Rhinology, 46, 328-333, 2008 *Received for publication: October 28, 2007; accepted: June 7, 2008 Objective: Silicosis due to denim (or jean) sandblasters is newly described cause of silicosis. In such cases lungs are severely affected due to heavy exposure to silica without serious protection. We aimed to investigate whether silica had an effect on the upper airways and eyes. Methods: The study included the patients recently diagnosed with silicosis. For comparisons, a control group was constituted. Firstly, a questionnaire was performed to obtain demographic and exposure characteristics of the cases. Later, routine nasal examination by endoscope and routine eye examination by slit-lamp microscope were performed to investigate presence of rhinitis and/or adenoid vegetation and eye findings associated with dust exposure, respectively, in both patient and control groups. Punch biopsies of the adenoid tissue were obtained using an endoscopic telescope with the patient under local anesthesia and sent for histopatologic examination. In addition, nasal pH and mucociliary clearance were investigated. Both pH and saccharin nasal transport time (SNTT) measurements were performed by two physicians, who reached a final consensus. Results: The study group consisted of 83 male silicotics with an average age of 23 ± 6 years, and the control group consisted of 84 age and gender matched healthy individuals. Their mean exposure time was 40 ± 26 months. On routine nasal examination, silicotics had higher rates of rhinitis (28.9% versus 16.7%) mostly ipsilaterally (p = 0.01), adenoid vegetation (32.5% versus 13.3%, p < 0.05), conjunctival hyperaemia (70% versus 45%, p < 0.001), pingueculae (68% versus 23%, p < 0.01), papillar formation (40% versus 28%), and higher nasal pH values (7.9 ± 0.7 versus 6.9 ± 0.6, p < 0,001), higher SNTT values (19.9 ± 2.9 versus 10.9 ± 1.9, p < 0,001) compared with the controls. Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that upper airways and eyes are considerably affected in the patients with silicosis. Thus, appropriate protection is required to prevent the development of such problems in denim sandblasters. Key words: Silicosis, sandblasting, nasal, upper airway, eye SUMMARY The effects of silica exposure on upper airways and eyes in denim sandblasters* Ozgur Yoruk 1 , Orhan Ates 2 , Omer Araz 3 , Bulent Aktan 1 , Fatih Alper 4 , Yavuz Sutbeyaz 1 , Enver Altas 1 , Fazlı Erdogan 5 , Harun Ucuncu 1 , Metin Akgun 3 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Ataturk University Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey 2 Department of Ophtalmology, Ataturk University Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey 3 Department of Chest Diseases, Ataturk University Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey 4 Department of Radiology, Ataturk University Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey 5 Department of Pathology, Ataturk University Medical Faculty, Erzurum, Turkey ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION INTRODUCTION Silicosis is a fibrotic disease of the lungs caused by inhalation and retention of as well as pulmonary reaction to crystaline sili- ca. Although it is a well–known occupational disease, new occu- pational causes of silicosis continue to be reported. Recently, sil- icosis in Turkish denim sandblasters has been reported as the newest cause of silicosis (1) . New cases with fatal outcomes due to denim sandblasting have also been reported (2, 3) . In denim sandblasting, workers are exposed to silica because they project silica-containing sand, as an abrasive, onto denim (or jeans) surfaces to produce a “worn-out” appearance. Because of a very intense exposure during long hours of work under very poor hygiene conditions without adequate respira- tory protection, this kind of exposure seems to be more haz- ardous than the exposure from previously known sources. It is highly possible that not only lungs but also other parts of the body such as the skin, eyes, and upper airways will be affected in people who are exposed to silica, especially due to sandblasting, if inadequate protection is implemented. How- ever, to our best knowledge, there have been no reports of the