A Bosch Professional vacuum cleaner on a worksite, with a blue hose attached.

Are you at risk of silica dust?

If you do cutting, grind, sanding, drilling, demolishing to concrete, mortar, sand, rock, masonry, natural and composite benchtops and some paints, then the answer is YES!

An artistic illustration of human lungs surrounded by a blue smoky background.

What is silica dust?

Silica dust is generated in workplace mechanical processes such as crushing, cutting, drilling, grinding, sawing or polishing of natural stone or man-made products that contain silica. Some dust particles can be so small that they are not visible; these are commonly referred to as respirable particles. Respirable silica dust particles are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and can cause irreversible lung damage. The non-crystalline or amorphous forms of silica do not cause this kind of lung damage.

reference: www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/silica