In a technical article Fred Gray, LATICRETE Australia Technical Service Manager, provides an informative discussion on working with products containing Respirable Crystalline Silica.
Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS)
particles are nominally less than 10 μm in size and is often referred to as the
dust you can’t see. It’s potential to be present as a hazard in the workplace
is dependent on, amongst other things, the products we are working with, site
conditions, and how we process and handle them to carry out a ceramic or stone
tile installation. For instance, dry machine cutting sandstone in unventilated,
enclosed areas without personal protection is going to expose a worker or others
to unacceptable levels of RCS; it is not advised and is illegal.
Avoiding exposure to RCS whilst
working (or at any other time, for that matter) is therefore paramount. The
good news and advice from Safework NSW states “you can work with silica and remain safe.”
The traveling Silica Dust Control Roadshows hosted by Safework in various
states are well worthwhile events to set the record straight about working with
silica and mitigating the risks associated with RCS. If you can’t make it to one
of these events, publications from Safe Work Australia are a great start to taking
control and understanding the RCS risk. Along with other relevant topics, it
discusses how “You can manage risks of exposure to silica dust by selecting and
implementing measures using the hierarchy of controls”. Click here to read more.
Globally, LATICRETE has been
proactive in developing silica free products and assessing the RCS risk with the current range of tile installation products. Studies have been carried out on
the levels of RCS in LATICRETE North America products containing silica and their
findings have been published in the following technical data sheet:
https://bit.ly/2pigYk5. Locally, we have assessed our products containing
silica and found our products to also be low in RCS, and we are actively
looking to commercialise more silica free products to our industry.
Other tile industry studies and
investigations have also found low but manageable risks that can be controlled
to provide a safe working and liveable environment. The Tile Council of North
America in the 2019 Handbook has published a study by Environmental Health
& Engineering INC, on Human Health Risk Assessment for Proposition 65:
Crystalline Silica. Click here to read this article.
It is hoped that with good
products, education and work practice, health hazards from RCS are eliminated
for the workplace.
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