Occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) occur in a variety of industries and occupations because of its extremely common natural occurrence and the wide uses of materials and products that contain it. Silica has been shown to cause cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. It is a basic component of soil, sand, granite, and many other minerals and is a significant hazard in the construction industry.
Respirable crystalline silica is 100 times smaller than a grain of sand, allowing it to get into the lungs when inhaled so assessing worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica is important to determine the need for exposure controls and personal protective equipment. Occupational exposures occur during the following:
- Respirable crystalline silica is created when cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, and crushing stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar.
- Activities such as abrasive blasting with sand, sanding or drilling into concrete walls, and manufacturing brick, concrete blocks, quartz and granite countertops, or ceramic products.
- Industrial sand used in certain operations, such as foundry work and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), is also a source of respirable crystalline exposure.
OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica standards, 29 CFR 1910.1053 and 29 CFR 1926.1153, require employers to limit worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica and to take other steps to protect workers. Employers can either use a control method laid out in the general industry and construction standard, or they can measure workers ’exposure to silica and independently decide which dust controls work best to limit exposures in their workplaces to the permissible exposure limit (PEL).
G2’s Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) can assist with the following items related to respirable crystalline silica exposure in the workplace:
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- Conduct personal air monitoring for initial exposure determination and on-going exposure assessment.
- Develop site-specific exposure control programs.
- Conduct compliance audits.
- Collect and interpret objective data as defined under the rule.
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