Silica Dust Toolbox Talk

Project: ____________ · Date: ____________ · Led by: ____________

The dust cloud you make cutting block or grinding concrete contains particles 100 times smaller than a grain of sand — small enough to reach the deepest part of your lungs and stay there forever. Silicosis has no cure, and the workers getting diagnosed today breathed their dose years ago.

Why it matters

Silica is the hazard that doesn't hurt today. No cut, no bruise, no near-miss — just a dose, added to last year's dose, until scar tissue does what scar tissue does. The controls are simple and they work; the only failure mode is not using them.

Key points — cover all of these

1. Water first: wet cutting and wet grinding knock dust down at the blade. If your saw has a water feed, use it — a dry cut for convenience is a dose.
2. No water? Use a shroud with a HEPA vacuum designed for the tool. An open dry cut indoors is the worst case on this list.
3. Respirators are the backup, not the plan — and they only work fitted, on a shaved face, worn the whole task.
4. Never dry-sweep concrete dust or blow it with compressed air — vacuum it or wet it down.
5. Position matters: cut upwind of yourself, and keep other trades out of your dust — your cut is their exposure too.
6. Follow the site's silica plan (Table 1 tasks): the tool, the water/vac, and the respirator level are specified for a reason.

Ask the crew

The answers are the point — this is where today's real hazards surface.

• What cutting, grinding, or drilling in concrete or masonry happens today — and is water or a vac shroud staged for it?
• Who ends up downwind of our cuts, and do they know it?
• Is anyone dry-sweeping at cleanup, and what do we use instead?

The one thing today

No dry cuts today — water or vacuum on every blade that touches concrete, block, or stone.

Reference: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153 (respirable crystalline silica)

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