Silica Dust Exposure

Silca Dust

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Recently inhalation of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust has been identified

as a cause to a deadly lung disease which causes fibrosis of the lungs, or Silicosis.

WorkSafe has a strategy in place to educate on this hazard, however many

workers do not realise that stone benchtop workers are not the only ones that

are being exposed to this hazard. Workers in the following industries may also

be exposed.

• Quarrying

• Roding

• Foundries

• Construction - concrete, stone, bricks, mortar fibre cement products, painter,

roofer, plumber and drain laying

• Manufacturing of concrete, bricks, pipes and tiles

• Kitchen benchtop manufacturing

• Abrasive Blasting

• Monumental masonry work

• Mining

• Concrete drilling, cutting, grinding, fettling, missing, handling, dry shovelings

and tunneling.

If you work in one of these industries you could be exposed to RCS dust and controls / measures need to be put into place to reduce your likelihood of exposure.

Responsibilities of PCBU

As a PCBU, you must ensure the health and safety of workers and that others are not put at risk from your work.

If you think your work could involve workers being exposed to RCS dust, a risk assessment must be conducted and controls implemented to reduce the risk as far as reasonably as practicable.