National Technical Reports Library

The National Technical Information Service acquires, indexes, abstracts, and archives the largest collection of U.S. government-sponsored technical reports in existence. The NTRL offers online, free and open access to these authenticated government technical reports. Technical reports and documents in its repository may be available online for free either from the issuing federal agency, the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Digital System website, or through search engines.

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In-Depth Survey Report: Engineering Control of Silica Dust from Stone Countertop Fabrication and Installation.

PB2016102825

Publication Date	2016
Personal Author	Qi, C.; Echt, A.
Page Count	29
Abstract	Workplace exposure to respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis, a progressive lung disease marked by scarring and thickening of the lung tissue. Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica. Crystalline silica is found in several materials, such as brick, block, mortar and concrete. Construction and manufacturing tasks that cut, break, grind, abrade, or drill those materials have been associated with overexposure to dust containing respirable crystalline silica. Stone countertop products can contain >90% crystalline silica and working with this material during stone countertop fabrication and installation has been shown to cause excessive exposures to respirable crystalline silica. NIOSH scientists are conducting a study to develop engineering control recommendations for respirable crystalline silica from stone countertop fabrication and installation. This site visit was part of that study. NIOSH scientists visited the Stone Systems of Houston, TX on August 11-13, 2015. During the site visit, they performed industrial hygiene sampling which measured the short term task-based exposures to respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica of five workers who used handheld tools in the stone counter-top fabrication process. The evaluated work tasks predominantly included polishing (i.e. “Polishers”), grinding (i.e. “Grinders”) and surface lamination (i.e. “Laminators”). An engineering control measure that supplied water to the tools to suppress the dust at its source was used throughout the fabrication process. The NIOSH scientists also recorded detailed survey notes about the work process in order to understand the conditions that led to the measured exposures.
Keywords	Silica Construction materials Engineering controls Respiratory protection Crystalline silica Silica dusts Stone processing Quartz Quartz dust Construction Construction workers Control technology Dust control Dust exposure Respirable dust Stone products Humans Respirators Respiratory protective equipment Recommendations Fabrication processes
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NTIS Subject Category	71 - Materials Sciences 50C - Construction Equipment, Materials, & Supplies 89C - Construction Management & Techniques 89G - Construction Materials, Components, & Equipment 68A - Air Pollution & Control 68G - Environmental Health & Safety 57U - Public Health & Industrial Medicine 57Y - Toxicology 57A - Anatomy 57M - Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, & Rehabilitation 44K - Health Services 94D - Job Environment 94E - Environmental Engineering 41I - Job Environment 41K - Engineering Materials
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH. Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201615

In-Depth Survey Report: Engineering Control of Silica Dust from Stone Countertop Fabrication and Installation.

In-Depth Survey Report: Engineering Control of Silica Dust from Stone Countertop Fabrication and Installation.
PB2016102825

Publication Date	2016
Personal Author	Qi, C.; Echt, A.
Page Count	29
Abstract	Workplace exposure to respirable crystalline silica can cause silicosis, a progressive lung disease marked by scarring and thickening of the lung tissue. Quartz is the most common form of crystalline silica. Crystalline silica is found in several materials, such as brick, block, mortar and concrete. Construction and manufacturing tasks that cut, break, grind, abrade, or drill those materials have been associated with overexposure to dust containing respirable crystalline silica. Stone countertop products can contain >90% crystalline silica and working with this material during stone countertop fabrication and installation has been shown to cause excessive exposures to respirable crystalline silica. NIOSH scientists are conducting a study to develop engineering control recommendations for respirable crystalline silica from stone countertop fabrication and installation. This site visit was part of that study. NIOSH scientists visited the Stone Systems of Houston, TX on August 11-13, 2015. During the site visit, they performed industrial hygiene sampling which measured the short term task-based exposures to respirable dust and respirable crystalline silica of five workers who used handheld tools in the stone counter-top fabrication process. The evaluated work tasks predominantly included polishing (i.e. “Polishers”), grinding (i.e. “Grinders”) and surface lamination (i.e. “Laminators”). An engineering control measure that supplied water to the tools to suppress the dust at its source was used throughout the fabrication process. The NIOSH scientists also recorded detailed survey notes about the work process in order to understand the conditions that led to the measured exposures.
Keywords	Silica Construction materials Engineering controls Respiratory protection Crystalline silica Silica dusts Stone processing Quartz Quartz dust Construction Construction workers Control technology Dust control Dust exposure Respirable dust Stone products Humans Respirators Respiratory protective equipment Recommendations Fabrication processes
Source Agency	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NTIS Subject Category	71 - Materials Sciences 50C - Construction Equipment, Materials, & Supplies 89C - Construction Management & Techniques 89G - Construction Materials, Components, & Equipment 68A - Air Pollution & Control 68G - Environmental Health & Safety 57U - Public Health & Industrial Medicine 57Y - Toxicology 57A - Anatomy 57M - Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, & Rehabilitation 44K - Health Services 94D - Job Environment 94E - Environmental Engineering 41I - Job Environment 41K - Engineering Materials
Corporate Authors	National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH. Engineering and Physical Hazards Branch.
Document Type	Technical Report
NTIS Issue Number	201615