Many everyday construction and industrial processes can create silica-containing dust.

Potentially high-risk activities include:

• Cutting concrete, bricks, blocks, tiles or stone
• Drilling and coring
• Grinding concrete and stone
• Chasing concrete and masonry
• Scabbling concrete
• Cutting paving, kerbs and slabs
• Raking mortar
• Stone cutting and processing
• Demolition and refurbishment work
• Crushing silica-containing materials
• Handling certain mineral products
• Cleaning areas contaminated with silica-containing dust

Even housekeeping practices can affect exposure. For example, dry sweeping fine concrete or masonry dust can put previously settled particles back into the air.

Understanding where and how silica dust is being generated is therefore an important first step towards controlling exposure.

Why Is Silica Dust Dangerous?

Regular exposure to respirable crystalline silica can cause serious damage to the lungs. Health conditions associated with exposure to RCS include:

Silicosis

Silicosis is a serious lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica. Exposure can result in inflammation and scarring of lung tissue, potentially affecting a person's ability to breathe.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Exposure to silica dust can contribute to chronic respiratory conditions including COPD, which can result in long-term breathing difficulties.

Lung Cancer

Respirable crystalline silica is associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, particularly where exposure is heavy or prolonged. The risk makes preventing and adequately controlling exposure particularly important in workplaces where silica-containing materials are regularly used or disturbed.

Understanding Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS)

The terms silica dust and respirable crystalline silica are often used interchangeably, but understanding the distinction is useful.

When a silica-containing material is disturbed, it can generate particles of different sizes. Larger dust particles may be visible and settle relatively quickly. The respirable fraction contains much finer particles capable of reaching deep into the lungs. It is this fine crystalline silica dust that is referred to as RCS.

Because RCS can be extremely difficult to see, visual observations alone cannot reliably determine the level of exposure experienced by workers.

This is one reason why appropriate silica dust risk assessment and exposure monitoring can be so important.

Exposure is not necessarily limited to the person carrying out the dust-producing activity. Other employees, contractors and people working nearby may potentially be exposed if airborne dust is allowed to spread beyond the immediate work area.

Who Is at Risk From Silica Dust Exposure?

Silica dust exposure can occur across numerous industries and occupations. Workers who may encounter RCS include those working within:

• Construction
• Demolition
• Groundworks
• Civil engineering
• Concrete cutting and finishing
• Brick and block work
• Stonemasonry
• Natural and engineered stone processing
• Quarrying
• Mineral processing
• Brick and tile manufacture
• Ceramics
• Manufacturing
• Paving and roadworks
• Refurbishment
• Property development

Effective silica dust management therefore needs to consider the entire working environment, not simply the individual operating a tool.

Silica Dust Exposure Limits in the UK

Respirable crystalline silica has a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) of 0.1 mg/m³, measured as an eight-hour time-weighted average.

However, the Workplace Exposure Limit should not be regarded as a target or a level that removes the need for effective dust controls.

Employers have responsibilities under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) to assess risks arising from hazardous substances and adequately control exposure.

For silica dust, this means understanding where RCS may be generated, assessing who could be exposed and implementing appropriate measures to prevent or adequately control that exposure.

Where necessary, exposure monitoring can provide valuable evidence about the levels workers may be experiencing and help assess whether existing control measures are effective.

Silica Dust Monitoring

You cannot reliably determine exposure to respirable crystalline silica simply by looking at the amount of dust in the air. Professional silica dust monitoring can help businesses better understand workplace exposure and provide evidence to support effective dust management.



Depending on the workplace and activities being undertaken, monitoring can help:

• Assess employee exposure
• Identify higher-risk tasks and activities
• Understand how exposure changes throughout a day
• Investigate potential dust problems
• Evaluate existing control measures
• Identify opportunities to reduce exposure
• Provide data to support a dust management strategy
• Demonstrate a proactive approach to workplace health

Ultra Protect provides specialist dust monitoring services for businesses and worksites across the UK.

Silica Dust Risk Assessments

An effective silica dust risk assessment considers much more than whether dust can be seen.

The assessment should consider the silica-containing materials present, the tasks being undertaken, the people potentially exposed, the frequency and duration of those activities and the control measures already being used.

A silica dust assessment may consider areas such as:

• Sources of silica-containing dust
• Tasks that could generate RCS
• Employees and others potentially exposed
• Frequency and duration of exposure
• Existing dust control measures
• Extraction and ventilation
• Working practices
• Cleaning and housekeeping
• Respiratory protective equipment where appropriate
• Exposure monitoring requirements
• Opportunities to improve existing controls

Ultra Protect can help organisations understand their workplace dust risks and develop appropriate strategies for managing them.

Silica Dust in Construction

Construction is one of the sectors where exposure to respirable crystalline silica can be a significant concern.

Concrete, bricks, blocks, mortar, sandstone, paving and other silica-containing materials are routinely used on construction sites. Activities including cutting, drilling, grinding, chasing, scabbling and demolition can release significant quantities of dust if they are not effectively controlled. Silica dust management should therefore be considered when planning work rather than waiting until visible dust becomes a problem.

Ultra Protect works with construction businesses, contractors and site operators to identify dust risks, assess working practices and develop effective approaches to dust monitoring and management.

Silica Dust Health Surveillance

Where workers are regularly exposed to respirable crystalline silica and there is a reasonable likelihood that silicosis could develop, appropriate health surveillance may be required. Health surveillance is not a substitute for preventing or controlling exposure. Instead, it forms part of a wider occupational health strategy alongside risk assessment, effective controls, appropriate monitoring and employee information and training.

Businesses uncertain about their responsibilities should obtain competent occupational health and health and safety advice appropriate to their circumstances.

Silica Dust Control

Effective silica dust control starts with reducing dust generation and preventing respirable crystalline silica from becoming airborne wherever reasonably practicable. Depending on the activity and working environment, control measures may include changes to working methods, water suppression, suitable local exhaust ventilation or on-tool extraction, segregation, effective housekeeping and appropriate respiratory protective equipment where required.



Controls should also be regularly reviewed to ensure they remain suitable and effective. Ultra Protect can help businesses assess existing working practices, understand potential exposure and identify practical opportunities to improve silica dust management.

Ultra-Protect are in partnership with WWF a Dust management specialist.

Accreditations