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Dust entry

Foundry casting-cleaning silica dust

Respirable silica dust generated while chipping and grinding castings made from sand molds.

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

silicosisrespiratory disease concern

Evidence

NIOSH reports that foundry workers cleaning small sand-mold castings can breathe high concentrations of respirable silica dust and that exposure can lead to silicosis.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 1 · Description of Hazard · 1
Exposure to respirable silica dust can lead to the development of silicosis, a debilitating and potentially deadly lung disease. In foundry operations, workers who clean small castings made from sand molds use various handheld chipping and grinding tools. If dust exposures are not adequately controlled, workers breathe in high concentrations of respirable silica.

NIOSH reports that a local-exhaust-ventilation system reduced respirable-dust exposure by 59% to 77% for various foundry cleaning tools.

Source: html ↗ · saved source
Description of Controls · 1
Use of the local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system described below significantly reduced worker exposures to respirable dust by 59 percent to 77 percent for various cleaning tools.

Controls