Preventing Silicosis

Silicosis can be prevented by avoiding breathing in silica dust. Employers in the United States are required by law to protect their workers from silica. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set safety standards to help workers avoid the disease:

• Teach you about the risk of silica and how to avoid exposure.
• Avoid working in dust whenever possible.
• Make sure your job site has air-monitoring equipment.
• Use equipment that helps reduce the dust in the air, including exhaust ventilation, dust-collecting systems, spraying water on surfaces and using ‘wet drills’ to keep dust down.
• Use vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters or wet mops to clean worksites instead of a dry broom.
• When water sprays and ventilation are not enough to reduce silica dust levels, your employer is required to provide you with a properly fitted respirator.
  • To fit correctly, you cannot have a beard or mustache because the respirator will not properly seal to your face.
  • The type of respirator you should use depends on the type of work you do and the amount of silica dust you are exposed to.

In addition:

• Do not eat, drink or use tobacco products in dusty areas.
• Park your car where it will not be covered with dust.
• Shower, if possible, and change into clean clothes before leaving the worksite to help prevent contamination of other areas of your life such as your car or home.

It is your employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace for you. If you think you are not adequately protected, call OSHA at 800-321-OSHA or go to the website www.osha.gov to file a complaint.

Be sure to get regular silicosis screenings through your employer or healthcare provider which should be provided to you free of cost if you work around silica above the legal limit. Screenings check for signs of silicosis before you have symptoms. When you are made aware of the disease early on you will be able to treat and manage it with the goal of preventing severe symptoms.

For more information visit:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Silica and Worker Health
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Silica Overview
• Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation: Learn about Pulmonary Fibrosis