Silicon carbide; Evaluation of the carcinogenicity and genotoxicity

At request of the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, the Health Council of the Netherlands evaluates the carcinogenic properties of substances to which workers are occupationally exposed. The evaluation is performed by the Subcommittee on the Classification of Carcinogenic Substances of the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety of the Health Council. In this report, the Committee evaluated silicon carbide. The Committee is of the opinion that the available data prove that fibrous silicon carbide (fibers, whiskers) is carcinogenic to humans (category 1A). The available data are insufficient to evaluate the carcinogenic properties of non-fibrous (granular) silicon carbide (category 3).