Safe Work Australia releases silica guide

Respirable crystalline silica exposure risks could be easier to identify and control, thanks to a guide Safe Work Australia (SWA) released in September 2019. The guide outlines the responsibilities of persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to protect workers from silica dust under model workplace health and safety (WHS) laws. These include: identifying relevant hazards, eliminating or minimising risks, monitoring air quality and providing workers with health monitoring. It also contains information on dealing with products that contain high levels of silica (such as engineered stone benchtops), risk management strategies that can be implemented in the workplace and illustrations that highlight good practice.

While natural and composite stone has been getting most of the attention lately, SWA warned that silica could also be found in manufactured timber, bricks, cement, asphalt, grout, mortar and tiles. Workers most likely to be exposed to silica dust, then, are stone and brick masons, construction and road workers, and agricultural workers. Crushing, drilling, cutting, sanding, sawing, polishing or grinding any of these materials can generate respirable dust — including crystalline silica particles — that can cause silicosis, lung cancer, progressive massive fibrosis, emphysema, breathing problems or sarcoidosis, according to the guide. It can also cause irritation or damage if it gets in workers’ eyes.

Michelle Baxter, SWA CEO and Member of the National Dust Diseases Taskforce, said it is important that businesses working with silica and silica-containing products know their duties and “understand how to protect their workers’ health”. Effective techniques for preventing silica dust include on-tool water suppression and dust extraction. In cases where this is not reasonably practicable, local exhaust ventilation can be used. Personal protective equipment can also help prevent dust entering the lungs or eyes. These methods must be used in Queensland and Victoria, which have banned dry cutting. The guide will be translated and published in Vietnamese, Greek, Italian and Chinese, which, according to Baxter, will ensure the information is accessible across “culturally and linguistically diverse groups in key industries”.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Igor