NIOSH Update: NIOSH Warns of Silicosis Risks in Construction, Suggests Measures to Reduce Exposure

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  This NIOSH Update provided recommendations for reducing workplace exposure to silica (14808607) and to help prevent silicosis. Some individuals associated with the construction industry appear to have a lack of awareness about the various sources of silica exposure, the nature of silicosis, and the causes of the disease. Information is urgently needed by construction workers, managers, and equipment manufacturers. The following measures were suggested to help reduce hazardous exposure: recognizing the generation of silica dust and planning to eliminate or control it at the source; substituting less hazardous blasting materials for silica sand; using engineering controls and containment methods; routinely maintaining dust control systems in good working order; practicing good personal hygiene; wearing disposable or washable protective clothing; showering and changing into clean clothes before leaving the worksite; conducting air monitoring; using adequate respiratory protectors; providing periodic medical exams; posting warning signs to mark boundaries of work areas contaminated with respirable crystalline silica; providing workers with proper training and reporting all cases of silicosis to the State Department of Health and to OSHA. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Construction Industry Dust Occupational Health Particulate Matter Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Airborne-dusts Construction-industry Dust-exposure Industrial-hygiene Mineral-dusts Personal-protective-equipment Respiratory-protection Silica-dusts
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB96120
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00232652
• Citation:
  Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-120, 1996 Jun; :1-2
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:32d4b68ee3007f956f3844f0cfd91472d78c30e5581f85b541664fb7742d20447be19119f3505031f03e1a7f28e8321e19d273258c94cc7bf76ea7c306a08e5a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209691/cdc_209691_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 64.26 KB ]