The coolies, earth-coloured and mute, crouched reverently some twenty or thirty yards away, and the Babu, the slack of his thin gear snapping like a marking-flag in the chill breeze, stood by with an air of happy proprietorship.
Inhaling crystalline silica can lead to serious, sometimes fatal illnesses including silicosis, lung cancer, tuberculosis (in those with silicosis), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In addition, silica exposure has been linked to other illnesses including renal disease and other cancers.
Sevoflurane is unstable in soda lime, producing Compound A (lethal at 130-340 ppm, or renal injury at 25-50 ppm in rats; but incidence of toxic [hepatic or renal] or lethal effects in millions of humans are comparable to desflurane). Compound A concentrations of 25-50 ppm are easily achievable in normal clinical practice.