The Silicosis Experience in Scotland

This book examines Scotland's experience of silicosis, the oldest occupational disease, during the twentieth century. Four key industries are explored: the stone industries, foundries, building trades and coal mining. Thorough examination of primary sources raises key questions relating to contested knowledge, official recognition of the disease, and the effectiveness of preventative legislation. Integral to these themes was the distinctive nature of Scotland's approach to the silica hazard, where the fragmented and divisive character of both employers' organisations and trade unions was very much in evidence, and where lawyers led campaigns against what they called 'the English disease'. Nonetheless, legislation was introduced and by the 1970s silicosis was largely considered a bygone hazard - but this was not the end of the story. Since the mid-1990s, scientists, medical professionals and trade unions have again turned their attention to silicosis in Scotland. This book will therefore interest not only historians, students and those affected by occupational respiratory disease, but it also contributes to current debates amongst health professionals, legislators and regulators.