Hardwood Floors October/November 2017

AT THE SITE

S I L I C A S A F E T Y

the most common form of silica, is a component of sand, stone, rock, concrete, brick, block, and mortar. Materials containing quartz are found in a wide variety of workplaces.” When crystalline silica gets airborne frommixing, grinding, or sanding, the particles you breathe go into your lungs where they damage the lining and air sacs. is causes scarring that leads to serious respiratory issues including (but not limited to) shortness of breath, sti ening of the lungs, uid buildup and respiratory failure that can lead to death. ere is no cure for silicosis, and it is a progressive disease, which means that removing yourself from exposure doesn’t stop its e ects; it will normally worsen with time.

In the ooring trades, silica is a concern because it is in a lot of the products we use to perform our jobs. If you mix oor prep, self-leveler, thin set, grout, Portland cement products, or many other powdery

We said goodbye to my father recently at his memorial. At 73 years old, he wasn’t exactly young, but he would have been here a lot longer if his time hadn’t been cut short by the rare lung disease known as mesothelioma. ere are a lot of jokes going around about mesothelioma because of all the commercials on television, but it is real and has caused us a great loss. Asbestos in oor tile and adhesive was the culprit, as it has been in many industries including ours as recently as 1979, and even later. Today we don’t have the same concerns about asbestos, but we may face a greater danger in crystalline silica. In fact, workers in trades like ours are being diagnosed with silicosis in their 30s, and some of them are dying from it. For anyone in the construction trades, the information that follows will hopefully help you to make the changes needed to protect yourselves and your families. I realize most guys mentally “check out” when they see or hear the word “OSHA,” but its website has a lot of great information on silicosis. According to OSHA.gov, “Crystalline silica is an important industrial material found abundantly in the earth’s crust. Quartz,

substances, you’ve likely put silica not only into the air, but also on your clothes and into your lungs. Concrete grinding and cu ing, along with many other occupations such as landscaping and brick masonry are also at risk. A Google search will give you an exhaustive list of occupations and industries where silica is a concern. A simple paper dust mask generally won’t be enough to protect you, and when it gets on your clothes, it can come home with you and potentially expose your family. I remember stories of guys who would come home fromwork with asbestos on their work clothes and their wives and children would end up with mesothelioma by second-hand exposure from Mixing powdery substances like this is one of many ways you risk putting silica into the air, on your clothes, and into your lungs.

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