Bosch Professional vacuum cleaner on a construction site, blue with red accents, hoses 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 is a natural substance found in concrete, bricks, rocks, stone (including artificial or engineered stone found in composite kitchen benchtops), sand and clay. RCS dust is created when materials containing silica are cut, ground, drilled, sanded, polished or otherwise disturbed. RCS particles are extremely small; they can’t always be seen with the naked eye. Silicosis is a progressive and deadly disease that causes fibrosis of the lungs from the inhalation of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust.

reference: worksafe.govt.nz