Employer Responsibility for Fatal Worker Death from Silicosis, Lung Cancer, Tuberculosis, and COPD with Upward Trend in Silica Use
The risk of a serious or deadly exposure to silica is a known and recognized hazard to workers in a variety of industries here in Indiana and Illinois, in addition to the obvious danger facing miners in the silica mines found in our part of the country. About an hour southwest of Chicago on Interstate 80 is the largest silica mine in North America, as U.S. Silica’s operations in Ottawa, Illinois, mine the St. Peter Sandstone Formation. In fact, the Hoosier State is home to nine (9) different silica mining operations, while the State of Illinois has sixteen (16) different silica production facilities.
There is a growing danger facing workers from silica (also known as “silica sand” or “quartz sand”) for both miners and those who are not earning a living in a local silica mine.
Silica is used in numerous industrial applications. It is a component in the creation of things like rubber and electronic optics, as well as the manufacturing of glass, abrasives, polishes, and coatings. Read, Bulatovic, Srdjan M. Handbook of flotation reagents: chemistry, theory and practice: Volume 1: flotation of sulfide ores. Elsevier, 2007.
Silica is also involved in things like paving roads, foundries and coal burning boilers, oil and water filtration, industrial casting, and sandblasting. And innovations regarding the use of silica just keep coming.
Especially troubling to both safety advocates and advocates for injury victims is a recognized rising trend in new ways to incorporate silica into more and more industrial uses, including those in countertop manufacturing, finishing, and installation and hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry.
The danger of fatal silica exposure is growing.
Read, “Silicosis and Its Deadly Consequences,” by Colin Fluxman by Sun News on August 9, 2021.
What is Silica?
Silica is a type of sand used for industrial purposes. It has been mined and used for industrial purposes for thousands of years, with its first use estimated to be in 3000-5000 B.C. by glass makers and metallurgists.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, silica is:
[… sand or gravel] with high silicon dioxide (SiO2) content. These sands are used in glassmaking; for foundry, abrasive, and hydraulic fracturing (frac) applications; and for many other industrial uses. The specifications for each use vary, but silica resources for most uses are abundant.
Silica is a Recognized Toxin and Cause of Worker Injury and Death on the Job
The problem with this common industrial component is that exposure to industrial sand by human beings can cause silicosis as well as lung cancer, tuberculosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Silicosis is a lung disease that has no cure. It is caused by exposure to silica, where the victim inhales tiny bits of sand. These bits remain in the body over time; they do not evaporate or get expelled. The sand scars the lungs. The lungs harden. The longer the time period of worker exposure to silica, the greater the likelihood of severity in silicosis symptoms, such difficulty breathing, weakness, fatigue, and fever.
Left untreated, silicosis not only damages the immune system and results in potentially deadly pulmonary fibrosis, but it invites other fatal diseases including tuberculosis, lung cancer, COPD, and kidney failure.
Construction Industry’s Duty to Protect Workers from Silica Injuries
Employers have a legal duty to keep workers safe on the job from bodily harm which includes the inhalation of silica. Protective gear should be provided to the workers, such as respirators and disposable work clothing. Sites should accommodate safety protocols such as water sprays to reduce sand in the air. Testing should be performed to make sure any workers who have been hurt by inhaling silica are identified as soon as possible. Training should be provided to employees on how to protect themselves from silica injuries and silicosis.
For more on the employer’s duty of care, see:
- Construction Accidents: Hurt or Killed Working Construction in Indiana or Illinois
- Industrial Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Serious Injury or Death on the Job
Those with a particularly high duty to keep workers safe from silica exposure and silica injuries include employers in the construction injury, where hundreds of thousands of construction workers are asked to work with silica and industrial sand and gravel as a part of their job duties each day.
From the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH):
Silicosis, a scarring and hardening of lung tissue, can result when particles of crystalline silica are inhaled and become embedded in the lung. The disease can be progressively debilitating and fatal.
In construction, workers can be easily exposed to silica when using rock containing silica or concrete and masonry products that contain silica sand when preforming such tasks as chipping, hammering, drilling, crushing, or hauling rock; performing abrasive blasting; and sawing, hammering, drilling, and sweeping concrete or masonry. Even materials containing small amounts of crystalline silica may be hazardous if they are used in ways that produce high dust concentrations.
Justice for Victims of Silica Exposure on the Job in Illinois and Indiana
Sadly, exposure to silica resulting in silicosis is entirely preventable. If employers provide proper protections, then workers will remain safe from inhaling the toxic sand granules and they will not suffer the consequences of silica entering their lungs. The employer’s failure to meet the legally mandated duty of care can result in a worker’s fatal inhalation of silica.
For those working in the silica mines of Indiana and Illinois as well as construction workers in our part of the country and other employees asked to perform duties that involve the use of silica, the failure of the employer to protect against silica inhalation can form the basis of a wrongful death or worker’s compensation claim under state or federal law.
Silica exposure victims and their families may be entitled to legal compensation from the negligent employer who failed in the duty of care to protect against silica exposure that provides for medical expenses, long-term care costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, as well as long-term losses suffered by grieving loved ones and funeral expenses.
For more, read:
- Fatal Accidents and Wrongful Death Lawsuits in Indiana and Illinois
- Are Employers in Dangerous Job Industries Fudging Accident Reports to the Feds? Yes.
- More Time for Injured Workers to Seek Justice after Exposure to Toxins on the Job: New Illinois Statute.
Sadly, as innovations invite an increased use of silica in more and more industries here in Indiana and Illinois as well as other parts of the country, workers will fall victim to severe or deadly silica exposure, which is entirely preventable given the known measures necessary to prevent these kinds of on-the-job injuries.
Especially for those working construction or in our local silica mines, please be alert to the necessary protections against silica exposure and the legal duty of employers to keep workers safe from silicosis and its deadly results. Please be careful out there!
