Silica dust the next asbestos: experts - Ninemsn Health Watch, Australian
Medical experts have warned that thousands of Australians who have inhaled worksite sand dust may die in what they have dubbed 'the next asbestos' scandal.
There is well-established medical evidence linking sandblasting to the fatal lung disease silicosis, which can have an incubation period of 15 years or more, The Weekend Australian reports.
Sandblasting has been progressively banned or controlled by requiring face masks and breathing apparatus since the 1980s, but thousands of workers from the 1960s and 1970s were exposed to silica particles without adequate protection.