Engineering Control Technologies to Reduce Occupational Silica Exposures in Masonry Cutting and Tuckpointing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cooper MR ; Lefkowitz D ; Meeker JD ; Susi, Pam
• Description:
  Objectives. A number of tasks in construction generate worker overexposures to respirable crystalline silica dust, which is a significant contributor to occupational mortality and morbidity. This study evaluated the performance of commercially available engineering controls used in dusty construction tasks commonly performed by bricklayers. Methods. Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) controls for a portable abrasive cutter and for tuckpointing grinders were examined at a bricklayers' training center, as were two stationary wet saws. Personal breathing zone air samples were collected with and without the use of LEV or water suppression during simulated concrete block cutting, brick cutting, and tuckpointing. Results. Compared with the use of no exposure control during block and brick cutting, the portable LEV unit significantly reduced mean respirable quartz exposures by 96% for block cutting and 91% for brick cutting (p,0.01). The use of stationary wet saws was also associated with 91% reductions in exposure (p,0.01). For tuckpointing, the reductions in mean respirable quartz concentrations were between 91% and 93% with the LEV controls (p,0.05). Conclusions. Reductions of up to 96% in mean respirable quartz concentration were observed between control and no-control scenarios. These reductions with commercially available off-the-shelf tools demonstrate the effectiveness of engineering control interventions to reduce crystalline silica exposures in construction. Strategies to further improve control performance and approaches for increasing control interventions in construction are needed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Construction Materials Dust Engineering Environmental Monitoring Epidemiology Lung Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Breathing-zone Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Dust-control-equipment Dust-counters Dust-exposure Dust-inhalation Dust-particles Dust-sampling Engineering-controls Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-methods Inhalation-studies Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-respiratory-disease Particle-aerodynamics Particulate-dust Particulate-sampling-methods Power-tools Pulmonary-system Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Statistical-analysis Ventilation-equipment Work-areas Work-environment Work-operations Work-practices Worker-health Workplace-studies

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• ISSN:
  0033-3549
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Michigan ; New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  101-111
• Volume:
  124
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035534
• Citation:
  Public Health Rep 2009 Jul-Aug; 124(Suppl 1):101-111
• Contact Point Address:
  John D. Meeker, MS, ScD, CIH, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 6635 SPH Tower, 109 S. Observatory St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
• Email:
  meekerj@umich.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• 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:
  Public Health Reports
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20090630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:68442bd9652f8d1eb8f0b1be738b373f459d55da283b12c950c5a891df86cd47ed16dd43ae91030d05b45602bf657575bc8533ed5a58243f60240530085a8f97
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187360/cdc_187360_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 5.05 MB ]