Silica Usage and Safety

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that silica is an extremely important component in many industries, including the construction, pharmaceutical, cosmetic chemical and computer industries. The paper explains its special qualities, notably that it withstands sudden changes in temperature. The paper discusses how the inhalation of fine silica dust in large enough quantities can lead to the disease of silicosis and addresses the common safety measures. The paper also looks at the specific storage and transport requirements for inert silica.

Outline:
Introduction and Overview
Usage
Safety, Storage and Worker Protection

From the Paper:

"This substance was discovered in 1824 by the Swedish chemist Jons Jakob Berzelius. (SILICON or SILICA) It has an atomic number of fourteen and has various metallic characteristics. An important fact is that silica is never found in its natural state but as a silicate ion (SiO4), combined with oxygen. (SILICON or SILICA). It is found in silica-rich rocks such as obsidian, granite, diorite, and sandstone. Feldspar and quartz are the most significant silicate minerals. (SILICON or SILICA). Silica is also be found in "... skeletal parts of various protists and animals, such as certain sarcodines ...diatoms , and sponges , and in the stems and other tissue of higher plants" ( Silica)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Lavender M. (1999) The Importance of Silica to the Modern World http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowPDF&ProduktNr=224157&Ausgabe=226067&ArtikelNr=24618
• Material Safety Data Sheet. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2007, from http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/krubin/MSDS/Silicontetrachloride.html
• Silica. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2007, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-silica.html
• Silica Dust Exposure. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2007, from http://www.erd.dli.mt.gov/safetyhealth/brochures/silicadustexposure.pdf.
• Silicon carbide. Retrieved Sept. 26, 2007, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-siliconc.html

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