Construction dust


Problem:

Workers who tape, mud and sand drywall may be exposed to construction dust.


Risk Description:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Chronic bronchitis is present when someone has a regular cough with phlegm for at least 3 months per year for two years.  Emphysema is present when there is destruction of the walls of the airspaces of the lung.  The destruction of airspaces means there is less lung surface; loss of lung surface reduced the ability of the lung to transfer oxygen into the blood stream.


Assessment Info:

The current OSHA standard for total dust which contains less than 1% silica is 15 mg/m3; see 29 CFR 1926.55. For workers sanding drywall all day, the 8 hour time weighted average exposure will frequently exceed the ACGIH TLV for total dust (10 mg/m3) and the OSHA PEL for total dust (15 mg/m3), sometimes by as much as a factor of three.  Under some circumstances drywall finishers will also exceed the OSHA general industry respirable dust standard of 5 mg/m3.  Working in a visible cloud of dust is almost certainly a violation of these standards.

When using a joint compound that contains silica (check the MSDS) this exposure limit may also be exceeded (see information in this database for additional specific solutions for silica).   The NIOSH recommended exposure limit for crystalline silica is 0.05/mg/m3.  NIOSH research shows that controlling exposures below this concentration should prevent all workers from obtaining silicosis.

Select Solution:

Substitution

Engineering control

Administrative control

Personal Protective Equipment