SILICA IN THE WORKPLACE
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Housekeeping procedures
Procedures to minimize dust generation
Training should also address the requirements of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System. See Responsibilities under the WHMIS Regulation on page 23.
Training should be an on-going process of updating and re-evaluation. This is a necessity to ensure
continued success of the control program.
G. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
Some operations involving exposure to crystalline silica cannot be controlled adequately by any of the
preceding strategies. Often the reason is one (or more) of the following:
An emergency situation
Lack of control technology
Equipment breakdown
Infrequency of operation
These are the only situations in which the use of respiratory protection is permitted to reduce worker
exposure. Selection of the appropriate equipment depends on many factors, some of which include:
Nature of the task
Duration of exposure
Frequency of exposure
Presence of toxic chemical agents other than crystalline silica for which respiratory protection is
also required
Concentration of respirable crystalline silica:
– known
– anticipated
– unknown
