International Collaborations to Provide Control Solutions for Workplace Silica Exposures

Silicosis is an incurable pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust. In many industrialized countries, where the prevention of exposure to silica-containing dusts has been successful, the incidence rate of silicosis has decreased substantially. However, in most parts of the developing world, millions of workers continue to be exposed. One of the greatest concerns is the lack of primary prevention measures to control workplace exposure to RCS. A related concern is the lack of resources in developing nations to adequately protect the workforce. In 1995 the International Labor Organization (ILO) and World Health Organization (WHO) launched the International Programme on the Global Elimination of Silicosis by the year 2030. In 2005, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was requested to collaborate on this effort, resulting in the initiative known as Elimination of Silicosis in the Americas. One means of addressing the knowledge gap is a strategy called control banding (CB). CB allows nonexperts to use task-based hazard and exposure-potential information to determine appropriate controls. NIOSH has collaborated with multiple agencies in Latin America demonstrating CBs utility in silica exposure reduction, including providing a 3 day course entitled “Application of Control Banding Methodology,” providing translations of the UK Health Safety Executive's (HSEs) Silica Essentials, providing technical expertise to evaluate newly developed CB systems, and presenting control banding lectures in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico.