Diseases of occupational, chemical, and physical origin

The term pneumoconiosis refers to the group of conditions in which solid foreign substances, usually inorganic dusts of varying degrees of pathogenicity, are inhaled and stored in the lung. These conditions form a group of occupational diseases of considerable economic importance. Some of them may produce enough atmospheric pollution to cause pulmonary disease in people who live near the source. Many foreign materials can produce fibrosis leading to decrease in pulmonary function. Some substances included in this section do not cause significant fibrosis or alteration in pulmonary function. The latter include coal dust (anthroacosis), iron oxide (siderosis), barium sulfate (baritosis), and tin (stannosis). Benign changes have also been reported with exposure to titanium oxide and tungsten carbide