Sweeping dust and other debris can produce high levels of dust. Dust is not just a nuisance, it's a real risk to your health. Regularly breathing dust can cause diseases such as lung cancer, asthma, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
What you must do
Follow the Assess, Control and Review model. Pay particular attention to the following things:
Assess
Dry sweeping dust and other debris can produce high levels of dust. The risk will depend on how much material you are removing and what it contains. It will be higher risk if it contains silica or wood dust. Anyone breathing in this dust cloud will be affected. You will be at particularly risk if you are dry brushing for longer periods in an enclosed space. Follow the control steps below.
Control
Prevent: Think about limiting the risks before work starts by:
limiting waste materials and how they are produced during design/ planning
considering where waste material is created and how frequently it needs removing
using the correct dust controls when making dust/rubble/debris
Control: Even if you minimise some of the dust this way, you may still need to do some clearing up. Control the risk by:
Hand tools – damp down and use a brush, shovel and bucket for minor/ small amounts. For regular removal/ site cleaning use a water spray for damping down and a rake / shovel and bucket / wheelbarrow to remove larger pieces.
On-tool extraction– for finer material use vacuum attachments fitted to an H or M class extraction unit.
Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) – you may also need RPE depending on the location, duration and type of work you are doing. Select RPE with an assigned protection factor of 20 (eg FFP3 disposable mask or half mask with a P3 filter). Fit testing is needed for tight fitting masks.
Review
Supervise: Ensure controls are properly used and RPE is worn correctly. Anyone using tight fitting masks also needs to be clean-shaven and face-fit tested.
Maintain: Check the extraction unit is correctly working on at least a weekly basis. Change filters as recommended by the supplier.
Monitor: Decide if you need a health surveillance programme. This depends on the amount and type of dust people are breathing. You may need competent advice for this from an occupational health professional.
What you should know
Clearing up may seem low risk. However, dry brushing can push large amounts of dust into the air. Watch the graph in the video clip below. This shows how much silica is created when dry brushing concrete dust. The Workplace Exposure Limit for silica is 0.1 mg/m3 when averaged over 8 hours. The work quickly produces high peak exposures of around 1-2 mg/m3. The dust lamp also shows how much of this fine respirable dust gets into the air. This will re-settle sometime later and the floor will have to be cleaned again.
Now watch the video below. The graph shows a dramatic drop in the amount of silica when using the correct extraction unit. The dust is also quickly removed and there is no resettling later on. Because of this, RPE would not normally be needed as well in this situation. It was used while filming as an example of good practice.
What Can RCS Do For You?
RCS's engineers will endeavour to provide you with the most effective and cost-efficient solution for dust extraction, fully COSSH compliant, following current HSE guidelines and your own individual requirements. Call us on +44(0)1563 546807 or click here to contact us for more information.
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