[Radiological observations in relation to occupational exposure to silicon carbide (SiC)]

There have been investigated radiologically 191 workers from a SiC factory, exposed to dust concentrations exceeding largely that TLV and with a content of non-reactive SiO2 less than 1%. Radiological examinations were performed systematically at a three years interval, beginning with 1988. Radiology interpreting was performed according to ILO 1980 classification for persistent radiological opacities due to mineral dusts. Our results sustain the idea of the pneumoconiogen potential of SiC: there is a high prevalence of radiological findings (16.2%) and the opacities have an extend from 2 to 6 areas and the profusion from 0/1 to 2/2.