1. Silicosis Prevention: Tool Box Session

2. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program
What is Silica?
Composes 15% of Earth’s Crust
Examples:
Sand, Granite, other “Hard” rocks
Quartz, most common
Crystalline Silica
has a diagnostic X-ray diffraction pattern
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3. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program
Silica and Disease
250 Worker deaths per year
(175 deaths/yr from trenching accidents)
Silicosis
Tuberculosis
Heart Disease
Lung Cancer?
Suspect Hum. Carcinogen –A2 (ACGIH)
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4. Examples of Silica Exposures in Construction
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5. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program

6. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program

7. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program

8. Georgia Tech Safety and Health Consultation Program
Tuckpointing
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9. Controls for Silica

10. Types of Engineering Controls
1. Wet Methods
2. Ventilated Tools
3. Abrasive Blasting Controls:
Alternate Media
Alternate Processes
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11. Wet Methods: Joint Cutting
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12. Wet Methods: Portable Saw
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13. Wet Methods: Pre-planning
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14. Wet Methods: Block Cutting
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15. Engineering Control 2. Ventilation
4/1/2017
Engineering Control 2. Ventilation
Portable tools with dust exhaust:
Surface Grinders
Disc Grinders (tuck pointing)
Crack chaser
Scarifier
Descaler
Power chipping tools
Retrofit Dust hoods
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16. Control by Ventilation: Slab Cutting
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17. Control by Ventilation: Hand tools
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18. Control by Ventilation: Tuckpointing
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19. Engineering Controls: 3. Substitute Abrasives
Coal slag (“black beauty”)
Steel grit & steel shot
Aluminum oxide
Sodium Bicarbonate
(baking soda)
Dust Suppressed Sand
Frozen CO2
Ag. Prod. (walnut shells, corn cobs)
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20. Silicosis is not a Curable Disease
Prevention is critical
Use Safe Work Practices
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