La enfermedad oculta: una historia de las enfermedades profesionales en Colombia, el caso de la silicosis (1910-1950)

Abstract

Silicosis (and other pneumoconioses), a chronic disease often associated with the appearance of tuberculosis in miners, posed a significant challenge for Colombia's nascent hygienic and industrial safety efforts. The article analyzes the strategies and recommendations of various doctors and engineers to reduce this type of "risk." It shows how silicosis remained outside the interests of the medical establishment due to the predominance of other socio-medical problems. It became a medical problem with the first studies of "occupational medicine" and the beginnings of social security in Colombia.

Salud y riesgos laborales por el manejo de sílice en el proceso de sandblasting./ Health risks and labor management in the process of silica sandblasting

“…En este sitio, las partículas de polvo son removidas por las células fagocíticas llamadas macrófagos. Éstos pueden ser removidos por el sistema mucociliar o por el sistema linfático (25,36).…”