Risk assessment of mortality from silicosis and lung cancer in workers of machine factories and traditional brick production workshops with crystalline silica exposure

Abstract

Introduction: Exposure to dust is an essential factor in the brick production industry. Determining the mortality rate from silicosis and lung cancer is very important in exposure to crystalline silica dust. Therefore, this study was conducted to risk assessment of workers in machine factories and traditional brick production workshops.
 Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 in a machine factory and five traditional active brick production workshops in Qarchak and Varamin city located in the southeast of Tehran. All employees of a brick-making machine factory (40 people) and five traditional brick-making workshops (30 people) were selected by census sampling. Their exposure to total respiratory dust and respirable crystalline silica was evaluated by the NIOSH0600 method and NIOSH7602 optimal method. Mortality risk assessment from silicosis and lung cancer was performed based on Mannetej and Rice models. Data were analyzed by t-test after entering SPSS19 software.
 Results: The average concentrations of crystalline silica and total respiratory dust in traditional workshops are 0.651 ±0.69 and 28.27 ± 23.05, and in a machine factory are 0.297± 0.27 and 17.6 ±8.6 mg / m3. The T-test showed a significant difference between the traditional and mechanical brick factory in occupational exposure to total respiratory dust (P=0.001). However, no significant difference was observed in exposure to crystalline silica (P=0.107). In both traditional and machine brick factory, the risk of death from silicosis and lung cancer is unacceptable.
 Conclusion: The results showed that the industry's mechanization has reduced exposure to total respiratory dust and crystalline silica and reduces the risk of death from lung cancer. But the risk of death from lung cancer and silicosis is still high in both traditional and mechanical factories