Employers, did you know it’s your legal responsibility to ensure your workers are trained in identifying hazards and the appropriate controls needed to keep them safe?
In recent years there’s been a growing concern over the health impacts of exposure to silica dust. Silica is contained in many common construction products and exposure can result in severe medical conditions, such as lung cancer, Silicosis, kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
If you or your employees are working with concrete, tiles, block, stone or any materials that potentially expose them to respirable crystalline silica, it is tools down unless you have done the course, purchased all the now compulsory safety and extraction equipment. Fines are in excess of $10 000.00 and there are 300 new compliance officers on the ground as we speak doing random site checks.
While breathing in any quantity of dust is a health risk, silica dust is particularly harmful because the particles are small enough to be inhaled into the lungs. When inhaled into the lungs it can cause scarring and irreparable damage that over time leads to respiratory diseases such as silicosis, lung cancer and even renal failure.
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is a hazardous substance, which requires a risk assessment to identify whether it poses a significant risk in your workplace. There is no recognised safe level of exposure to RCS but you mustn’t exceed the standard of 0.05mg/m3 in an eight-hour work day.
You must monitor the air and workers’ health to determine levels of exposure and assess the risks for anyone performing ongoing work with silica containing products.
Master Builders gets lots of questions about wearing respirable protective equipment, for example tight-fitting respirators and the legal requirement to fit test.
