Respirable Crystalline Silica baseline survey published
THE Silica Baseline Survey (RR689), which establishes baselineintelligence on employee exposure and the control of respirablecrystalline silica (RCS) in the quarrying, stonemasonry, brick andtile, and construction industries, has been published on the HSEwebsite.
The objectives of the survey were to: establish whether engineeringcontrols and the use of respiratory protective equipment were adequateto reduce exposures below the Workplace Exposure Limit for RCS; assessthe reliability of the exposure controls; identify common causes offailures of exposure controls; and provide data against which theeffect of HSE interventions can be assessed in future.
In general, the survey found that assessments had not always beenmade, as required by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health(COSHH) Regulations, for tasks that cause RCS exposure, and that therewas an almost universal lack of adequate respiratory protectiveequipment training and face-fit testing.
Nevertheless, RCS exposure was generally found to be adequatelycontrolled in quarries, with large quarry groupings considered to bewell equipped in terms of health and safety expertise, althoughexposure control regimes were prone to failure if neglected.
However, nearly half of the exposure measurements in thestonemasonry sector exceeded the 2006 Workplace Exposure Limit for RCS.Engineering controls were usually found to be either completely lackingor of limited effectiveness, the latter due either to the selection ofunsuitable equipment or inadequate design and installation.
Copies of the Silica Baseline Survey can be downloaded from the HSEwebsite by clicking on the link below. Readers should be aware,however, that while the survey report and the work it describes werefunded by the HSE, its contents, opinions and/or conclusions do notnecessarily reflect HSE policy.
