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	Respirable Crystalline Silica - Safety and Health Alert

		
		Silicosis is a disabling, nonreversible, and sometimes fatal lung disease caused by overexposure to respirable crystalline silica.
            

            
    

    Best Practices
                    
                What can Metal/Nonmetal and Coal Mine Operators do to prevent silicosis?
1.    Perform air monitoring of worksites.  Monitoring will determine:
proper respiratory protection needed
effectiveness of engineering controls
need for additional work practices to reduce dust levels; and2.    Install and maintain engineering controls to reduce the amount of silica in the air. Examples of controls include:
exhaust ventilation
increase face ventilation: both velocity and quantity
dry dust collection systems
water sprays
wet drilling or suppression
supply vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters; andA comprehensive source of dust controls and practices can be found at:   https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/features/dustcontrolhandbooks.html
enclosed cabs3.    Administrative controls are the second line of defense for minimizing silica exposures. These controls include:
practice preventative maintenance:  clean and maintain equipment
practice good housekeeping: don’t dry sweep to clean up
use wet cleaning methods, or vacuums with HEPA filters to remove dust from floors and surfaces; and
train miners about engineering controls and work practices that reduce dust, and the importance of maintenance and good housekeeping4.    Provide miners with appropriately selected, properly fitted, and NIOSH approved respirators, as engineering controls are installed or updated.
make sure respirators are kept clean and properly maintained and that miners are trained in their useScroll to Top

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