Workplace Health and Safety

1979 - 2013

• 561 cases of silicosis were confirmed between 1979 and 2013, an average of 18 new cases a year.
• Although the majority of silicosis cases were men, 1 county in NJ had the highest proportion of female to male deaths due to silicosis in a single US county between 1995-2004.
• Silicosis cases of Black race were overrepresented in NJ's historic foundries and steel works.
• Over the past 3 decades, the number of cases identified in manufacturing, mining and transportation declined while those in the construction and services sectors increased.
• Cases exposed to silica dust while working in the construction industry quadrupled after 1992.
• Leading worksites associated with multiple cases of silicosis were
  • China plumbing and bathroom fixtures manufacturing
  • Foundries and steel works
  • Sand mines
  • China plate and dish manufacturers
• 41% of NJ silicosis cases were exposed while working as machine operators or laborers.
• Silicosis was identified an average of 8 years earlier in sandblasters than in workers who had never sandblasted.
• Silicosis cases tend to be diagnosed late in life, making timely worksite interventions challenging.

Silicosis, an occupational lung disease, has been a significant public health concern in New Jersey (NJ) due to the use of silica in many industry processes, including: foundries, potteries, mines and, increasingly construction work. In response to this concern, the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) developed a silicosis surveillance system in 1979. This work was funded for many years by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

There is generally a 20-year lag time between exposure to silica dust and development of chronic silicosis. This is a challenge to timely disease prevention. Shifting the focus of NJDOH outreach to real-time hazard prevention efforts has helped NJ industries at risk to reduce and eliminate exposure to silica dust, the primary means to reduce and eliminate cases of silicosis.

1. Confirmed vs Unconfirmed Cases by Year [pdf 157]

1. Age [pdf 66k]
2. Gender:
   1. Male vs. Female [pdf 46k]
   2. Female Cases [pdf 205k]
3. Race [pdf 66k]
4. Ethnicity [pdf 119k]

1. By State [pdf 212k]
2. Unique Employers by County [pdf 174k]

1. Major Industry Sector [pdf 67k]
   1. Mining
2. Leading Industry Subsectors [pdf 57k]
3. Multiple Case Sites [pdf 62k]

1. Major Occupational Groups [pdf 280k]
2. Leading Occupational Subgroups [pdf 110k]
3. Hazards of Sandblasting [pdf 153k]
4. Leading Occupations by Race [pdf 92k]

1. Time Period of Exposure
   1. Decade of First Exposure [pdf 225k]
   2. Selected Characteristics of Cases Exposed ‘Before 1993’ and ‘1993 and Later’ [pdf 64k]

1. Distribution of NJDOH Worksite Visits and Confirmed Silicosis Cases by Industry Sectors [pdf 115k]
2. Surveillance Partnerships and Collaborations [pdf 449k]

Silicosis Publications in the Scientific Literature (co-authored by staff of the NJDOH Occupational Health Surveillance Unit)

1. Friedman GK, Harrison MD, Bojes H, Worthington K, Filios M.  Notes from the Field: Silicosis in a Countertop Fabricator – Texas, 2014.  MMWR 2015;64/No.5:129-130.
   
   
2. Meeker J, Cooper M, Lefkowitz D, Susi P. Engineering Control Technologies to Reduce Occupational Silica Exposures in Masonry Cutting and Tuckpointing. Public Health Reports, 2009 Supplement 1, v 124 (1-20).
   
   
3. Valiante DJ, Schill D, Rosenman KD, Socie E. Highway repair: A new silicosis threat. Am J Public Health 2004;94:876-880.
   
   
4. Rosenman KD, Petcher E, Schill DP, Valiante DJ, Bresnitz EA, Cummings KR, Socie E, Filios MS. Silicosis in dental laboratory technicians – Five States, 1994-2000. MMWR 2004;53/No-9:195-197.
   
   
5. Echt A, Sieber K, Jones E, Schill D, Lefkowitz D, Sugar J, and Hoffner K. Control of respirable dust and crystalline silica from breaking concrete with a jackhammer. Appl Occup Environ Hyg 18:491-495, 2003.
   
   
6. Goodwin SS, Stanbury MJ, Wang ML, Silbergeld E, Parker JE. Previously undetected pneumoconiosis in New Jersey decedents. Am J of Indust Med 2003;44:304-311.
   
   
7. Maxfield R, Alo C, Reilly MJ, Rosenman K, Kalinowski D, Stanbury M, Valiante D. Surveillance for silicosis, 1993-Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. MMWR 1997; 46/No-1:13-27.
   
   
8. Hall N, Rosenman KD. Occupational risk factors for developing tuberculosis. Am J Ind Med 1996; 30:148-154.
   
   
9. Rosenman KD, Stanbury MJ, Reilly MJ. Mortality among persons with silicosis reported to two State based disease surveillance systems. Scan J Work Environ Health 1995; 21 suppl 2:73-6.
   
   
10. Stanbury M, Joyce P, Kipen H. Silicosis and workers' compensation in New Jersey. J Occup Environ Med 1995; 37:1342-1347.
    
    
11. Cooper TC, Gressel MG, Froehlich PA, Caplan PE, Mickelsen RL, Valiante D, Bost P. Successful reduction of silica exposures at a sanitary ware pottery. Am Ind Hyg Assoc. J 1993; 54:600-606.
    
    
12. Reilly MJ, Rosenman KD, Watt F, Stanbury M, Valiante DJ, Helmus LE, Migliozzi NA, Anderson H, Hanrahan L, Jajosky RA, Musgrave KJ, Castellan R, Ordin D. Silicosis surveillance - Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Wisconsin. MMWR 1993;42/No. SS-5:23-28.
    
    
13. Valiante D, Bost P, Stanbury M, Szenics J, NIOSH. Silicosis among pottery workers - New Jersey. MMWR 1992;42:405-411.
    
    
14. Valiante DJ, Richards T, Kinsley KB. Silicosis surveillance in New Jersey: Targeting workplaces using occupational disease and exposure surveillance data. Am J Ind Med 1992; 21:517-526
    
    
15. Brien D, Froehlich PA, Gressel MG, Hall RM, Clark NJ, Bost P, Fischbach T. Silica exposure in hand grinding steel castings. Am Ind Hyg Assoc. J 1992; 53:42-48.
    
    
16. Windau J, Anderson H, Rosenman KD, Rudolph L, Stanbury MJ, Stark A. The identification of occupational lung disease from hospital discharge data. J Occup Med 1991; 33:1060-1066.
    
    
17. Rosenman KD, Trimbath L, Stanbury MJ. Surveillance of occupational lung disease: Comparison of hospital discharge data to physician reporting. Am J Public Health 1990; 80:1257-1258.
    
    
18. Valiante D, Rosenman KD. Does silicosis still occur? JAMA 1989; 21: 3003-3007.
    
    
19. Stanbury MJ, Rosenman KD. Chemical and dust-related diseases. New Jersey Medicine 1988; 85:929-936.