Restoration Contractor: Silica Safety
While not very often, we have found that restoration contractors will sometime work in and around silica. Silica can be found in many building materials including:
concrete
mortar
sand
rock
masonry
and some paint
An you if you do the following to these materials then you are at a high likelihood of being exposed:
abrasive or sand blast
crush or demolish
jackhammer
grind
drill
cut or saw
Why it’s deadly.
You can be in danger even if you don’t see the dust.
When you breathe dust that contains silica, the tiny particles damage your lungs.
Silicosis can form in your lungs in as little as a few weeks of very high dust exposure. Even breathing small amounts over time can cause disease years later. By the time it gets hard to breathe, you are already sick and there is no cure for silicosis.
Silica dust also causes lung cancer, increases your chance of getting tuberculosis, and has been linked to COPD and other illnesses.
Protect Yourself: Three Methods
1. Use Water
Water can keep silica dust out of the air – and out of your lungs. Use tools with water attachments to control dust at the source. Water can also keep dust down during activities like sweeping and demolition.
2. Use a Vacuum
Use tools with vacuum attachments to capture the dust right where it starts. Dust is drawn into a hood or cover attached to the tool, through a hose, and into a HEPA-filter vacuum. The dust doesn’t get into the air – or your lungs.
3. Wear a Respirator
When other controls don’t work well enough and your work creates more silica dust than OSHA allows, your employer is required to have a full, written respiratory protection program. Respirators can protect your lungs from dangerous dust.
Find out more about silica:
www.silica-safe.org, a one-stop resource for information about silica exposures and controls
www.cpwrConstructionSolutions.org, to find tools and controls for silica dust and other hazards
www.elcosh.org, for training materials, handouts and more
www.niosh.gov, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
www.osha.gov/workers.html, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s site for workers
