a disease in humans of the pneumoconiosis group resulting from a prolonged inhalation of dust containing compounds of silicic acid with metal oxides. Silicatosis is an occupational disease. Silicate dusts include those of asbestos, talc, kaolin, olivine, nepheline, certain insulating materials (glass fiber, mineral wool), and mica. With silicatosis there is a fairly slow fibrotic process in the lungs. The disease is less often accompanied by tuberculosis than is silicosis.