Annual Report 2010-2011 senior officers of the NHRC have been visiting mental hospitals all over the country to know its functioning as well as find out the conditions of mentally-ill patients admitted therein for treatment. 5.9 It was reported in the NHRC Annual Report for the year 2009-2010 that in order to ascertain the status of compliance of its recommendations on quality assurance in mental health and to review the steps taken by the States/Union Territories concerning mental health, the Commission had organized four Regional Review Meetings on Mental Health in the country covering thereby the Eastern, Western, Southern and North-Eastern Regions. In continuation of those meetings, during 2010-2011, it organized its fifth Regional Review Meeting for the Northern Region in Agra on 9 April 2010 in collaboration with the Institute of Mental Health Hospital. The States/Union Territories covered in the meeting were Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, N.C.T. of Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan. The aim of the meeting was to assess the prevailing conditions of mental hospitals in the region, find out the status of implementation of district mental health programme, know the overall status of proposals of mental hospitals and district hospitals pending in the concerned States/Union Territories for augmentation of existing facilities. 5.10 The review meeting had the participation of the Directors of mental hospitals in the region, senior officials dealing with mental health in the State Governments/Union territory Administrations; officials of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India; Professors of Psychiatry teaching in the Medical Colleges located in the region and representatives of Medical Council of India. The recommendations which emanated out of the five Regional Review Meetings have been sent to all the stakeholders and are being followed up. C. Silicosis 5.11 The Commission has been deeply concerned about the health hazards posed by silicosis, an occupational disease. The disease is caused due to inhaling of dust containing free crystalline silica. Crystalline silica or silicon dioxide is found in quartz, sandstone, flint, slate, a number of mineral ores and many common building materials including clay bricks, concrete, mortar and tiles. Occupations with exposure to silica dust include mining; tunneling; stone work and sand blasting. In all these occupations, workers inhale tiny silica particles released into the air with the dust created by cutting, crushing, chipping, grinding, drilling, blasting or mining, and in the process become victims of silicosis. All those engaged in the manufacture of ceramics, glass and abrasive powders are also susceptible to silica dust. 5.12 Workers involved in dry sweeping of areas where sandstones and rocks are broken or crushed or those engaged in loading, unloading and dumping sand or concrete or cleaning of building materials with pressurized air are susceptible to silicosis as these processes generate large quantity of dust clouds. Hence, any activity in which crystalline silica dust exists, even if it is carried out in open air, is perilous. The silica particles inhaled are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope. At the same time, they are so light that they can remain airborne for a long time. As a result, silica can travel long distances in the air and affect populations 62 NHRC