How Is Silica Dust Created?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun enforcing new crystalline silica standards for construction work this year and will begin the enforcement of similar standards for general industry work environments in June of 2018. These standards require employers to limit workers’ exposure to respirable crystalline silica and to protect workers from the risk of silicosis in other ways as well.

These new standards for many may be hard to meet. Before you start trying to combat silica dust at your construction site or warehouse, it is important to know: how is silica dust created?

Before we can talk about where silica is found, it’s important to understand exactly what silica is. Check out our previous post that explains what silica is.

Silica is found in many natural materials, including most types of rock. Read more in-depth about where silica can be found in our blog post titled “Where Is Silica Found?”

Silica Dust

The dangerous part about silica in a work environment comes from the dust particles that can be created and inhaled into the lungs. This respirable dust is created when materials containing silica are cut, sanded, and otherwise broken up, creating dust particles that enter the air. Workers must take precautions when creating this dust, like minimizing the production of it with water and wearing filtration masks in the vicinity. Exhaust fans are common in these environments as well.

Jobs That Create Silica Dust

Fine dust is created when workers cut, saw, grind, drill, and crush stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar. Abrasive blasting with sand; sawing brick and concrete; sanding or drilling into concrete; grinding mortar; manufacturing brick, concrete blocks, stone countertops, or ceramic products; and cutting or crushing stone all expose workers to crystalline silica dust. Foundry work, hydraulic fracturing, and other processes that use industrial sand also create environments with respirable crystalline silica.

Respirable crystalline silica dust is created pretty much the same way as any other kind of dust, as long as the material being used contains silica.

It’s important that your employees understand how silica dust is created so that the proper safety precautions can be used. Not only is this an important standard to follow in order to avoid OSHA citations, but it can also save your employees’ lives.

Download our free ebook to share with your employees so they can learn about the dangers of crystalline silica. Optional training resources are offered within the ebook if you’re ready to take the next step in silica safety.