Dust entry

Concrete corrosion-testing dust

Respirable dust and crystalline silica released while sawing, crushing, and pulverizing concrete samples for infrastructure corrosion testing.

Airborne form

dust

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

respirable crystalline silica exposuresilicosis concernlung disease concern

Evidence

A NIOSH health-hazard evaluation at a concrete infrastructure corrosion-testing facility found that employees were primarily exposed to respirable crystalline silica during sawing and pulverizing; full-shift exposures exceeded the OSHA action limit and could potentially exceed the OSHA permissible exposure limit depending on task duration.

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Description · 1

Our air sampling found that employees were primarily exposed to RCS during sawing and pulverizing. Full-shift time-weighted average exposures exceeded the OSHA action limit and could potentially exceed the OSHA permissible exposure limit based on the amount of time spent using the masonry saw and/or using the pulverizer.

The original NIOSH HHE report recommends local exhaust for the pulverizer and masonry saw, avoiding dry brushing and dry sweeping after sawing, and starting a respiratory-protection program to reduce concrete-sample silica exposure.

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page 3 · Our Recommendations · 1

Reduce employees' exposures to RCS by incorporating a local exhaust system for the pulverizer and masonry saw ... avoiding dry brushing and dry sweeping after sawing; and starting a respiratory protection program.

Controls

local exhaust ventilation for saw and pulverizer
limit time on dust-generating tasks
avoid dry brushing and dry sweeping
exposure monitoring
respiratory protection program