How to Reduce Silica Dust Exposure in the Workplace

An worker in the countertop industry wearing a mask outside a factory.

Silica dust is an extremely dangerous yet natural byproduct of working with stone. Many types of stone have a high silica content, such that miners, stone carvers, stone fabricators, and even countertop installers are at risk of inhaling dust during work activities. Implementing measures on how to reduce silica dust exposure can significantly mitigate the risk of long-term respiratory and organ damage that may eventually lead to early death.

Silica dust exposure has led to many silica-related workers’ compensation claims and personal injury lawsuits. Fortunately, employers can minimize and even eliminate the risk of silica dust inhalation with a few best practices. Workers and employers need to know how to reduce silica exposure to prevent long-term illness.

If you’ve received a diagnosis of silicosis or a related disease due to exposure to silica in the workplace, visit our silica lawsuit page to explore your options and obtain the legal assistance you require.

The Dangers of Silica Dust Exposure

Silicosis is a chronic to terminal condition that comes from inhaling silica dust, most often produced during stone fabrication. There is no cure, and even our advanced medical technology has little capacity to treat it. However, employers can prevent silicosis by taking responsibility for educating and protecting their workers. If you’ve recently received a diagnosis of silicosis or have experienced breathing problems after working in stone fabrication, construction, road crews, or masonry, you may have the right to file a silicosis lawsuit against the employer who exposed you to the risk.

Workers at Risk of Silicosis

The workers most at risk are those who work in dusty conditions with rocks and manufactured rock materials. Anyone who carves stone handles freshly carved stone, lays roads, takes down sheetrock walls, or demolishes pavement may be at risk and may have already inhaled potentially fatal levels of silica dust without proper protection.

Those most at risk include people who work in:

Stone Manufacturing
Construction
Countertop installers
Demolition
Cement manufacturing
Paving and pavement removal
Masonry
Drilling concrete
Mining and quarry workers
Sandblasting
Ceramics Production
Road construction workers
Oil and gas workers

Those who face some amount of regular exposure include:

Hydraulic fracturing workers
Farmers
Dentists and dental technicians
Civil engineers

Silicosis Symptoms

Workers who operate in industries with a high or moderate risk of silica dust exposure should be aware of the symptoms of silicosis and other silica-related illnesses.

The symptoms of silicosis are typically what lead people to a doctor who can diagnose the condition combined with some information about your work and exposure history. Symptoms include:

Persistent or Chronic Cough
Chest Pain
Shortness of Breath
Fatigue
Fever
Night Sweats
Swollen Legs
Weight Loss

There are other symptoms your doctor can identify, such as fluid in the lungs, lung scarring, low blood oxygen levels, and signature lymph nodules. If you or your workers begin to express any combination of these symptoms, seek medical care and advise a doctor that silica dust exposure is a known workplace hazard. They will perform chest X-rays and lung function tests to help diagnose or rule out silicosis and related conditions.

7 Tips to Reduce Silica Dust Exposure in the Workplace

If you work in an industry with a high to moderate risk, you must take steps to reduce silica dust exposure in the workplace. Whether you are protecting yourself, your team, or your employees, you can save one or more lives with a few simple dust control and clean air practices.

If you are an employer, you have a legal responsibility to protect your employees from environmental hazards that can cause illness and long-term harm – including silicosis from inhaling silica dust. The following

1. Understand the Silica Dust Risk

Most stones, especially granite and quartz, produce a great deal of silica dust when ground, carved, or drilled into. This dust is not even always visible, especially particles small enough to be airborne. It can enter the lungs while working with stone or in the same open workplace as those who do. Even bringing silica dust home on your clothes can increase not only the worker’s risk of developing silicosis but also the risk to their family when releasing the dust in the home.

Powdered stone comprises silica dust. As you might guess, the body has no way to process this, especially when inhaled. Silica dust becomes trapped in the lungs and causes scarring over time that produces nodules, making it difficult to breathe. Scarring from silicosis may persist for years after diagnosing the condition, which may not happen until ten or more years after exposure.

2. Use Materials Other Than Silica

Whenever possible, work with materials that do not contain silica.

This is possible in some industries, like dentistry, but most high-risk industries, like construction and stone fabrication, cannot make this choice. Silica is in most types of stone. It is in cement, mortar, grout, concrete, bricks, pavers, roofing tiles, marble, granite, and asphalt. Silica is an extremely common particle found in most stone and stone-aggregate building materials.

If possible, select products and projects that have a lower risk of silica exposure to limit the workplace environmental hazard created by silica dust.

3. Provide Protective Clothing and Respirators

Ensure all employees working in an environment with silica dust are wearing protective outer clothing and respirators. Protective clothing prevents the dust from leaving the workplace and becoming a home environment hazard. Respirators ensure that employees do not breathe silica in the process of carving stones, breaking up concrete, and other job duties that release silica dust or are in the vicinity of airborne silica dust.

OSHA also requires that you provide medical exams, including chest X-rays and lung function tests, every three years for workers who wear a respirator 30+ days per year.

4. Use Water-Based Dust Suppression Systems

Companies often use dust control or dust suppression systems in situations where they release a great deal of airborne particles. These systems are often as simple as spraying water over the airborne particles and keeping workers damp so that dust does not gather and puff up from their clothes and footsteps.

Water-based dust suppression is simple but extremely effective. Knocking the silica dust out of the air and keeping it too damp to become airborne again limits the long-term health damage caused by working with silica-rich materials, as it reduces the number of dust particles that can be inhaled.

5. Use Proper Ventilation

In addition to dust suppression, proper ventilation, and heavy-duty air filtration indoors can help to control the concentration of dust in the air. Good ventilation keeps air moving. Those working outdoors or in a covered outdoor area can benefit from fans that reduce the total particles in the work site. Those working indoors will rely on a comprehensive ventilation system to keep the air clear and filter out silica particles that would otherwise circulate through the ventilation system.

You can and should enact approved ventilation protocols to protect a workplace where the release of silica dust is commonplace. Ensure all of these protections and ventilation procedures are in place before your workers begin work that involves silica dust.

6. Follow Necessary Safety Procedures

Each work task that involves silica dust exposure is accompanied by necessary and regulated safety procedures. Because silicosis is a known severe workplace environmental hazard, there are also standard ways to reduce silica dust exposure in the many tasks that may create risk.

Dentists wear masks when drilling into fillings that may contain silica. Miners and stone fabricators use respirators and dust suppression systems. Sandblasters may contain the process inside a sealed cabinet or wear protective gear if sandblasting by hand. Always check the regulations and safety best practices before engaging in or assigning a team to silica-related tasks.

7. Educate Your Workers

Worker education is crucial. Most people still do not realize that “breathing dust” could cause a lifelong or terminal respiratory illness like silicosis or long-term organ damage. Inhaling silica dust harms the lungs, causing inflammation and scarring. Long-term exposure to stone-related careers can lead to serious health issues like silicosis and lung cancer.

From construction to stone carvers, your team needs to know the importance of wearing the right gear, always using the right procedures, and protecting themselves and each other from the risks of silicosis.

Employees who understand the risks will be more careful and attentive in their safety procedures. They are more likely to eagerly learn how to reduce silica dust exposure and maintain a safer work environment because they know the risks of skipping a single protective step.

When to File a Silicosis Lawsuit

There are two types of silicosis lawsuits, depending on the timeline and your unique circumstances. Some people will file for worker’s compensation, as silicosis is a medical condition resulting from workplace exposure. However, if your situation does not fit neatly into a worker’s compensation claim or if worker’s compensation could not possibly cover the cost of your medical needs, you can file a personal injury lawsuit instead.

Those eligible to file a silicosis lawsuit include anyone who was exposed to silica dust during their employment, even if symptoms develop after they have left the job. Silicosis commonly takes ten or more years to appear; even acute cases can take three or more years to become evident.

Other diseases related to silica dust exposure include:

Lung Cancer
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Kidney Disease
Chest Pain

If you have developed silicosis or a related disease from exposure to silica dust in the workplace, you have a right to compensation. Employers are responsible for limiting silica dust exposure to prevent these long-term and often fatal illnesses. You can join a class action or file a personal silicosis lawsuit with the help of our personal injury lawyers.