New X-Ray to Enhance Silicosis Research in South Africa

Researchers at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a South African government-funded technology research institute, have developed an x-ray diffraction machine (XRD). The XRD will enable researchers to better identify the phases or crystal forms of silica and other materials present in miners' lungs. According to a researcher on the project, the development of the XRD is just one part of concerted national effort to eliminate silicosis in South African mines by 2013. Read the full article published in Mining Weekly.

For more information on the South African silica industry, read this government report.