The Role of Quartz in the Development of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis

Hut lung: a domestically acquired pneumoconiosis of mixed aetiology in rural women.

“…18 In this setting the fibrogenesis relates to the quartz content of the mixed dust. More detailed studies will be required to establish whether women with more severe forms of hut lung have been more exposed to respirable quartz.…”

Carbon in Intimate Contact with Quartz Reduces the Biological Activity of Crystalline Silica Dusts

“…Old studies compared the fibrogenic potential of quartz-containing coal dust with the same amount of mere quartz dust, and it resulted that quartz alone was more active than that same quartz amount in coal 5 dust. [5][6][7][8] A loss of biological activity was also found when quartz was ground with coal dust 5,9 which suggests that the low toxicity of quartz-containing coal dust might be due to impurities, such as carbon or other mineral phases at the quartz surface. 9 In spite of occasional suggestions of a possible protecting role of carbon when in intimate contact with quartz as in coal mine dusts, 16 firm evidence about this has not been provided, nor are available data on the amount of carbon dust required for such effect.…”

The surface reactivity and implied toxicity of ash produced from sugarcane burning

“…Toxicology studies on sugarcane combustion products are rare. Mazzoli‐Rocha et al () determined that a single, low dose of particles collected from pre‐harvest sugarcane burning can induce significant alterations in the pulmonary mechanism in mice and determined that the overall impact was at least as toxic as traffic‐derived particles. Previous studies characterizing sugarcane combustion products show that amorphous silica, present in the stems and leaves of sugarcane, can convert to crystalline silica (cristobalite) during combustion (Le Blond et al, ).…”