Abstract

Despite significant efforts to limit exposure to silica, the CSST recognized 494 new cases of silicosis in workers between 1988 and 2003 inclusively. Occupational lung disease committees are admitting the existence of a relationship between silica exposure and certain cases of lung cancer. This acknowledgement, as well as the question of cases of primary lung cancer in workers exposed to crystalline silica but who do not present signs of silicosis, is not however unanimously accepted by pneumologists interested in occupational health and safety. Analysis of the medical literature on the subject suggests that there is an increased risk of death due to lung cancer in silicotic people. The data published to date also suggest that silica exposure represents a low risk factor for lung cancer at exposure concentrations that exceed the permitted limit based on North American standards. These results agree with the conclusions of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), while qualifying them.