica and autoimmune disease. We recently observed an outbreak of silica-related autoimmune disease among synthetic stone construction workers with silicosis referred for lung transplantation assessment.
BACKGROUND:
There is a well-established association between inhalational exposure to silica and autoimmune disease. We recently observed an outbreak of silica-related autoimmune disease among synthetic stone construction workers with silicosis referred for lung transplantation assessment.
http://www.lupus.org/index.php/magazine/entry/lupus-triggered-by-more-than-the-outdoors
The environmental exposure that has one of the best-studied connections with lupus is silica, a mineral that people can be exposed to in mining and glass production. “Silica is one of the strongest known risk factors for the development of lupus,” says Frederick W. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The problem seems to lie in the fine dust from rock or sand, or in products such as pottery, ceramics, or tile dust, according to Christine G. Parks, M.S.P.H., Ph.D., a research fellow in the Epidemiology Branch of the NIEHS.
http://www.ancaassociatedvasculitis.com/overview/risk-factors
Exposure to silica dust—which can occur in farming, mill and textile work, sandblasting, lumber work, and drilling—has been associated with greater risk of developing ANCA-associated vasculitis.1
Case-control studies have demonstrated that patients with ANCA-associated rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis or GPA had significantly more frequent previous exposure to silica than controls.1
The exact mechanism by which silica might impact development of ANCA-associated vasculitis is unclear, but silica exposure is known to produce an immune response and inflammatory reactions.1
