Where is crystalline silica

Health Risks of Exposures. Job Activities Posing Risk. Medical Monitoring. Exposure Assessment. Engineering Controls. Tools and Resources. Respirable crystalline silica exposure has also been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD , kidney and auto-immune diseases, increased risk of latent tuberculosis TB infection and other lung infections.

The best way to prevent diseases associated with respirable crystalline silica exposure is to control the exposure to silica dust. Exposure controls include engineering controls, wet methods, specific work practices and personal protective equipment PPE.

Prior to commencing work with or disturbing crystalline silica, a Crystalline Silica Exposure Control Work Plan must be completed. An exposure assessment including air monitoring may be required to determine appropriate exposure control methods. Washington state, in WAC Table 1, has identified specific equipment and tasks involving the disturbance of crystalline-silica and assigned each required engineering controls and a minimum respiratory protection factor.

The specified respiratory protection requirements are task-time dependent in two categories, less than or equal to four hours, and greater than four hours. Many studies have indicated that occupational exposure to crystalline silica is associated with non-malignant respiratory diseases other than silicosis. According to OSHA, respirable exposure to crystalline silica notably increases the risk of chronic bronchitis and an alteration of the respiratory functions.

A reduction in these OELVs can therefore be expected in the near future. On the European level: So far, under the CLP regulation 6 , crystalline silica does not have harmonised classification and labelling. The work carried out by companies that produce diatomaceous earth has shown that labelling is desirable when fine particles of crystalline silica are present in a product 8 in order to reflect the dangers of silicosis:.

Most of the absorbents traditionally used to clean up spills or leaks of hazardous industrial substances are mineral-based absorbents such as diatomaceous earth and sepiolite. They contain a proportion of crystalline silica that can be inhaled by workers when applying the absorbent or when cleaning it up. Using absorbents that do not contain crystalline silica is recommended to reduce the risk of worker exposure to crystalline silica dust.

Crystalline silica in absorbent minerals: What are the dangers? What protections are needed? What is crystalline silica? What differentiates it from amorphous silica or silicates? Figure 1 : Model representing crystalline silica on the left and amorphous silica on the right. Cancer Health Disparities. Childhood Cancers Research.

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