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Updated: Sep 9, 2025
Establishing a Silicosis Rat Model via Exposure of Whole-Body to Respirable Silica
Published on: October 28, 2022
Silicosis Surveillance in California, 2019-2024: Tracking an Epidemic
Jennifer Flattery1, Chelsea Woolsey1, Jane C Fazio1
1Jennifer Flattery, Chelsea Woolsey, Amy Heinzerling, Robert J. Harrison, and Kristin J. Cummings are with the Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond. Jane C. Fazio is with the David Geffen School of Medicine and Olive View Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles. Sheiphali A. Gandhi is with the Division of Occupational, Environmental, and Climate Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Silicosis is a severe lung disease affecting California workers, particularly those exposed to engineered stone. Early detection and silica exposure controls are crucial for preventing serious illness and death in this industry.
Area of Science:
- Occupational health surveillance
- Pulmonary toxicology
- Public health epidemiology
Background:
- Silicosis poses a significant health burden among workers.
- Engineered stone fabrication presents a growing risk for silica exposure.
- Understanding silicosis trends is vital for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize the nature, burden, and trends of silicosis in California.
- To specifically examine cases linked to engineered stone exposures.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of multisource public health surveillance for silicosis.
Main Methods:
- Conducted multisource public health surveillance from 2019 to 2024.
- Generated descriptive statistics for confirmed silicosis cases.
- Compared engineered stone cases with other silica exposure cases.
Main Results:
- Confirmed 296 silicosis cases, with 82% linked to engineered stone.
- Engineered stone cases were younger, male, Latino, and from Los Angeles County.
- Severe outcomes included deaths (6%) and lung transplant referrals (25%) for engineered stone cases.
Conclusions:
- Multisource surveillance effectively identified numerous silicosis cases, including those from engineered stone.
- Silicosis outcomes are severe, with many patients presenting with advanced disease.
- Worker screening and silica exposure mitigation are essential in the engineered stone industry.
