A public guide to airborne dust
Dust is not one thing. Size, shape, chemistry, and dose all change the risk. Learn which common dusts are linked to cancer, asthma, scarring lung disease, and cardiovascular harm.
Explore the hazards ↓The quick read
“Dust” describes particles suspended in air—not a single hazard. The most important questions are what the particles are made of, how small they are, and how much gets into the breathing zone.
Cancer + lung disease
Fine particles released by cutting, grinding, drilling, or crushing stone, concrete, brick, and other silica-containing materials can cause silicosis, lung cancer, COPD, and tuberculosis infection risk.
Cancer + scarring
Disturbing asbestos-containing materials can release fibers that cause mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, and other disease. Fibers are not made safe by being invisible.
Asthma + cancer
Wood dust can irritate the airways and sensitize some people. IARC classifies occupational exposure to wood dust as carcinogenic to humans, including a link to nasal and sinonasal cancers.
Scarring + COPD
Long-term exposure can cause pneumoconioses such as coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and other chronic respiratory disease. Risk depends on the dust, dose, and duration.
Lung + heart
PM10 and especially PM2.5 can travel deep into the lungs. EPA links exposure with aggravated asthma, reduced lung function, cardiovascular effects, and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.
The hierarchy of controls
Respirators can help, but they are one layer of protection. The strongest approach controls the hazard at its source and keeps people out of the cloud.
Listen to your lungs
Symptoms can have many causes. Tell a clinician what you do, what materials you work with, and whether symptoms change on weekends or vacation. Seek urgent care for severe or rapidly worsening breathing problems.
Our evidence desk
We parse authoritative documents into structured records and use those records to drive the wiki. Read the entries and see the provenance behind each claim.