There’s been a lot of controversy over the past year about silica dust. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to cut the allowable level of airborne silica dust in half; fabricators are doubtful of being able to comply with the reduced levels and fear potential fines. It will take a while for all of this to play out through the regulatory process, but in the meantime, the question is: How can fabrication shop operators best protect their workers without losing their shirts?
Silicosis is an irreversible, but preventable disease, which has long been associated with work in industry occupations using quartz-containing materials. The key to preventing the disease is preventing workers from inhaling the silica dust generated when these materials are cut, drilled, ground or polished. Of concern to health and safety professionals is the fact that in many U.S. fabrication shops, the practice of dry-cutting, grinding and polishing persists. In a 2012 article, an industrial hygiene professor in Oklahoma found that approximately 74% of 47 countertop shops surveyed reported using predominately dry methods in at least one step of their work and only four shops (9%) reported using dust collection or dust suppression systems at all.