Silica dust, often called "the new asbestos," is an invisible airborne toxin with severe health consequences. Found in materials like sand, stone, and concrete, it’s released during activities like grinding, drilling, and cutting. Starting September 2024, updated Australian laws aim to reduce silica exposure and protect workers from these dangers.
The Dangers of Silica Dust Create New Regulations: Find Australian Worksite Solutions
Silica is a naturally occurring mineral in granite, sandstone, and concrete. It exists in crystalline and amorphous forms, but crystalline silica poses a higher risk when disturbed and inhaled.
Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) are particles 100 times smaller than a grain of sand. So they're extremely easy to inhale. Once airborne, they stay suspended for long periods, especially in confined spaces, posing a severe threat to lung health.
Why Silica Dust Is “The New Asbestos”
One of the biggest reasons silica dust is so dangerous is because it’s present at any job that involves grinding, sanding, crushing, or drilling concrete walls, stone, and any of the many materials in which silica dust is produced from.
Big clouds of dust and construction sites go hand in hand. Always have. Well sadly, chances are high that those dust clouds contain these harmful silica dust particles. Even more so now with power tools, but silica dust is also produced when working with basic hand tools.
The use of handheld and stand-mounted drills, impact and rotary hammer drills, and similar tools used to drill holes in concrete, masonry, or other silica- containing materials can generate respirable crystalline silica dust. When inhaled over time, the small particles of silica can irreversibly damage the lungs. - OSHA PDF
Breathing in silica dust can cause serious bodily damage, even death. The chances of getting sick from exposure to silica dust depends on the work being done, and the amount of dust you are exposed to.
Each exposure to silica dust adds up to the total amount of silica in your lungs. It starts “piling up” so to speak. Its small particles enter the lungs and cause scar tissue to form, reducing the lung’s ability to process oxygen. Silicosis can then occur. This affects your lung function and can eventually lead to lung infections such as tuberculosis.
Exposure to crystalline silica dust causes multiple diseases, but silicosis and silica dust-associated tuberculosis (TB), in particular, are the two diseases that remain high on the list of occupational health priorities in low-income countries and that still occur in some high-income countries. – Pub Med
Health Risks of Silica Dust Exposure
Repeated exposure to silica dust can lead to serious illnesses:
- Silicosis: A fatal lung disease caused by prolonged exposure.
- Lung Cancer: Linked to silica exposure over time.
- Other Conditions: COPD, kidney disease, and tuberculosis.
- Symptoms: Persistent cough, fatigue, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
New Western Australia Silica Dust Laws (Effective September 2024)
Key Regulations
- Exposure Limit: Reduced to 0.05 mg/m³ over 8 hours.
- Dry Cutting Ban: Prohibited for silica-containing materials.
- Health Monitoring: Mandatory for high-risk workers.
Control Measures
- Engineering Controls: Use wet cutting and exhaust systems.
- Administrative Measures: Rotate tasks to limit exposure.
- PPE: Provide respirators and enforce their proper use.
Working With Silica Containing Products In Australia
Employers are required to ensure the health and safety of their workers and others at their workplace. As an employer, you have a duty to control the risks associated with work. Workers must take reasonable care of their own health and safety, must not negatively affect the health and safety of other people, and finally must follow reasonable instructions and workplace health and safety policies.
Safe Work Australia’s Silica Monitoring Guide
Safe Work Australia has a silica monitoring guide outline to help monitor worker health. This can help detect lung problems before serious damage occurs. It should be done at least once every three years and yearly for high-risk jobs.
Health monitoring should include:
- Records of personal exposure
- Collection of demographic and medical history
- Standardised respiratory function tests such as FVC and FEV1
Air Quality & Silica Dust
The limit for silica dust in Australia is 0.1mg/m³ averaged over an 8-hour day. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommended limiting it further to 0.025mg/m³.
Even though measuring and limiting silica dust presence in the air gives us numbers to work with, there is no evidence to support any safe level of silica dust exposure.
Workplace Silica Dust Exposure Standards
In an 8-hour workday, the workplace exposure standard for crystalline silica should never exceed 0.05mg/m³. Safe Work Australia prioritizes this workplace exposure standard.
Worker exposure to respirable silica dust should be kept as low as reasonably practicable by the PCBU (Person Conducting Business or Undertaking). If there is any doubt and health might be at risk, air monitoring needs to be conducted.
Preventing Silica Dust Exposure
Practical Products and Solutions - Many You'll Find At Kevmor
- Use tools with water spray systems to suppress dust.
- Husqvarna’s dust collectors offer excellent dust and slurry control, ensuring compliance and cleaner air.
- Install industrial vacuums like the UFSTS30 Triple Motor HEPA Dust Extractor to capture particles effectively at the source.
- Train workers on silica risks
- Learn about all the different proper use of safety equipment supplies available to you
- Use essential PPE such as HEPA filters, dust masks and respirators.
Learn more about our professional dust collectors at Kevmor:
Australian Worksite Implications
Globally, thousands of workers face silicosis risks yearly, with construction, mining, and engineered stone industries most affected. In Australia, worksites must comply with strict standards to protect their workforce and avoid penalties.
Husqvarna’s HEPA filters help maintain compliance while ensuring worker safety.
Are you a worker in related fields and want more information on health surveillance? You can read more about health monitoring in the Worker’s Guide to Health Monitoring.
