What is the Silica Dust in Rock Drilling?

The silica dust in rock drilling presents a considerable danger to workers. Silica dust is harmful and fatal if inhaled or ingested. It can be created when cutting, grinding, or drilling through concrete, brick, tile or granite. Here’s why the silica dust in rock drilling is particularly dangerous and what you can do to minimize your risk of exposure to it.

When workers are working on a rock cutting/drilling site, there are many such activities that can cause exposure to hazardous crystalline Silica Dust and long-term exposure can cause fatal lung diseases such as acute lung infection and Silicosis.

What is the Silica Dust in Rock Drilling?

The silica dust in rock drilling is the fine particles produced when drilling into rocks. The dust can be harmful to both you and your equipment if it is not properly contained. In order to keep yourself safe, you must wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) while working with rock drill bits.

Wearing the correct PPE will protect you from the dangers of silica dust by preventing it from getting on your skin or inhaling. It also helps ensure that no skin comes in contact with a rock drill bit while working, which could cause serious injury if done improperly.

Below are the activities where workers are at risk of silica dust exposure:

Hammering and drilling rock
Crushing, loading, hauling, and dumping rock
Sandblasting using silica sand as the abrasive
Concrete blasting
Sawing, drilling, grinding and chipping concrete or masonry
Demolition of structures
Dry sweeping with conventional methods

Below are some protective measures to protect the lungs from crystalline silica dust exposure:

There are two major ways so to speak, one is the containment of Silica Dust and the second is suppression of silica dust spread in the air.

Engineering tools for Dust containment at source:

With the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, respirators, boots, body covers, and other measures such as barricades, sealing, and vacating the area, one can easily protect themselves and others from hazardous silica dust exposure. Apart from that, one can also use air duct seals while drilling, industrial vacuums, and air duct seal to control dust exposure right at the source of certain activities such as sandblasting, concrete grinding, and others.

Suppression of Silica Dust with Industrial Vacuums:

For those areas that are covered with Silica Dust, dry dusting with a mop and duster is one of the most common mistakes made by people. Instead, one must hire or rent an industrial vacuum that doesn’t allow the dust to rise from the ground and spread in the air.

Use The Best Industrial Vacuum Cleaners to Remove It

There are many different types of dust created during rock drilling. One is silica dust, which can cause lung disease and other health problems if it’s not removed properly. If you’re working in an industrial setting that involves rock drilling, it’s important to use the best industrial vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters to remove all traces of this dangerous substance.

Contact us and get an obligation-free demo of our wide range of customized and certified Industrial Vacuums that come with effective HEPA filters. Hire or rent our equipment and ensure effective silica dust containment and cleaning at minimal cost and effort.