Respirable Crystalline Silica Safety Training

Summary

Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in the earth’s crust. Materials like sand, stone, concrete, and mortar contain crystalline silica. It is also used to make products such as glass, pottery, ceramics, bricks, and artificial stone.

Respirable crystalline silica – very small particles at least 100 times smaller than ordinary sand you might find on beaches and playgrounds – is created when cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, and crushing stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar. Activities such as abrasive blasting with sand; sawing brick or concrete; sanding or drilling into concrete walls; grinding mortar; manufacturing brick, concrete blocks, stone countertops, or ceramic products; and cutting or crushing stone result in worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica dust. Industrial sand used in certain operations, such as foundry work and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), is also a source of respirable crystalline silica exposure. About 2.3 million people in the U.S. are exposed to silica at work.

Workers who inhale these very small crystalline silica particles are at increased risk of developing serious silica-related diseases, including:

  • Silicosis, an incurable lung disease that can lead to disability and death;
  • Lung cancer;
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and
  • Kidney disease.

To protect workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica, OSHA has issued two respirable crystalline silica standards: one for construction, and the other for general industry and maritime.

Crystalline Silica Safety Training

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics covered in this video include:

  • The hazards of respirable crystalline silica.
  • OSHA’s Silica Safety Standards.
  • Exposure to silica dust in the workplace.
  • A silica dust exposure control plan.
  • Control systems, safe work practices and PPE.
  • Medical surveillance and recordkeeping, and more.

Instructor Guide

1926.1153 – Respirable crystalline silica. _ OSHA

1910.1053 – Respirable crystalline silica. _ OSHA

More OSHA Resources

Silica_ Written_Program_Template

OSHA_FS-3627 Handheld Power Saws

OSHA_FS-3629 Jackhammers

OSHA_FS-3630 Handheld and Stand Mounted Drills

OSHA_FS-3631 Stationary Masonary Saws

OSHA_FS-3633 Walk Behind Saws

OSHA3681 Silica Factsheet

OSHA3683 Silica Factsheet

OSHA3930 Dowel Drilling

 

 

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