Assessment of silica exposure and engineering controls during tuckpointing

Details

• Personal Author:
  Flynn M ; McClean M ; Susi, Pam ; Yasui S
• Description:
  Exposures to crystalline silica in the construction industry are widespread. This report documents exposures to crystalline silica and describes the effectiveness of a commercially available dust collection system designed for tuckpointing tools. Exposure to respirable crystalline silica (quartz) can result in silicosis, a serious and often fatal disease with symptoms including shortness of breath, weight loss, weakness, and the onset of autoimmune diseases. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) regards silica as a suspected human carcinogen, and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have designated crystalline silica as a potential occupational carcinogen. NIOSH estimates that more than one million workers are at risk for silicosis, with the majority of them in construction trades. The NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) and ACGIH Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for respirable quartz are 0.05 mg/m3. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for respirable dust containing crystalline silica for the construction industry is measured in millions of particles per cubic foot (mppcf) and is calculated using the following formula: PEL=250 mppcf/% silica+5. However, OSHA compliance officers use the general industry PEL for respirable silica to test for compliance on construction sites, calculating the allowable exposure based on the measured quartz percentage for each sample in accordance with the following equation: 10 mg/m3/(% quartz+2). In this article, we used the NIOSH REL and the ACGIH TLV as the evaluation criteria, as these values reflect more current research on the health effects of silica exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Carcinogens Case Reports Construction Industry Construction Materials Dust Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Lung Occupational Health Quartz Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Silicon Dioxide

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• Keywords:
  Biological-effects Case-studies Construction Construction-industry Construction-materials Construction-workers Crystal-structure Dust-collection Dust-collectors Dust-control Dust-exposure Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Health-hazards Lung-function Masons Permissible-concentration-limits Permissible-limits Pulmonary-system-disorders Quartz-dust Respirable-dust Respiratory-system-disorders Silica-dusts Silicosis Tools

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• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Massachusetts ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20038446
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 2003 Dec; 18(12):977-984
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7) ; Silica (CAS RN 7631-86-9)
• Editor(s):
  Tharr D
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  The Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20050630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:74a1fa1e01a345d23b7608655e848b28825c9f609c4717a711838c15bf1d4246f4981b60371e7d8ba421a4337d07dd7cc9978272b855ba1846ea4355e9bbb3db
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/192156/cdc_192156_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 485.53 KB ]