News in Shorts: 10 August 2024

Khan Yunis

Current Situation:

• Despite extensive damage, Hamas continues to conduct guerrilla attacks.

About Khan Yunis

• It is a  Palestinian city.
• Located:  southern Gaza Strip.

Ceasefire and Diplomatic Efforts

• Upcoming Talks: A new round of ceasefire talks is scheduled for August 15, aiming to halt the ongoing violence. 
  • Leaders from the US, Egypt, and Qatar are involved in the negotiations.
    • Previous attempts at ceasefires have failed.

Silicosis

• Published In:  In the British Medical Journal Thorax

Key Highlights of the Study: 

• The Study highlights how exposure to current acceptable limits of Silica Dust can result in serious risk of developing Silicosis overtime.
• Silicosis have the potential to become as big a health problem as exposure to asbestos.
• Finding: It was found that if average exposure over a 40-year working lifetime in mining was halved, from 0.1 mg/m3 to 0.05 mg/m3, there would be a reduction of silicosis cases by 77% 
• Sample Size: It involved 8,792 cases of silicosis among 65,977 participants, and included evidence from x-ray analysis of lungs, postmortem examination results, and death certificates.
• Limits: The research calls for reduction in the acceptable level of exposure to silica dust from 0.1 mg/m3 to 0.05 mg/m3 over a working day.

About Silicosis: 

• Silicosis is a respiratory disease which causes a hardening of the lungs. 
  • Silicosis is a progressive disease and has no cure.
  • Incubation Period: It takes typically 10 to 20 years of occupational exposure to silica dust for silicosis to develop 
• Cause: It is caused by silica dust or silica crystals, which are found in soil, sand, concrete, mortar, granite and artificial stone.
• Silica Exposure is common in construction, mining, oil and gas extraction, kitchen engineering, dentistry, pottery and sculpting.
  • Crystalline silica is released into the air as a very fine dust when the materials are cut or drilled which is inhaled by the workers.
• Prevention: Established methods like using water suppression methods of foams and mists to precipitate dust out of air effectively, better ventilation, and personal protective equipment can be used to reduce Silica dust at workplace.