Dust entry
Airborne silicon carbide particulate generated during abrasive, grinding-wheel, and related industrial operations.
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.
The current NIOSH Pocket Guide identifies silicon carbide as an airborne particulate hazard and reports eye, skin, and upper-respiratory irritation and cough among exposure effects.
Symptoms irritation eyes, skin, upper respiratory system; cough.
NIOSH identifies eye, skin, and upper-respiratory irritation and cough as effects associated with silicon carbide exposure.
NIOSH REL TWA 10 mg/m³ (total) TWA 5 mg/m³ (resp). OSHA PEL TWA 15 mg/m³ (total) TWA 5 mg/m³ (resp). Exposure Routes inhalation, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms irritation eyes, skin, upper respiratory system; cough. Target Organs Eyes, skin, respiratory system.
A NIOSH/OSHA review reports that silicon carbide alone did not produce lung fibrosis in one animal study, while exposure aggravated pulmonary tuberculosis and extensive fibrosis in infected animals.
An animal study showed that, although exposure to silicon carbide alone produced no fibrosis of the lungs, exposure of guinea pigs infected with tuberculosis to silicon carbide ... aggravated pulmonary tuberculosis to the extent that extensive fibrosis occurred.
A NIOSH health-hazard evaluation describes silicon carbide as an abrasive used in grinding wheels and a nuisance particulate.
Silicon carbide, an abrasive frequently used in grinding wheels, is an example of a material which is considered to be a nuisance particulate.