OSHA Pub 3362 – Controlling Silica Exposures In Construction

Risk managers working in the construction, renovation or demolition industries are familiar with the hazards posed by dust with regards to the health of individual workers.  While dust is of course known to cause dangerous working conditions due to its ability to reduce visibility on a work site, as well as its propensity to clog ventilation systems or tools and increase the chance of fire or malfunction, the injury threat it poses to the respiratory system of employees who are continually exposed to it is quite severe.  Specifically, crystalline silica dust, which is often thrown into the air by rotating blades, jackhammers and other tools can enter the lungs in the form of particles small enough to cause bronchitis and the much more severe silicosis.  The latter disease has been affecting stonecutters since at least the 1700’s.  Silica can also increase the risk of cancer.

Crystalline silica is largely the byproduct of quartz mixed in with the materials that are being cut.  Since quartz is an extremely common element and almost impossible to avoid in the construction industry, risk managers must ensure that they take all the necessary steps required to protect their workers from dangerous levels of exposure to crystalline silica dust.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has recently published a new guidance document that is aimed at providing those in charge of worker health with a resource in their fight against job site injury.

The document is called Controlling Silica Exposures in Construction, and it contains a wealth of useful information and guidelines for risk managers to implement in the workplace.  It outlines the levels of exposure that OSHA considers acceptable, and recommends that risk managers routinely measure the air quality at job sites in order to determine what amount of risk workers are facing.  OSHA cautions that both risk managers and employees alike should not rely exclusively on visible dust as the sole guideline by which exposure levels should be judged.  Invisible dust particles are just as dangerous to worker health.  The publication also suggests the concept of regular medical checkups for employees who are continually exposed to high levels of crystalline silica.

The publication is divided into nine sections that are meant to address specific concerns in the construction industry itself, although many of the lessons taught can be extrapolated to other dust-producing ventures.  Some of the main dust control and reduction techniques discussed include wet cutting, (where blades are equipped with a water supply that weighs down any dust that is produced and reduces the risk of inhalation), vacuum dust collection systems (which are meant to transport airborne crystalline silica dust outside of the work environment), ventilation (booths, fans, ducts) and of course personal protective equipment.  This last concern describes respiratory protection ranging from simple face and nose masks which filter out dust particles of a certain size all the way up to self-contained respirators that offer a clean supply of oxygen.  Eye protection in the form of full face masks is also mentioned.