Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systematic Review

Veruscka Leso, Luca Fontana, Rosaria Romano, Paola Gervetti and Ivo Iavicoli
Additional contact information
Veruscka Leso: Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
Luca Fontana: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Italian Workers’ Compensation Authority (INAIL), Via di Fontana Candida 1, Monte Porzio Catone, 00040 Rome, Italy
Rosaria Romano: Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
Paola Gervetti: Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
Ivo Iavicoli: Section of Occupational Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Naples Federico II, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: Silicosis is a progressive fibrotic lung disease that is caused by the inhalation of respirable crystalline silica. Due to its high silica content, artificial stone (AS) can become a possible source of hazardous dust exposure for workers that are employed in the manufacturing, finishing, and installing of AS countertops. Therefore, the aim of this review was to verify the association between AS derived silica exposure and silicosis development, and also then define the pathological characteristics of the disease in relation to specific work practices and preventive and protective measures that were adopted in the workplace. A systematic review of articles available on Pubmed, Scopus, and Isi Web of Knowledge databases was performed. Although the characteristics of AS-associated silicosis were comparable to those that were reported for the disease in traditional silica exposure settings, some critical issues emerged concerning the general lack of suitable strategies for assessing/managing silica risks in these innovative occupational fields. Further research that is designed to assess the hazardous properties of AS dusts, levels of exposure in workplaces, and the effectiveness of protective equipment appears to be needed to increase awareness concerning AS risks and induce employers, employees, and all factory figures that are engaged in prevention to take action to define/adopt proper measures to protect the health of exposed workers.

Keywords: artificial stone; engineered stone; reconstituted stone; artificial quartz; silicosis; occupational exposure; exposure evaluation; risk assessment; risk management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/4/568/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/4/568/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:4:p:568-:d:206427

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().