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Ancient Greeks were familiar with lung disease in quarry workers (Hippocrates) and the fact that respirators could prevent the disease (Pliny). Agricola (1566) described disease in stone cutters as later did Ramazini (1713). By 1917, the U.S. Public Health Service identified sand blasters and foundry workers to be at high risk of silicosis. As the 20th century progressed, silicosis was the reference to which newer diseases were compared. See e.g., Lanza, Silicosis and Asbestosis (1935). The Gauley Bridge disaster with 475 deaths in 1931 focused public attention on silicosis in America. Lawsuits in the 1920s and 1930s resulted in workers' compensation coverage for occupational disease.
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