Literature Review

tRÍPF SÄFETYPRO

teduce your workers' Yisk oí exposure to silica dust. Silicosis. Ifs a disabling and often

fatal disease that can strike land-

scape cjie;^ members, even those

laridscáplé^l

unaware of the hazards of crystalline silica dust and how to protect their

workers.

Silicosis, which often has no symp-

toms in its early stages, develops as a

result of inhaling dust containing tiny

particles of crystalline silica. Crystalline

silica, which is a major part of the

earth's crust, can be found in many

materials at landscape construction

sites. Among these are soil, sand, brick,

block, mortar and concrete. Other

materials containing silica that may be

present at general construction sites

where your crews are working include

cement board, roofing aggregate, and

some drywall joint compounds.

Although there is no cure for silicosis, there are steps landscape contractors and crew members can take to reduce the risk of developing this disease.

Your crew members may be breath-

ing in harmful silica dust and not even

know it. That's because the small parti-

cles of crystalline silica that get into the

air are often not visible—and it can take

20 years or longer for the chronic form

of silicosis to develop. In the meantime,

though, as a crew member inhales the

dust, silica particles can scar the lungs,

causing the disabling, irreversible and

incurable lung disease called silicosis.

The presence of silica in the lungs

can also weaken the body's ability to

fight infections, so infectious illnesses

such as pulmonary tuberculosis can

lung cancer and chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease, and may be related

to kidney disease and other adverse

health effects.

Silicosis is a progressive disease, so

removing a worker from the job does

not stop its progression. As silicosis

progresses, symptoms may include

severe cough, chest pains, weight loss,

fever, weakness, night sweats, short-

ness of breath, respiratory failure and/or

death. (See "Resources for Employers"

on page 26 for a link to the National

Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health (NIOSH) Health Hazard

Review: Health Effects of Occupational

Exposure to Respirable Crystalline

Silica, where you can learn about other

adverse health effects of occupational

crystalline silica exposure.)

Risky tasks Certain tasks performed by land-

scape crew members may generate crys-

talline silica dust. Among these are:

• Loading, hauling and dumping rock

• Chipping, hammering, drilling, saw-

ing and grinding concrete or masonry

• Grinding mortar

• Demolishing concrete or masonry

structures

• Abrasive blasting (using sand as the

abrasive or where the blasted surface

contains silica, such as concrete)

• Dry sweeping or pressurized air

blowing (concrete or dust)

• Using a jackhammer or chipper

• Using such mobile excavation equip-

ment as a skid-steer loader, grader,

bulldozer or truck

Specific jobs your crew members

may be performing that could exposeí

them to silica dust include constructfi

i paver patios

must be made), demolishing an old

wall, building a fire pit or barbecue pit,

cutting out curb using a concrete saw,

or cutting off a piece of the end of a

driveway

Here is some more information

about silicosis and silica dust:

• It is estimated that more than one

million workers in the United States

are at risk of developing silicosis each

year.

• Although the number of reported sili-

cosis deaths per year is about 160, the

actual number is believed to be much

higher. In addition, hundreds more

workers each year become disabled as

a result of the disease.

• NIOSH recently noted that workers

between the ages of 15 and 44 con-

tinue to die of silicosis. This indicates

that overexposures to silica dust are

still occurring at worksites, despite

the existence of Occupational Safety

and Health Administration (OSHA)

exposure limits. (See "Resources for

Employers" for more information on

OSH/% Permissible Exposure Limits

(PELs) for crystalline silica.

• A failure to take steps to control work-

ers' exposure to silica dust can land

your company in trouble with OSHA.

Steps for employers An important first step for all land-

scape contractors is to learn the appli-

cable OSHA regulations. These include

reporting any cases of silicosis among

your workers on OSHA Eorm No.

300, Log of Work-related Injuries and

Illnesses. Also, remember that depend-

ing on the task being performed.

MFETYpRÖ Resources for E ^

Free resources are available in both English and Spanish for landscape contractors interested in learning more about silica dust and silicosis. These include:

OSHA resources. For information on OSHA's silica-related standards, visit: www.osha.gov/SLTC/silicacrystalline/standards.html. To link to other OSHA standards, visit: www.osha.gov, then click on "Regulations" at the top of the home page. Note: OSHA's Permissible Exposure Limits for crystalline silica can be found in OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.1000, Table 1-3. Other helpful OSHA resources include: "Safety and Health Topics: Silica, Crystalline" at vi/ww.osha.gov/SLTC/silicacrystalline/index.html, the OSHA Silica eTool at www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/silica/index.html, the OSHA eTool on Respiratory Protection at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/respiratory/index.html, the OSHA PLANET (Professional Landcare Network) Alliance Landscaping and Horticultural Services Safety and Health Topics Page at www.osha.gov/SLTC/ landscaping/index.html, and a publication entitled Controlling Silica Exposures

in Construction atwww.osha.gov/Publications/3362silica- V exposures.pdf.

7 \ . N I O S H resources. Visit the NIOSH "Safety and^ ^JM\ Health Topic: Silica" Web page at www.cdc.gov/ ^ * > A \ niosh/topics/silica for silica-related information and

I to link to many other resources, including the NIOSH ;̂ I Health Hazard Review: Health Effects of Occupational

I Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica, www.cdc. ' / gov/niosh/docs/2002-1 29/02-1 29a.html and the

/ NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, h t t p : / / ".»—J *%•• \ \ * y ^ ^ www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg where you can get more infor- ^ O l l u j , ^ ^ mation on NIOSH's recommended exposure limits and

respirator recommendations. Other good NIOSH resources include a guide for workers entitled Silicosis: Learn the Facts at www.cdc.gov/ niosh/docs/2004-108/default.html and the NIOSH "Safety and Health Topic: Respirators" Web page at www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators.

Silica Checklist for Employers, http://hawaii.gov/labor/hiosh/sos/ pdf/SILICA-CHECKLIST.pdf.

It's N o t Just Dust! What you should know about silicosis and crystalline silica, www.cbs.state.or.us/external/osha/pdf/pubs/3301 .pdf.

If It's Silica ... It's N o t Just Dust! www.state.ni.us/health/silicosis/ silicadust.shtml#masonry.

Other good resources include the OSHA On-Site Consultation Service, www.osha.gov/dcsp/smallbusiness/consult.html, which offers free and con- fidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses with priority given to high-hazard worksites; your state health department; and the electronic Library of Construction (for multilingual documents on silica), www.elcosh.org/docs/ hazard/chemicaLsilica.html.

landscape contractors may be subject

to either OSH/fe general industry stan-

dards or its construction standards. (See

"Resources for Employers" for more

information on OSH/fe silica-related

standards, including links to informa-

tion on OSHAfe respiratory protection

standards.)

Here are some more steps to take:

• Determine whether your crews are at

jobsites where silica dust may be pres-

ent. Remember that silica dust may be

generated by the work a general con-

tractor or other subcontractors do.

Implement a jobsite-specific safety

and health plan. Make sure that your

plan includes guidance on recogniz-

ing when silica dust may be present.

Also, ensure that it includes measures

you will take (engineering controls,

personal protective equipment and

work practices) to control or eliminate

silica dust exposures and protect your

workers.

Conduct a safety and health assess-

ment of each jobsite where silica

dust may be present. Consider such

engineering controls as wet drilling

or wet sawing of materials containing

silica, using a HEPA vacuum Xo.xleair

If) EM ME

the jobsites. NOTE Be sure that you

have a regular maintenance program

'for dust control systems and that you

document in writing when mainte-

nance was done.

• Determine whether crew members

need respiratory protection. In order

to do this, you will need to perform

air monitoring of respirable crystalline

silica exposures. Outside assistance

is available to help you do this. Air

monitoring is also important to make

sure any engineering controls you

have implemented are working. (See

"Resources for Employers" for links

to information on OSH/è respiratory

protection standards and NIOSH's

recommended exposure limits and

respirator recommendations for crys-

tallirie silica.)

• Train your workers. Make sure they

understand the potential hazards of

silica dust, the importance of using

appropriate engineering controls and

respiratory protection, the importance

of practicing "good housekeeping" at

jobsites, and other steps they can take

to reduce their risk of exposure to

respirable crystalline silica.

• Make medical exams available to

workers exposed to crystalline silica.

PRO

Barbara Mulhern is a Wisconsin-based

writer who specializes in safety and health

issues for green industry employers. Faye

Rice, MPH, RHIA, CCS is a NIOSH epi-

demiolo^st and principal author of the

NIOSH Hazard Review: Health effects of

occupational exposure to respirable

crystalline silica.