Cognizance of Silica

06 Oct

OSHA has 2 new silica standards being implemented, one for the Construction industry and one for the General Industry and Maritime. Construction has had the standard in place since September 23rd; the standard for the General Industry will be implemented by June 23rd, 2018. There is a reason why Construction is the first to be implemented and it’s the same reason why we keep hitting home on these messages about silica. It is important to everyone’s health! The Construction industry is where someone will see the most exposure to Silica Dust. We need to be cognizant of the health risks that silica dust can pose to us. A person can easily see a dust cloud and think “oh, it’ll pass in a few minutes” or “it’s just dust, I can work through it, no need to move out of my way”. But you have to remember that the pain from inhaling silica dust isn’t immediate, and you won’t even feel it the next day. This is a long term battle, that dust that you inhale will sit on the bottom of your lungs, and it will continue to sit there and more dust will pile on, and 5-10 years down the road is when you’ll feel the adverse effects. We need to realize the effects of silicosis or any number of the other disease silica dust can cause, and we need to take the necessary precautions today, to protect our future.