The Respirable Crystalline Silica Safety Manual outlines the responsibilities of University units, personnel and the Environmental Health & Safety Department (EH&S) to protect personnel from occupational respirable crystalline silica exposure. This document also contains guidelines and procedures for exposure control, respiratory protection, and medical evaluations.
Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in the earth's crust. Materials such as sand, stone, concrete and mortar contain crystalline silica. It is also used to make products such as glass, pottery, ceramics, bricks and artificial stone.
Respirable crystalline silica – very small dust particles at least 100 times smaller than ordinary sand you might find on beaches and playgrounds – is created when cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, and crushing stone, rock, concrete, brick, block and mortar.
Air-purifying devices, such as a portable air cleaner, can be an effective supplement to building ventilation and can help improve indoor air quality, especially when eliminating the source of air pollution is not feasible and/or increasing outdoor air ventilation is impractical or ineffective.
The purpose of the Personal Protective Equipment and Supplies Performance Standards and Guidelines are to assist University units and departments during the procurement process; it serves as a guide to determine whether PPE and related supplies meet minimum performance standards.
UW employees who are not required to wear a respirator can voluntarily wear a filtering facepiece respirator, such as an N95 or KN95, for their personal use in the workplace.
View the University of Washington Recordable Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Incidence Rate graph showing the annual incidence rates of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses.
