5 things you need to know about silica dust
Published on September 14th, 2022 | by Matthew Albutt
Silica is a chemical compound formed from silicon and oxygen atoms. It comes in two forms; hazardous crystalline, or non-hazardous amorphous – it’s crystalline silica that causes all the trouble. Crystalline silica is one of the most abundant minerals on earth and is found in many naturally occurring materials such as rock, sand, stone, clay and gravel. For example, sandstone contains more than 70% silica, whereas granite might contain 15-30%. Silica is also a major part of construction materials such as bricks, tiles, concrete, and mortar.
How does silica become harmful to health?
You generate dust from these materials during many common construction tasks. These include cutting, drilling, grinding, and polishing. Some of this dust is fine enough to get deep into your lungs. The fine dust is known as respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and is too fine to see with normal lighting. It is commonly called silica or silica dust.
We take a look at 5 things you need to know about silica dust:
- It’s the second biggest killer in construction after asbestos – According to the HSE, regularly breathing construction dust can cause respiratory diseases like lung cancer, asthma, emphysema, and silicosis.
- Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is present in construction site materials – Cutting, drilling, grinding, sanding, and polishing can expose you to silica dust. Some of this dust is fine and can get deep into your lungs. Many materials used on a construction site will contain silica.
- It doesn’t take much dust to do damage – Even a small amount of RCS can do long-term damage, particularly over a prolonged period of exposure. The workplace exposure limit is 0.1mg over eight hours.
- You must control silica dust at the source – Choosing the correct tools and extraction is a must. This can be used in conjunction with wet cutting and wet sweeping, which will wet the dust and cause it to fall to the ground.
- Silica dust can remain in the air for 12 days – The dust is so small that it hovers in the air for almost 2 weeks, even if we can’t see it.
How big of a health risk is silica dust?
Silica is the biggest risk to construction workers after asbestos. Heavy and prolonged exposure to RCS can cause lung cancer and other serious respiratory diseases. In addition to the risks from lung cancer, silica is also linked to other serious lung diseases:
- Silicosis –can cause severe breathing problems and increases the risk of lung infections. Silicosis usually follows exposure to RCS over many years, but extremely high exposures can cause acute silicosis more quickly.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease –(COPD) is a group of lung diseases including bronchitis and emphysema. It results in severe breathlessness, prolonged coughing and chronic disability. It can be very disabling and is a leading cause of death. Around 4,000 deaths are estimated annually due to COPD resulting from past workplace exposures. Construction workers are a significant ‘at-risk’ group within this.
How can silica dust be prevented or controlled?
Both employers and employees must fully understand what they are working with and what risks are involved. It is the employer’s responsibility to carry out risk assessments and implement effective control measures to mitigate the exposure of silica dust to employees. This legal responsibility comes under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH).
Looking for more information?
The HSE has information on silica dust which can be found on their website here. The information is only informative and will not make you compliant. In order to be compliant with the law you will need a competent person who understands the Regulation and can carry out the risk assessments involved.
A competent person can be someone who looks after health and safety for your company or a third party company, such as Agility Risk and Compliance, to act as your competent person. Give a member of the team a call on 01527 571 611 to discuss what you’re looking for and see how we can help.
