Quartz – The Most Abundant Mineral Species in the Earth's Crust and a Human Carcinogen?

Abstract

Quartz – the most abundant mineral species in the Earth's crust – has recently been deemed a human carcinogen, with the main threat to humans being from inhalation and, in turn, the development of lung cancer. This action was taken by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and was based upon substantial clinical and experimental evidence in humans and animals and in vitro experiments. As a result, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) now requires all manufacturers of materials that contain above 0.1% quartz to label their products as “probable human carcinogens.” Concurrently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires communities to monitor PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter) in the air, because high levels of PM10 have been linked to increased risk of respiratory diseases.A major component of PM10 is quartz. Long-term inhalation of large amounts of quartz-rich dust has led to various respiratory diseases in the mining industry and other dusty trades, but could low-level exposure to quartz lead to lung cancer in the general population? These recent rulings and current and future regulations have serious economic implications on the mining and farming industries in the United States and may even limit the rock and mineral collections students are “exposed” to in academic settings.