Silica Dust Toolbox Talk
When you cut, grind or drill concrete, brick, tile or stone, you make a fine dust you cannot see that goes deep into your lungs. Breathing it causes silicosis, lung cancer and kidney disease, and the damage cannot be undone. The dust that hurts you is the dust you cannot see, so we control it every time.
Takes about 7 minutes, plus a 5-question quiz.
What happened: a real incident
In 2026, OSHA inspected a Pennsylvania brick plant and found workers breathing silica dust above the legal limit. The company knew about it but did not fix the problem or require respirators, and it skipped yearly fit tests and the required medical exams. OSHA cited it for three willful, four serious, one repeat and one other-than-serious violation, with $496,528 in proposed penalties. The same rules apply to cutting brick and block on site.
Source: OSHA
Key points to read out
- Silica is in concrete, bricks, pavers, tiles, mortar, render, natural stone and engineered stone.
- Engineered stone has very high silica content and is especially dangerous to cut.
- OSHA's limit is 50 micrograms per cubic meter over 8 hours. That is a tiny amount: a pinch of fine dust spread through a room can be enough to go over it.
- Follow the controls OSHA's Table 1 lists for your task and tool, such as water fed to the blade on a handheld saw. If you are not following Table 1, exposure has to be measured.
- Control dust at the source: use water suppression or on-tool extraction connected to the right class vacuum every time you cut.
- Check the extraction is working before you start: hose connected, filter clean, bag not full and the flow alarm not going off.
- Keep the water running on wet cutters. A dry blade on a wet saw makes as much dust as a dry saw.
- Wear the respirator Table 1 lists for the task: APF 10 (a fit-tested N95 or half mask) for most tasks, APF 25 (such as a PAPR) for tuckpointing over 4 hours.
- Tight fitting masks need a fit test and a clean shave. Stubble breaks the seal.
- Never dry sweep or blow dust off with compressed air. Use a vacuum or wet clean up.
- Cut in the open or away from others, and keep people out of the dust cloud.
- Change out of dusty clothes before you go home, and wash hands and face before eating.
- If you wear a respirator for silica 30 or more days a year, your employer must offer you a medical exam. Take it.
- Silicosis can show up years after the work, and early on you feel fine. By the time you are short of breath, the damage is done.
Questions to ask the crew
- Which materials on this job contain silica?
- What dust controls are on the tools we are using today?
- When were you last fit tested for your mask?
- How should we clean up the dust at the end of the day?
- Who else is working near our cutting today, and how do we keep them out of the dust?
Reference: 29 CFR 1926.1153 (Respirable crystalline silica)
How to run this talk
- Run the talk at the cutting station, with the saw or grinder you actually use and its water feed or extraction.
- Hold up a bag of cement or a paver and ask which materials on this job contain silica.
- Show how to check the extraction: hose on, filter clean, bag not full, flow alarm working.
- Have each person check their mask seal, and note who needs a fit test or a shave.
- Agree where cutting happens today and how other trades will be kept out of the dust.
- Record attendance and any actions, such as fit tests due, on the sign-in sheet.
Silica Dust quiz
Ask these after the talk. Answers are underneath each question.
Which of these materials can give off silica dust when you cut it?
- Concrete, brick, tile and stone
- Timber only
- Plasterboard only
- Steel
Answer: A. Silica is in most masonry and stone products, so any cutting, grinding or drilling of them makes silica dust.
You are about to cut pavers with a saw. Which control comes first?
- A dust mask on its own
- The engineering control OSHA Table 1 lists for the saw, such as water fed to the blade
- Cutting faster to get it over with
- Working with your back to the wind
Answer: B. Stopping the dust at the blade protects you and everyone nearby; a mask only protects the wearer and is the last line of defence.
Your mask is a tight fitting half face respirator. What stops it working?
- Wearing safety glasses
- Stubble or a beard under the seal
- Wearing it for more than an hour
Answer: B. Even a day of stubble breaks the seal, letting dusty air leak in around the edges.
It is the end of the day and there is fine dust all over the floor. How do you clean it up?
- Sweep it into a pile
- Blow it out with compressed air
- Vacuum it with a suitable vacuum or wet it down and clean up
- Leave it for the cleaners
Answer: C. Dry sweeping and compressed air throw the finest dust back into the air you breathe.
You feel fine after years of cutting concrete. What does that tell you about silicosis?
- You are immune
- Nothing, because silicosis can take years to show and early on there are no symptoms
- You only need a mask in summer
Answer: B. By the time you are short of breath the lung damage is permanent, so controls matter even when you feel healthy.
Questions about silica dust
What is the exposure limit for silica dust?
OSHA's permissible exposure limit is 50 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over an 8 hour shift, with an action level of 25 (29 CFR 1926.1153). Employers who fully follow the Table 1 controls for a task do not have to measure exposure for it.
What mask do you need for silica dust?
Use the respirator OSHA Table 1 lists for your task: usually APF 10, such as a fit tested N95 or half mask with N95 or P100 filters, and APF 25 for longer jobs like tuckpointing over 4 hours. Some Table 1 tasks need no respirator when the listed controls are used.
How do you control silica dust when cutting concrete or brick?
Follow the controls in OSHA Table 1 (29 CFR 1926.1153) for your tool and task, such as water fed to the blade on a handheld saw or a shroud and HEPA vacuum on a grinder. If you do not fully follow Table 1, your employer must assess exposure and keep it under the limit.
How long does it take to get silicosis?
Most silicosis develops after 10 or more years of exposure, but heavy exposure can cause accelerated silicosis within 5 to 10 years, and very high exposure can cause acute silicosis within months. Engineered stone workers have been diagnosed in their 20s and 30s. There is no cure, so prevention is the only protection.
What the law says in United States
OSHA's construction silica standard requires employers to fully follow the dust controls in Table 1 for each task, or measure exposure and keep it under 50 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over 8 hours. Employers must also have a written exposure control plan and a competent person, offer medical exams to workers who wear a respirator for 30 or more days a year, and not allow dry sweeping or compressed air where it adds to exposure.
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.1153
Sign-in sheet
Print this page or download the sign-in sheet. Or run it in the app and the crew signs on the phone.
| Name | Company | Signature |
|---|---|---|
Get it signed
Run this talk in the app. The crew signs on your phone and you get a dated attendance record as a PDF.