Artificial Stone Silicosis: Understanding an Emerging Occupational Epidemic

Documented as early as ancient Egypt and formally defined by the first international scientific consensus at the 1930 Johannesburg Conference on Silicosis, silicosis is among the oldest recognized occupational diseases.For much of its documented history, it was predominantly associated with well-known traditional industries and generally diagnosed in older workers after prolonged exposure.This epidemiological profile began to change in the early 2000s with the outbreak of denim sandblasting-associated silicosis, which was first brought to the attention of the international scientific community through reports from Türkiye.That outbreak-characterized by exceptionally intense exposure, short latency, rapidly progressive disease, and a strikingly young affected population-now finds a troubling parallel in the artificial or engineered stone industry, a relatively new but highly hazardous sector producing similarly aggressive disease among young workers exposed to extraordinarily high concentrations of respirable crystalline silica (RCS).In this issue of Thoracic Research and Practice, the review entitled "Artificial Stone Silicosis: New Face of an Old Disease" provides a timely and clinically oriented synthesis of the occupational context, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnostic challenges, management, and prevention of this emerging disease. 1