Silica Dust JSA

Cutting, grinding, drilling or crushing concrete, masonry, stone or brick releases respirable crystalline silica — particles small enough to reach deep lung tissue and stay there. The disease it causes is irreversible and develops over years, so nothing about the day's work tells a crew they were overexposed.

OSHA's construction silica standard is unusually practical about this. Table 1 lists common tasks and, for each, the engineering controls and respiratory protection that count as compliance — follow the row for your task fully and you do not have to measure exposure yourself.

What the work involves

• Cutting, sawing or drilling concrete, masonry, stone or brick
• Grinding, chipping or tuck-pointing cured concrete and mortar
• Jackhammering, breaking or crushing concrete and rock
• Abrasive blasting and dry sweeping of settled dust
• Housekeeping and dust clean-up at the end of the task

Hazards and controls

Controls are listed in hierarchy order — the further down the list a control sits, the less it should be carrying on its own.

1. Inhalation of respirable crystalline silica during cutting or grinding

• Eliminate: order materials pre-cut or pre-drilled; use shears, snaps or core drills that do not make dust.
• Engineering: integrated water delivery on saws, or a shroud with HEPA-filtered local exhaust on grinders and drills — implemented fully as Table 1 specifies for the task.
• Administrative: follow the Table 1 row for the task, including its duration limits, or assess exposure and control to the permissible limit instead.
• PPE: the respirator Table 1 specifies for that task and duration, under a written respiratory protection program.

29 CFR 1926.1153(c) provides Table 1, the specified exposure control methods for common silica-generating tasks, with the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection required for each. 29 CFR 1926.1153(d) sets the alternative exposure control methods — assessing exposure and limiting it to the permissible exposure limit — for employers who do not fully implement a Table 1 row.

2. Bystanders and other trades exposed to drifting dust

• Eliminate: schedule dusty tasks when fewest people are on site, and in an area others are not working in.
• Engineering: enclose or screen the work area; keep water and extraction running so dust does not leave the task.
• Administrative: restrict access to the dust-generating area, with the restriction written into the exposure control plan.

29 CFR 1926.1153(g) requires a written exposure control plan that identifies the tasks involving silica exposure, the controls used, the housekeeping measures, and the procedures used to restrict access to work areas where exposures may exceed the limit.

3. Dry sweeping or compressed air spreading settled dust

• Eliminate: wet methods or a HEPA-filtered vacuum for all clean-up.
• Administrative: dry sweeping and compressed air are prohibited where a safe alternative exists — the rule is explicit, and this is where most casual exposure happens.
• Administrative: clean up as the task goes, not at the end of the week.

29 CFR 1926.1153(f) prohibits dry sweeping or dry brushing, and the use of compressed air to clean clothing or surfaces, where they could contribute to employee exposure unless no safe alternative is feasible.

4. Exposure going unrecognized until disease appears

• Administrative: medical surveillance offered to employees required to wear a respirator for silica work for 30 or more days a year — chest X-ray, lung function test and a written opinion.
• Administrative: a named competent person who makes frequent and regular inspections of the job site, materials and equipment to implement the plan.
• Administrative: records kept, so an exposure history exists if disease is later suspected.

29 CFR 1926.1153(h) requires medical surveillance to be made available to each employee who will be required to wear a respirator for 30 or more days a year under the silica standard. 29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(4) requires a competent person to make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to implement the written exposure control plan.

5. Dust carried home on clothing and in vehicles

• Engineering: HEPA vacuum clothing down rather than beating or blowing it; changing facilities where the work warrants them.
• Administrative: no compressed air on clothing — ever; keep dusty clothing out of the cab and out of the house.
• Administrative: clean equipment and vehicles with wet or vacuum methods.

29 CFR 1926.1153(f) prohibits the use of compressed air to clean clothing or surfaces where it could contribute to exposure unless no safe alternative is feasible.

A worked example row

This is how one line of the finished JSA reads, with the risk bands scored on the same 4-band matrix the generator prints:

Related work activities

• Concrete Pouring & Finishing JSA
• Demolition JSA
• Asbestos Abatement JSA