Safe to Work sat down with the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists to discuss what can be done to protect workers against the threat of silica exposure.
A 2022 study from Curtin University estimated that more than half a million Australian workers are currently exposed to silica dust across various industries including mining, quarrying and construction.
The study’s modelling predicts more than 10,000 Australians will develop lung cancer and up to 103,000 workers will be diagnosed with silicosis as the result of their current exposure to silica dust at work.
The Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH) is a non-profit organisation whose members have been assessing the exposure of Australian workers to respiratory hazards for over 40 years.
Occupational hygienists, also called industrial hygienists, are health and safety experts who specialise in the assessment of these workplace exposures and how to combat them.
AIOH members are specially trained to measure silica in the air that workers breathe, interpret the results and advise if the air is safe or not.
“On any given day on mine sites all across the country, AIOH members are there talking to drillers, operators, drivers and the many men and women who work in mining about silica dust,” AIOH immediate past president Tracey Bence told Safe to Work.
“We do this because the AIOH mission is a healthy working environment for all and our purpose is to prevent dust diseases.
“We have known of the dangers of silica for over 500 years and yet silicosis remains incurable.
“The only responsible response to this danger is prevention of exposure to silica dust at the source and that is what motivates me as a mining hygienist.”
Safe Work Australia sets out the current Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) for the various types of crystalline silica, such as quartz.
Mining-specific regulations have been in place for decades and require mine operators to reduce exposures to silica-containing dust which can be released by drilling, blasting, crushing, processing and transferring rock, ore and mineral concentrates.
From September 1, new work health and safety (WHS) regulations have taken this a step further requiring all workplaces not covered by mining regulations to also protect workers by these controls:
- Isolation from the dust
- Enclosed operator cabins with a high efficiency air filtration
- Wet dust suppression
- On-tool extraction
- Local exhaust ventilation
The WES for quartz – the most common type of silica – is currently 50 micrograms per metre cubed (µg/m3) of air.
“This amount sounds microscopic but we know that over time it may not be protective enough for miners, tunnellers and all those who work with silica containing materials,” Bence said. “A reduction of the airborne silica WES is expected in 2026.
“Even before any change to the legal limit, all workplaces have a duty to reduce dust levels so far as is reasonably practicable and protect their people from irreversible harm from silica-related diseases such as silicosis, lung cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.”
The AIOH has a dedicated toolkit to help workplaces combat silica exposure. This includes the Breathe Freely Australia website, which was launched in 2019 when diagnoses of rapid onset or accelerated silicosis in engineered stone workers began emerging in Queensland.
Not just focused on silica exposure, Breathe Freely has resources on welding fume, asbestos and other lung-disease-causing materials. The AIOH provides these free tools and training materials to help workers and employers in mining, quarrying, construction, tunnelling, welding and stone fabrication.
Another approach the AIOH has taken to empower employees to protect their workers is its RESP-FIT national respirator protective equipment fit-testing training and accreditation program.
“The whole purpose of RESP-FIT is to assure the competency of the people who perform fit tests so that workers who have to wear respirators can be confident they fit properly to protect them,” Bence said. “But at the AIOH, we are still working hard to get the dust-prevention message out to workplaces: it is not okay to rely solely on respirators to protect us from breathing in silica particles at work.”
This determination led to the creation of the AIOH’s latest line of defence against silicosis, the Silica Resource Hub.
The point of the Silica Hub, Bence said, is to impart the expertise of hygienists to workplaces that might not otherwise be available.
“You can think of the silica hub as the place where occupational hygienists want you to get advice from the ‘people in the know’,” she said.
“We have straightforward and free advice on getting your silica materials tested, when you might need air monitoring, what tasks could lead to over exposure to silica and what dust controls work in the ‘real world’.
“Breathe Freely Australia and the Silica Hub will raise your awareness of this microscopic, fine and mostly invisible dust and what to do to prevent being exposed.
“With crystalline silica being in so many common natural and man-made materials, AIOH wants you to tell all colleagues, kids and tradespeople about a future free of silicosis.
“These are also great training resources for work, health and safety representatives, safety professionals, supervisors, even home renovators and those who ask others to handle crystalline-silica-containing substances.
“The mining sector has come a long way in protecting its workers from exposure to silicosis, and the recent ban on engineered stone and amendments to the WHS regulations will save lives, but I can see there is still more preventive work to be done.”
With silica awareness provided by the AIOH, Australian industries are another step closer to a future free from silicosis.
This feature also appears in the November-December issue of Safe to Work.