Silicon Dioxide - Health Effects

Health Effects

Inhaling finely divided crystalline silica dust in very small quantities (OSHA allows 0.1 mg/m3) over time can lead to silicosis, bronchitis, or cancer, as the dust becomes lodged in the lungs and continuously irritates them, reducing lung capacities. (In the body crystalline silica particles do not dissolve over clinically relevant periods of time.) Silica crystals can activate the NLRP3 inflammasome inside macrophages and dendritic cells and thereby result in processing of pro-Interleukin 1 beta into its mature from. Chronic exposure to silica may thereby account for some of its health hazards, as interleukin-1 is a highly pro-inflammatory cytokine in the immune system. This effect can create an occupational hazard for people working with sandblasting equipment, products that contain powdered crystalline silica and so on. Children, asthmatics of any age, allergy sufferers, and the elderly (all of whom have reduced lung capacity) can be affected in much less time. Amorphous silica, such as fumed silica is not associated with development of silicosis, but may cause irreversible lung damage in some cases. Laws restricting silica exposure with respect to the silicosis hazard specify that they are concerned only with silica that is both crystalline and dust-forming.

Plant materials with high silica phytolith content, appear to be of importance to grazing animals, from chewing insects to ungulates. Studies have shown that it accelerates tooth wear, and high levels of silica in plants frequently eaten by herbivores may have developed as a defense mechanism against predation.

A study which followed subjects for 15 years found that higher levels of silica in water appeared to decrease the risk of dementia. The study found an association between an increase of 10 milligram-per-day of the intake of silica in drinking water with a decreased risk of dementia of 11%.