1. Raw materials. Products

1.1 Silica

Repeated inhalation of silica dust is responsible for an occupational disease: silicosis, long known in the foundry industry. The causal agent of this disease is the crystalline form of silica (quartz, cristobalite, tridymite).

The sources are linked to the use of refractory and sand, the fines being generated as a function of the thermal or mechanical stresses to which the sand is subjected.

In 1996, the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) classified crystalline silica dust as carcinogenic to humans. At the same time, the legislator made it compulsory to carry out workplace environment checks from 1997 onwards.

Silicosis is still a concern in foundries.

However,...