Occupational exposure to silica and cancer risk

Inhalation of silica dust has long been known to cause the respiratory disorder silicosis. Whether it also leads to lung cancer is less clear - in 1986 IARC assessed the evidence for carcinogenicity to humans as limited. This volume provides up-to-date information on epidemiological studies carried out to provide more evidence on this topic, principally by trying to identify groups of workers exposed to silica in the absence of much exposure to any other known carcinogens. An association between silicosis and lung cancer continues to be seen, but whether this association is causal remains uncertain.