What Happens If You Eat Cement?

What Happens If You Eat Cement
Outlook (Prognosis) – How well a person does depends on the amount of poison swallowed and how quickly treatment is received. The faster a person gets medical help, the better the chance for recovery. Swallowing or putting small amounts of rubber cement in your mouth is often harmless.

Is cement toxic to eat?

Background: Alkaline material ingestions can cause a wide variety of injuries, ranging from mild to fatal. Cement is an alkaline agent and can lead to abrasions, allergic dermatitis, and chemical burns.

Is dry cement toxic?

Skin contact: Dust may cause skin irritation. May cause an allergic skin reaction. Ingestion: Dust may cause irritation. Potential immediate effects: No known significant effects or critical hazards.

What will happen if I eat mud?

Parasites, bacteria, and heavy metals – Eating dirt can expose you to parasites, bacteria, and toxic heavy metals. Dirt that contains a lot of potassium could lead to high blood potassium, increasing your risk for cardiac arrhythmia or cardiac arrest.

Why do I feel like eating cement?

Pica refers to when a person craves or eats nonfood items, such as paint chips or sand. Most medical guides classify pica as an eating disorder. Some women may develop pica during pregnancy. People with pica crave or eat a wide variety of nonfood items. Many will crave a specific type of item. Common cravings include:

ice chipsdirtclayhairburnt matcheschalksoapcoins

This article will discuss what pica is, who it commonly affects, some possible causes, and how to treat it.

Can cement make you sick?

Cement Hazards and Controls Health Risks and Precautions in Using Portland Cement http://www.cpwrconstructionsolutions.org/structural_steel/hazard/1175/weld-plasma-cut-air-arc-and-flame-cut-metal-eye-injury.html summer 2001 Portland cement is one of the most widely used materials in construction.

Applications include concrete floors, walls, and pavement; concrete blocks; and different mixtures of mortar and grout. Thousands of construction workers are exposed to concrete every day without harm. But anyone who uses or supervises the use of portland cement should know its health hazards and the safe working procedures necessary to minimize exposure.

This article outlines those hazards and makes recommendations on how to use cement safely. What Happens If You Eat Cement Waterproof rubber boots are essential in working with wet concrete Cement can cause ill health by skin contact, eye contact, or inhalation. Risk of injury depends on duration and level of exposure and individual sensitivity. Hazardous materials in wet concrete and mortar include:

alkaline compounds such as lime (calcium oxide) that are corrosive to human tissue trace amounts of crystalline silica which is abrasive to the skin and can damage lungs trace amounts of chromium that can cause allergic reactions.

The hazards of wet cement are due to its caustic, abrasive, and drying properties. Wet concrete contacting the skin for a short period and then thoroughly washed off causes little irritation. But continuous contact between skin and wet concrete allows alkaline compounds to penetrate and burn the skin.

What Happens If You Eat Cement First degree burn – outer skin layer What Happens If You Eat Cement Second degree burn – middle skin layer What Happens If You Eat Cement Third degree burn – deep skin layer

Ironically, severe cases often occur when personal protective clothing or equipment is worn. Wet concrete may get trapped inside rubber boots or gloves or gradually soak through coveralls. Concrete finishers kneeling on fresh concrete have had their knees severely burned. Corrosive bleed water from the concrete is absorbed by the worker’s pants and held against the skin for prolonged periods. What Happens If You Eat Cement Without waterproof knee pads, kneeling on wet concrete can irritate or burn the skin Cement dust released during bag dumping or concrete cutting can also irritate the skin. Moisture from sweat or wet clothing reacts with the cement dust to form a caustic solution.

Some workers become allergic to the hexavalent chromium in cement. A small yet significant percentage of all workers using cement will develop an allergy to chromium, with symptoms ranging from a mild rash to severe skin ulcers. In addition to skin reactions, hexavalent chromium can cause a respiratory allergy called occupational asthma.

Symptoms include wheezing and difficulty breathing. Workers may develop both skin and respiratory allergies to hexavalent chromium. It’s possible to work with cement for years without any allergic skin reaction and then to suddenly develop such a reaction.

The condition gets worse until exposure to even minute quantities triggers a severe reaction. The allergy usually lasts a lifetime and prevents any future work with wet concrete or powder cement. Eye contact Exposure to airborne dust may cause immediate or delayed irritation of the eyes. Depending on the level of exposure, effects may range from redness to chemical burns and blindness.

Inhalation Inhaling high levels of dust may occur when workers empty bags of cement. In the short term, such exposure irritates the nose and throat and causes choking and difficult breathing. Sanding, grinding, or cutting concrete can also release large amounts of dust containing high levels of crystalline silica. What Happens If You Eat Cement Dry cutting generates high levels of dust The following are some basic recommendations for handling and using cement safely. Personal protection To protect skin from cement and cement mixtures, workers should wear:

alkali-resistant gloves coveralls with long sleeves and full-length trousers (pull sleeves down over gloves and tuck pants inside boots and duct-tape at the top to keep mortar and concrete out) waterproof boots high enough to prevent concrete from flowing in when workers must stand in fresh concrete suitable respiratory protective equipment such as a P, N or R 95 respirator when cement dust can’t be avoided suitable eye protection where mixing, pouring, or other activities may endanger eyes (minimum—safety glasses with sideshields or goggles, under extremely dusty conditions, tight-fitting unvented or indirectly vented goggles. Don’t wear contact lenses when handling cement or cement products).

Work practices

When laying concrete block, have different sizes on hand to avoid cutting or hammering to make them fit. Work in ways that minimize the amount of cement dust released. Where possible, wet-cut rather than dry-cut masonry products. Mix dry cement in well-ventilated areas. Make sure to work upwind from dust sources. Where possible, use ready-mixed concrete instead of mixing on site. When kneeling on fresh concrete, use a dry board or waterproof kneepads to protect knees from water that can soak through fabric. Remove jewelry such as rings and watches because wet cement can collect under them.

Hygiene

Clothing contaminated by wet cement should be quickly removed. Skin in contact with wet cement should be washed immediately with large amounts of cool clean water. Don’t wash your hands with water from buckets used for cleaning tools. Provide adequate hygiene facilities on site for workers to wash hands and face at the end of a job and before eating, drinking, smoking, or using the toilet. Facilities for cleaning boots and changing clothes should also be available.

Training Under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) in force across Canada, workers handling, using, or exposed to dry or wet cement must be educated in hazards and controls. First aid Skin contaminated with wet or dry cement should be washed with cold running water as soon as possible.

How toxic is wet cement?

Wet Cement Injury Investigations – Concrete contains cement as a primary ingredient, along with water, coarse aggregate such as stone, and fine aggregate such as sand. Fresh wet cement dries and forms concrete which is easy to work with, versatile, durable, and economical.

It is used by thousands of workers on construction sites and by do-it-yourselfers on residential projects. The hazards of wet cement are subtle and injuries from exposure to wet cement are often delayed. HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH WET CEMENT When cement is dry it contains calcium oxide, which is not particularly dangerous.

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However, when water is added to cement, calcium hydroxide is formed, which is extremely alkaline with a pH of 12 to 13. Normal human skin has a pH of 5.5; therefore, wet cement is a “hazardous chemical” because it can produce alkaline (caustic) burns to the skin and eyes which progress and get worse without additional exposure. A worker may have wet cement on his or her skin for hours without feeling any discomfort; however, the chemical action is damaging the skin microscopically. By the time a worker becomes aware of a burn injury, much damage has already occurred and further damage is difficult to stop.

  • Wet cement burns may result in blisters, dead or hardened skin, or black and green skin.
  • In severe cases, these burns may extend to the bone and cause disfiguring scars or disability.
  • HAZARD CONTROL Direct skin contact with wet cement can be effectively controlled by the use of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) such as clothing which includes wearing waterproof gloves, long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

If it is necessary to stand in fresh wet cement while it is being placed, screeded, or floated, workers should wear rubber boots. Boots should be high enough to prevent wet cement from getting into them.Clothing worn as protection from fresh wet cement should not be allowed to become saturated with moisture because saturated clothing can transmit alkaline or hygroscopic effects to the skin.

If powdered Portland cement or liquids containing Portland cement penetrate through the clothing, the clothing should be immediately removed and the exposed skin washed using soap or mild detergent and water.Additional controls include following proper work practices and the hazard information found in Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS; currently referred to as Safety Data Sheets (SDS)).

Safe-use information found in warning labels on delivery tickets and other literature should be properly communicated to product users. Studies have demonstrated that the risk of injury from the hazards of wet cement is beyond the knowledge or awareness of many ordinary users, absent adequate warnings about those hazards and the risk of injury.

What is cement made of?

Visit ShapedbyConcrete.com to learn more about how cement and concrete shape the world around us. Portland cement is the basic ingredient of concrete. Concrete is formed when portland cement creates a paste with water that binds with sand and rock to harden.

Cement is manufactured through a closely controlled chemical combination of calcium, silicon, aluminum, iron and other ingredients. Common materials used to manufacture cement include limestone, shells, and chalk or marl combined with shale, clay, slate, blast furnace slag, silica sand, and iron ore.

These ingredients, when heated at high temperatures form a rock-like substance that is ground into the fine powder that we commonly think of as cement. Bricklayer Joseph Aspdin of Leeds, England first made portland cement early in the 19th century by burning powdered limestone and clay in his kitchen stove.

  • With this crude method, he laid the foundation for an industry that annually processes literally mountains of limestone, clay, cement rock, and other materials into a powder so fine it will pass through a sieve capable of holding water.
  • Cement plant laboratories check each step in the manufacture of portland cement by frequent chemical and physical tests.

The labs also analyze and test the finished product to ensure that it complies with all industry specifications. The most common way to manufacture portland cement is through a dry method. The first step is to quarry the principal raw materials, mainly limestone, clay, and other materials.

After quarrying the rock is crushed. This involves several stages. The first crushing reduces the rock to a maximum size of about 6 inches. The rock then goes to secondary crushers or hammer mills for reduction to about 3 inches or smaller. The crushed rock is combined with other ingredients such as iron ore or fly ash and ground, mixed, and fed to a cement kiln.

The cement kiln heats all the ingredients to about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit in huge cylindrical steel rotary kilns lined with special firebrick. Kilns are frequently as much as 12 feet in diameter—large enough to accommodate an automobile and longer in many instances than the height of a 40-story building.

  • The large kilns are mounted with the axis inclined slightly from the horizontal.
  • The finely ground raw material or the slurry is fed into the higher end.
  • At the lower end is a roaring blast of flame, produced by precisely controlled burning of powdered coal, oil, alternative fuels, or gas under forced draft.

As the material moves through the kiln, certain elements are driven off in the form of gases. The remaining elements unite to form a new substance called clinker. Clinker comes out of the kiln as grey balls, about the size of marbles. Clinker is discharged red-hot from the lower end of the kiln and generally is brought down to handling temperature in various types of coolers.

The heated air from the coolers is returned to the kilns, a process that saves fuel and increases burning efficiency. After the clinker is cooled, cement plants grind it and mix it with small amounts of gypsum and limestone. Cement is so fine that 1 pound of cement contains 150 billion grains. The cement is now ready for transport to ready-mix concrete companies to be used in a variety of construction projects.

Although the dry process is the most modern and popular way to manufacture cement, some kilns in the United States use a wet process. The two processes are essentially alike except in the wet process, the raw materials are ground with water before being fed into the kiln.

Why do I feel like eating bricks?

Tooth wear patterns can reveal a lot about a person. Despite our best efforts to educate patients on preventing dental damage, electricians strip wires with their teeth, seamstresses hold pins and CEOs brux like their career depends on it. Very rarely, clinicians see extreme wear from highly atypical activities, such as eating non-food items.

At some point everyone has chewed the end of a pen, but when this goes beyond normal habits, it can be dangerous for both oral and general health. The extreme presentation of abnormal chewing and eating of non-food items is called pica. Cases have included everything from clay to pieces of brick or metal.

Pica can arise from a number of different conditions. Medical causes that might compel someone to eat non-food items include mineral deficiency, (particularly zinc), anemia (especially from parasite infection) and atypical pregnancy cravings. However, autism, schizophrenia, and developmental disorders can often contain pica as a co-morbid condition.

  • Some people, however, develop pica as a stress response or OCD-mediated behavior.
  • This is the “classical” presentation of pica, occurring in the relative absence of other behavioral or psychological conditions.
  • One notable case report details the condition of a seven-year-old girl who could not stop consuming pieces of brick.

The compulsion began at age 5, and although her parents tried explaining the danger of her behavior, scolding, and punishing her, she continued eating brick pieces. This led to chronic abdominal pain and severe dental attrition with numerous caries. When the patient presented for treatment, the clinician noted the unusual degree of wear and learned of the patient’s brick consumption. A panel of tests (including serum iron, serum zinc, hemoglobin and stool/urine) was ordered to examine whether a deficiency or parasite infection was responsible for the pica.

  • The patient’s levels of serum iron, zinc, and calcium were all well below normal, being the most likely cause for the patient’s pica.
  • Bricks contain iron as well as calcium and are the rich red color associated with high-iron foods.
  • In addition to dental treatment, the patient was prescribed iron, zinc and calcium supplements, and the parents were coached on behavioral modification techniques beginning with a reduction, rather than elimination, of the child’s brick consumption.

Monthly follow-ups were scheduled, and by month two the patient had a marked decrease in her consumption of brick pieces. By month six, the patient’s habit had stopped entirely, and her oral health is excellent. In this case, the pica was a result of mineral deficiency, but not all cases are so straightforward.

  1. Many people are unable to control their compulsion and continue to eat non-food items despite the risk of harm.
  2. In these cases all a clinician can do is advise the patient of ways to mitigate the damage, and recommend that the patient come in for more regular checkups.
  3. Source: Advani, S., Kochhar, G., Chachra, S., & Dhawan, P.
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(2014). Eating everything except food (PICA): A rare case report and review. Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry, 4(1), 1–4. http://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0762.127851 Disclaimer The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation.

Regulations regarding sedation vary by state. This is an educational and informational piece. DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient’s use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein. DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 106 Lenora Street, Seattle, WA 98121.

Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request. The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor, should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation.

  • Regulations regarding sedation vary by state.
  • This is an educational and informational piece.
  • DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient’s use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein.
  • DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 3250 Airport Way S, Suite 701 | Seattle, WA 98134.

Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request.

Why does my kid eat dirt?

What is pica? – Pica is a compulsive eating disorder in which people eat nonfood items. Dirt, clay, and flaking paint are the most common items eaten. Less common items include glue, hair, cigarette ashes, and feces. The disorder is more common in children, affecting 10% to 30% of young children ages 1 to 6.

What happens if you eat chalk?

Most calls about children eating chalk involves them eating small taste amounts of either sidewalk color chalk or white blackboard chalk used in the classroom. Both sidewalk and blackboard chalk are made from calcium carbonate or calcium sulfate. Chalk is considered non-toxic in small amounts.

If large amounts are eaten, it can be irritating to the stomach and cause vomiting. Chalk can be a choking hazard for very young children. If you find your child eating chalk, do not panic. Take the chalk away from them, wipe out the mouth with a soft, wet cloth and give them some water to drink. If problems start or you have questions, call the Missouri Poison Center right away at 1-800-222-1222,

The poison center is open all day, every day for poisoning emergencies and questions CAUTION: Eating pool or billiard chalk can be different than school and blackboard chalk because it may also contain lead. If you find your child eating this kind of chalk please call the Missouri Poison Center right away for specific information.

How do I stop eating cement?

I suggest you get your Hb and calcium level tested. Iron deficiency may cause urge to eat soil or cement or ice. If deficiency is not the reason then try going to a counsellor.

What is cement poison?

Cement poisoning can occur if the wet cement comes in contact with your skin. Dry cement contains calcium oxide, which isn’t normally dangerous, but when it is mixed with water, it changes to calcium hydroxide, which is hazardous. Your skin has a normal pH level of 5.5.

Is pica caused by stress?

What Causes Pica? – Iron-deficiency anemia and malnutrition are two of the most common pica causes. Thus, pica cravings are signs that the body is seeking additional nutrients. In these cases, vitamins, supplements, and a healthy diet can therefore correct pica.

However, when no nutritional deficiency exists, it’s harder to pin down the causes of pica. Often, people with pica also have other mental health disorders, including schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder, In addition, pica symptoms sometimes increase when an individual is experiencing extreme stress and anxiety.

Many pica eating disorders begin in childhood and relate to childhood experiences. As the person ages, they choose to eat non-food items that are connected to their childhood and their childhood home. Experts theorize that this type of pica may be caused by childhood trauma,

  • Thus, the person strives to find a way back to the childhood that they lost due to their traumatic experiences.
  • Moreover, experts have found a link between pica and decreased activity of the dopamine system in the brain,
  • Hence, some researchers believe that abnormally low levels of dopamine in the brain can cause pica.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter—a chemical that helps to relay nerve impulses from one cell to another.

Can Stomach acid burn through cement?

A cascade of corrosive stomach contents creates continual color conversion in concrete! – Image via Wikipedia Most people don’t consider the fact that the fluids in their stomach are corrosive, but that’s how the body digests things. And when someone loses their lunch on concrete, the can actually etch the surface.

Sidewalk Stain Before Pressure Washing If the lunch included something colorful – like beets or wine – the stomach acid can actually convey that coloring into the concrete itself and leave a nasty permanent stain. If the discharge is free of any staining color, the stomach acid can sometimes clean the surface of the concrete.

Then we have to apply brighteners around the stain to keep it from standing out. Cleaning the mess up quickly is the only way to avoid discoloration. And because we got right to it, our client avoided a stain and kept their store owners happy. Sidewalk Stain After Pressure Washing Many stains can’t be removed if you wait too long.

Grease, oil and hydraulic stains on driveways will usually come right out if we get to it within 24 hours. Concrete is porous like a sponge and the longer you wait to treat the stain, the deeper it soaks in. So if you have a stain that you want us to pressure wash off your sidewalks, driveway, or other surfaces – call us before is sets in and can’t be removed.

: Concrete and Stomach Acid: Pressure Washing Sidewalks At a Shopping Center

Does cement solidify your stomach?

NO, concrete needs to dry up to solidify, which is not the case inside the stomach

What happens if you breathe in dry concrete?

Inhaling Concrete or Stone Dust – Some of the most hazardous dust on job sites can be released by cutting, grinding or blasting concrete and engineered stone. You may also accidentally inhale such dust by breathing in the material when opening a bag. The dangers of inhaling concrete dust and stone dust should never be played down.

  1. Dust from both can carry high volumes of silica, which can travel into your lungs and cause scar tissue or cell necrosis.
  2. When enough silica crystals are inhaled over time, lungs can be damaged beyond repair.
  3. Crystalline silica is microscopic and that makes it impossible to spot with the naked eye when working with concrete and stone.

People whose lungs may be affected by inhaling silica long term may be diagnosed with Silicosis, a disease that occurs when silica dust is inhaled to a potentially fatal extent.

Is unsealed concrete toxic?

4. Bacteria Build-up – Compared to other surfaces, the floors have the most exposure to bacteria. And due to this fact, the floors are sealed and protected. Besides the carpets and rugs you put into minimizing dirt on the floors, that is aside from the carpets and rugs you put into minimizing dirt on the floors. What Happens If You Eat Cement

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What happens if you let cement dry on your skin?

Concrete burns – Causes & treatment – Once concrete starts hardening, burns can form slowly over hours or days. That’s because, in order for concrete to harden, it has to absorb moisture, drawing water away from anything that holds moisture—even wet clothing and skin—which only aids in the drying process.

If hardened concrete is left untreated on the skin, skin begins to blister, swell, and bleed, leading to first-, second-, and even third-degree burns following soon after. Severe cases of concrete skin irritation can lead to permanent scarring and even require skin grafts or amputations. Not only is this painful and distressing to the worker, but it is harmful to their employer as well— OSHA reports that concrete workers in the U.S.

lose four times as many workdays for skin problems compared to other construction trade workers.

Can breathing in concrete dust hurt you?

Summary Statement – Brochure on New Jersey’s probation on dry cutting, the risks and precautions. Produced by the Department of Health and Senior Services. That cloud of dust you see when a worker cuts or grinds concrete, brick, or stone is not just harmless dust. It contains crystalline silica. and IT CAN KILL. Most crystalline silica is in the form of quartz. Common sand is almost 100% quartz. Fine particles created by cutting and grinding can get deep into the lungs.

New Jersey law (N.J.S.A.34:5-182) prohibits dry cutting and dry grinding of masonry materials. Hundreds of workers die of silicosis each year in the U.S. and hundreds more become disabled and are unable to take care of themselves and their families. Since 1968, more than 14,000 workers in the U.S. have died from silicosis. More than one million U.S. workers are at risk of developing silicosis. The construction industry has one of the highest numbers of deaths due to silicosis.

asphalt block brick ceramic tile concrete granite grout joint compound mortar pavers roof tiles sand slate some siding terrazzo

sawing chipping drilling clean-up scarifying grinding crushing needle gunning polishing milling tuck pointing

There are three types of silicosis:

Acute silicosis : Can occur after only weeks or months of exposure to very high levels of crystalline silica. Death can occur within months. Accelerated silicosis : Results from exposure to high levels of crystalline silica and occurs 5 to 10 years after exposure. Chronic silicosis: Usually occurs after 10 or more years of exposure to crystalline silica at low levels. This is the most common type of silicosis.

Silicosis begins with few, if any, symptoms. Once present, these symptoms can include shortness of breath, severe cough, wheezing, and chest tightness. Breathing dust containing crystalline silica has also been linked to other diseases such as tuberculosis, kidney disease, and lung cancer.

Symptoms can include fever, weight loss, and night sweats. These symptoms can become worse over time, leading to death. New Jersey law requires that doctors and advanced practice nurses report cases of silicosis to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS). The key to preventing silicosis is to keep dust out of the air.

Dust controls can be as simple as a water hose to wet the dust before it becomes airborne (see back page for tips). Employers and employees should use the following methods to control respirable crystalline silica dust:

Dust containing silica can be generated when cutting granite, a popular building material used for kitchen and bathroom countertops, and other applications. Granite can contain up to 70% silica.

ul> Recognize when silica dust may be generated and plan ahead to eliminate or control the dust at the source. Provide workers with training that includes information about health effects, work practices, and protective equipment for respirable crystalline silica. Use engineering controls such as local exhaust ventilation (with dust collectors) or wet methods to prevent the release of dust into the air. Routinely maintain dust control systems to keep them in good working order. Do not cause dust to become airborne during clean-up. Remove dust from equipment with a water hose or wet-wiping rather than with compressed air. Use vacuums with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, or use wet sweeping instead of dry sweeping. Minimize exposures to nearby workers by using good work practices, such as marking and posting the boundaries of work areas where exposure to airborne dust can occur. Wear disposable or washable protective clothes at the worksite. Shower if possible and change into clean clothes before leaving the worksite to prevent contamination of cars, homes, and other work areas. Conduct air monitoring to measure worker exposures and ensure that controls are providing adequate protection for workers. Provide annual medical examinations for all workers who may be exposed to respirable crystalline silica. Use proper respiratory protection when engineering controls cannot keep silica exposures below the NIOSH* Recommended Exposure Limit (REL). Respirators should not be the primary method of protection. If engineering controls cannot keep dust levels below the NIOSH REL, then respirators should be used. *NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) – NIOSH REL is 0.05 mg/m 3 as a 10-hour time-weighted average.

This laborer using a demo saw without water was found to be exposed to a respirable silica dust level that was more than 45 times the NIOSH REL, after being monitored for only half of a work shift. Note that other workers are also being exposed.

RESPIRATORY PROTECTION PROGRAM When respirators are used, the employer must establish a comprehensive respiratory protection program as required by the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard, and outlined in the NIOSH Guide to Industrial Respiratory Protection. A respiratory protection program must cover the following basic elements, as applicable:

Periodic environmental monitoring; Regular training of personnel regarding exposure and respirator use; Selection of appropriate NIOSH-approved respirators ; A medical evaluation of the worker’s ability to perform the work while wearing a respirator; Respirator fit testing (annually); Maintenance, inspection, cleaning, and storage of respiratory protection equipment; and Procedures for regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

New Jersey law (N.J.S.A.34:5-182) requires that employers provide workers with full-face air-purifying respirators when engineering controls cannot be used. Use of respirators should be part of a complete respiratory protection program. Air sampling is necessary to verify dust levels.

Up to 0.5 mg/m 3 ** Half-mask air-purifying respirator with, at a minimum, N-95 filters. Up to 1.25 mg/m 3 Powered air-purifying respirator with, at a minimum, N-95 filters; or supplied-air respirator with hood or helmet operated in a continuous-flow mode. Up to 2.5 mg/m 3 Full-facepiece air-purifying respirator with, at a minimum, N-100 filters; or powered air-purifying respirator with tight-fitting facepiece and high-efficiency filters. Up to 25 mg/m 3 Positive pressure supplied-air respirator. Sandblasting (without cabinet and dust collector) Type CE abrasive-blasting respirator. ** Note: Although acceptable by NIOSH, an N-95 filtering facepiece (disposable respirator) provides minimum protection. NJDHSS recommends that the tight-fitting half-mask air-purifying respirator be used.

Use the dust collection systems available for many types of dust-generating equipment. When purchasing equipment, look for dust controls. Use local exhaust ventilation to prevent dust from being released into the air. Always use the dust control system, and keep it well maintained. Do not use equipment if the dust control system is not working properly. Use equipment that provides water to the blade or grinder when sawing or grinding concrete or masonry. Be sure to only use blades and abrasive wheels that are rated as safe for use with water. Keep in mind that dust levels can remain high for some time even after cutting, grinding, or sweeping has stopped.

Construction worker cutting silica-containing ceramic tile with a “wet saw.”

About health problems: If you think you have been exposed to silica dust or begin to notice symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath, you should go to your doctor and explain your work history. About the information presented in this fact sheet: Contact the NJDHSS, Occupational Health Surveillance Program: Phone : 609-984-1863 or 800-772-0062 E-mail : [email protected] Web site : www.nj.gov/health/eoh/survweb Address : NJ Dept.