Crystalline silica: risks and policy.

Since the International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled crystalline silica a probable carcinogen in 1988, government regulations have required sand and other products to contain warning labels and researchers have attempted to quantitatively assess low-exposure risks. The uncertainties are unlikely to diminish any time soon, and little value exists in calculating such risks, as low exposures to this ubiquitous mineral are commonplace in both urban and rural areas due to many uncontrollable activities. What is certain is that regulatory resources targeted at continuing high-level occupational exposures would be much more likely to have beneficial public health consequences than continued attempts to assess low-exposure risks quantitatively.