Toolbox Talk · Respirable Dust · English
Migna Safety Solutions
Silica Dust
About 10 minutes to deliver · 29 CFR 1926.1153
Cutting, grinding, drilling or breaking concrete, brick, block, stone or mortar releases respirable crystalline silica. The particles that do the damage are far too small to see, which is why the air can look clear and still be dangerous.
What it causes is not reversible: silicosis, lung cancer, COPD, kidney disease. It builds over years of exposure that felt like nothing at the time.
Control the dust at the tool
- Water. Wet cutting is the single most effective control on most tasks. A saw with the water feed running produces a fraction of the dust of the same saw dry. Keep the feed on and aimed at the blade.
- Vacuum. A shroud on the tool connected to a HEPA-filtered vacuum sized for that tool. A shop vac without a HEPA filter blows the fine fraction straight back out.
- Follow the setup on the sheet. OSHA's Table 1 lists a control method for each common task, and following it correctly means you do not have to do your own air monitoring.
Never do this
- Dry sweeping. A broom takes settled dust that was harmless on the ground and puts it back in the air at head height. Wet sweeping or a HEPA vacuum, always.
- Compressed air to blow yourself or the work off. Same problem, worse.
- Dry cutting because the water was inconvenient. That is the shortcut that costs a lung, twenty years later.
Respirators
A respirator is the last line, not the first. Where the task needs one, it must be the right type, and the person wearing it must be fit-tested, medically cleared and clean-shaven where it seals. Stubble breaks the seal — that is not a preference, it is physics.
Housekeeping and clothing
Do not take it home. Dust on clothing goes into a truck cab and a family car. Change or brush down where the site allows, and never with compressed air.
Ask the crew
- Which tasks today make silica dust, and what control is set up for each?
- Is the water feed working on every saw we are using?
- Is anyone due a fit test or medical clearance for their respirator?
This is a toolbox talk, not a course. It is general awareness on one topic — not site-specific, not a hazard assessment, and not a substitute for assessment of your workplace by a competent person, your written programs, or manufacturers’ instructions. It does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. Regulations change; verify against the current standard. Whoever delivers it is responsible for deciding it is suitable and sufficient for the work. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, not a substitute for professional medical care or certified emergency-response training, and it confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. Migna Safety Solutions · training.mignasafetysolutions.com
Attendance Record
Form supplied by Migna Safety Solutions
Silica Dust
29 CFR 1926.1153
I delivered this talk and determined it was suitable for this crew and this work.
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Keep this sheet with your training records. This form is supplied blank by Migna Safety Solutions — we did not deliver this session, were not present, and make no representation about what was said or who attended. A toolbox talk is general awareness on one topic and does not by itself satisfy any OSHA training requirement. The employer remains responsible for site-specific hazard assessment and for the training its workers are required to have. Where a talk covers first aid, resuscitation, or mental health it is general safety information, not medical advice, and confers no certification — in an emergency, call 911. Free to print and use, as is, with no warranty of any kind. training.mignasafetysolutions.com