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Dust entry

Gypsum dust

Airborne particulate from gypsum handling and processing.

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

eye irritationskin irritationmucous-membrane irritationupper respiratory irritationcoughsneezingrunny nose

Evidence

The current NIOSH Pocket Guide sets gypsum exposure limits at 10 mg/m³ total and 5 mg/m³ respirable, describes a white or nearly white odorless crystalline solid, and reports eye, skin, mucous-membrane, and upper-respiratory irritation with cough, sneezing, and runny nose.

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Exposure Limits; Physical Description; Exposure Routes; Symptoms · 1
NIOSH REL TWA 10 mg/m³ (total) TWA 5 mg/m³ (resp). Physical Description White or nearly white, odorless, crystalline solid. Exposure Routes inhalation, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms irritation eyes, skin, mucous membrane, upper respiratory system; cough, sneezing, rhinorrhea (discharge of thin nasal mucus).

NIOSH lists inhalation, skin, and eye contact routes for gypsum and reports irritation of the eyes, skin, mucous membranes, and upper respiratory system, plus cough, sneezing, and rhinorrhea; target organs are eyes, skin, and respiratory system.

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Symptoms and target organs · 1
Exposure Routes: inhalation, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms: irritation eyes, skin, mucous membrane, upper respiratory system; cough, sneezing, rhinorrhea (discharge of thin nasal mucus). Target Organs: Eyes, skin, respiratory system.

A NIOSH HHE states that pneumoconiosis-like radiographic changes reported in some gypsum miners were generally attributed to quartz in the dust; it did not find increased respiratory symptoms or lung-function abnormalities and reported no animal pulmonary fibrosis from prolonged gypsum inhalation.

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page 5 · Criteria for Specific Constituents Potentially Found in Joint Compound · 1
Gypsum (calcium sulfate): In humans, radiographic changes consistent with pneumoconiosis have been observed in a few groups of gypsum miners, however, it is generally felt that these findings were related to the presence of quartz (silica) in the dust. Despite the radiographic changes seen in some gypsum miners, rates of respiratory symptoms and lung function abnormalities were not increased. In animals, prolonged inhalation of gypsum has not been shown to cause pulmonary fibrosis.

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