The Rock in this case isn’t the ex-professional wrestler and somewhat salacious actor, Dwayne Johnson.
The rock to be discussed here is not salacious but siliceous, which refers to a high content of silicon dioxide (SiO2) or silica. When siliceous rocks are cut, broken, crushed, drilled, ground, or abraded by workers who manufacture, finish, and install natural and engineered stone kitchen countertops, they produce fine silica dust.
The disease that results from inhalation of this silica dust, silicosis, may predispose to several pulmonary pathologies among them chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a tumor type for which RRx-001 (nibrozetone) is offered as a treatment in an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial called REPLATINUM.
Silica or silicon dioxide (SiO2) is the most abundant mineral on Earth and the main constituent of more than 95% of rocks and stones. When particles of crystalline silica are small enough in diameter to reach the lungs, they set in motion a chain of inflammatory and immunological events that may produce silicosis.
Symptoms of silicosis include dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and tiredness. The prognosis of silicosis is poor, with a gradually worsening pulmonary function, often leading to the eventual development of respiratory failure. Tuberculosis is also common—as are COPD and lung cancer.
The CDC estimates that about 2 million construction workers are exposed to silica dust.
Silicosis is not treatable, but it is preventable with good ventilation and industrial grade N95 respirator masks.