Reducing Silica and Dust Exposures in Construction During Use of Powered Concrete-Cutting Hand Tools: Efficacy of Local Exhaust Ventilation on Hammer Drills

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ellenbecker M ; Holcroft C ; Shepherd S ; Woskie SR
• Description:
  Concrete cutting in construction is a major source of exposure to respirable crystalline silica. To reduce exposures, local exhaust ventilation (LEV) may be integrated into the hand tools used in concrete cutting. Volunteers from the New England Laborers Training Center participated in a field study focused on the use of LEV on concrete-cutting hammer drills. A randomized block design field experiment employing four workers measured the efficacy of four hood-vacuum source combinations compared with no LEV in reducing dust and silica exposures. Using four-stage personal cascade impactors (Marple 294) to measure dust exposure, a total of 18 personal samples were collected. Reductions of over 80% in all three biologically relevant size fractions of dust (inhalable, thoracic, and respirable) were obtained by using any combination of hood and vacuum source. This study found that respirable dust concentrations were reduced from 3.77 mg/m(3) to a range of 0.242 to 0.370 mg/m(3); thoracic dust concentrations from 12.5 mg/m(3) to a range of 0.774 to 1.23 mg/m(3); and inhalable dust concentration from 47.2 mg/m(3) to a range of 2.13 to 6.09 mg/m(3). Silica concentrations were reduced from 0.308 mg/m(3) to a range of 0.006 to 0.028 mg/m(3) in the respirable size fraction, from 0.821 mg/m(3) to a range of 0.043 to 0.090 mg/m(3) in the thoracic size fraction, and from 2.71 mg/m(3) to a range of 0.124 to 0.403 mg/m(3) in the inhalable size fraction. Reductions in dust concentrations while using the four LEV systems were not statistically significantly different from each other. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Dust Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Safety Management Silicon Dioxide Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Construction Concretes Construction Construction-industry Dust-collectors Dust-control Dust-control-equipment Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Dust-measurement Dust-particles Dust-sampling Dusts Inhalation-studies Local Exhaust Ventilation Mathematical-models Occupational-exposure Occupational-health Occupational-respiratory-disease Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Safety-measures Safety-practices Silica Statistical-analysis Ventilation-equipment Ventilation-hoods Ventilation-systems Work-analysis Work-environment Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-monitoring Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  42-51
• Volume:
  6
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034990
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2009 Jan; 6(1):42-51
• Contact Point Address:
  S. Shepherd , Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854
• Email:
  susan_shepherd@uml.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20040801
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:505a5c7347881d5418dccdaeef90e9c669d1e7d1e6e65f0e09207b459b78b14500f02422dc4883ccb576d54a9dfae557a05db3dd36177e6e4fc54be21de49d99
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186996/cdc_186996_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.81 MB ]