Fiber Cement Siding Breathed In A Lot Of Dust

Then rinse with the hose.

Fiber cement siding breathed in a lot of dust.

If the silica particles in this dust are small enough known as respirable crystalline silica or rcs it can be breathed deep into the lungs and cause serious damage. Fine cement and concrete dust can land on exposed skin and get trapped between loose clothing and skin. James hardie is here to help you work safely and efficiently with this standard. Wet cement is highly alkaline in nature.

Although this standard primarily affects installers and contractors any building professional can rely on this site as a resource for accurate information about the osha silica. If you prefer to use a soft cloth to handle the debris wet it and wipe the siding until it is clean and once again rinse with the hose. Wet a soft cloth and gently wipe away remaining dirt and dust moving with the grain of the siding and working from top to bottom. In 2016 osha updated its rules for controlling exposure to respirable silica dust.

How much silica dust is too much. Crystalline silica is a mineral found in sand stone rock concrete brick block mortar and fiber cement siding. To validate the effectiveness of a regular shop vacuum at reducing dust researchers conducted further studies at construction sites where workers were cutting fiber cement siding. However even though you eliminate nearly all of your exposure to fiber cement dust by using fiber cement shears there are still dangers present.

Workers are exposed to crystalline silica dust in operations like cutting sawing drilling or crushing components that contain crystalline silica. When fiber cement siding was cut the air flow induced by the spinning blade caused a large portion of the dust generated to be collected in the contain er or shroud and also directed the dust to an exhaust port which was connected to an external vacuum cleaner. The dust reacts with sweat or damp clothing to form a corrosive solution which will damage your skin. A serious burn or ulcer can rapidly develop if it is trapped against the skin.

This would not be easy because we needed to make a lot of long rip cuts and angled crosscuts for field joints. Cutting fiber cement siding can produce clouds of dust and i wanted us to breathe in as little of it as possible. Gently wipe away any loose dirt and debris with a soft non metal horsehair or paintbrush. The dangers of fiber cement dust one of the main benefits of using fiber cement shears is reduction in exposure to fiber cement dust.

Results of the field studies showed that a regular shop vacuum controlled the amount of silica containing dust in the air to well below the niosh recommended exposure limit for crystalline silica 0 05 mg m 3. Never use a hard or abrasive brush to clean cement fiber siding.