Silicate pneumoconiosis of farm workers

Abnormal numbers of birefringent particles have been found in the lungs of seven patients (five vineyard workers, one farmer, and one rural resident) in association with a spectrum of early to late interstitial inflammation and fibrosis. Nodular granulomas of the type seen in silicosis were absent. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of 177 individual particles (less than 5 micrometer.) in situ in the lungs of four of the patients showed mostly silicates (notably aluminum, silicon, and potassium), with 5 to 10 per cent silicon dioxide. An analysis of particles less than 5 micrometer. from both vineyard and non-vineyard soil showed lung and soil particles to have a similar composition. The presence of large amounts of silicates in the lung tissues, in association with chronic inflammation and fibrosis, implicates the silicates in the causation of the fibrosis. The silicate deposits may, in large part, be a marker, reflecting a mixture of toxic soil additives or pesticides found in commercial clay silicate products or in dusts from the soil itself. The findings do not exclude lung pathology of a similar nature in regions outside of the farm.