Silicosis became the topic of discussion drawing much attention during a 1930s mining incident where a construction company in West Virginia instructed its workers to mine a mineral known as silicosis using dynamite, without providing them respiratory protection. Workers were never told that inhalation of silica fibers and dust would likely result in an incurable lung disease known as silicosis. No more than a year after the construction/mining incident occurred did the workers begin feeling the symptoms of silicosis as well as begin dying. The incident is known as the Hawk’s Nest mining scandal.The Hawk0s Nest scandal resulted in a slew of lawsuits and a new, strict set of workplace safety standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandating ventilation, protective gear and limits on how long a worker may be exposed to silica. Since the Great Depression, the number of U.S. while silicosis-related deaths have decreased through the years, they are suddenly on the rise.Silicosis litigation has been on the rise over the past four years in the U.S. has skyrocketed. U.S. Silica, one of the nation0s largest makers of industrial silica sand, reported a tenfold rise in personal-injury suits against it between June of 2001 and […]

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