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Hazards of Silica in Construction eTool
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Who needs to be trained and what should you cover?

It's important all people...

  • Employees
  • Foremen, superintendents, and
  • Project managers and those involved in the proposal and planning phases of construction that may involve silica-containing materials.

...Understand

  • What the health hazards are
  • When and where silica-containing materials pose a concern, and
  • How to eliminate, or at least control the exposure hazard.

Employees

Make sure they clearly understand the:

Health Hazards, including

  • Silicosis
  • Lung cancer
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease (COPD) and decreased lung function.

Exposure Controls, including

  • Methods used by the employer to control employee' exposures to airborne dust, such as
     
    • Wet cutting
    • Local exhaust ventilation systems
    • Isolation of the process from the operator and surrounding employees by means of distance, enclosure or other method, as applicable
    • Work practices
  • Proper use and maintenance of dust reduction systems, including the safe handling and disposal of collected waste materials
     
  • The importance of good personal hygiene and housekeeping practices when working with or around dust containing crystalline silica, including:
     
    • Ensuring that hands, arms, face, and any exposed parts of the body are thoroughly washed before eating, or leaving the worksite.
    • Not smoking tobacco products.
    • Using appropriate methods to clean employees' own clothes
    • Making sure that protective clothing worn to prevent employees' own clothes from getting contaminated is safely discarded (before leaving the worksite) in a manner that does not spread contamination.

Foremen, Superintendents and Project Managers

In addition to what employees are trained on, supervision and management needs to also be able to:

  • Identify tasks employees will perform that may result in employee exposure to silica containing dust, and
  • Determine procedures for implementation of the measures used by the employer to reduce the exposure to concrete or masonry dust

NOTE: For activities falling within the scope of Section 1530.1, all of the above must be addressed with employees and supervision on at least an annual basis.

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