It refers to a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust.
However, there are other words that could be considered "longer" depending on how you define "word."
For example, some people argue that "floccinaucinihilipilification" (29 letters) is longer, even though it is less commonly used. It means "the act of estimating something as worthless".
Ultimately, the "longest word" is a bit of a subjective question, and there's no definitive answer!