Fiber Cement Siding Breathed In A Lot Of Dust

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.

Fiber cement siding breathed in a lot of dust.

In 2016 osha updated its rules for controlling exposure to respirable silica dust. Gently wipe away any loose dirt and debris with a soft non metal horsehair or paintbrush. Then 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.

James hardie is here to help you work safely and efficiently with this standard. Fine cement and concrete dust can land on exposed skin and get trapped between loose clothing and skin. Dust containing silica is created when fibre cement weatherboards and other fibre cement and masonry products are cut ground drilled or otherwise disturbed. To get rid of any dirt dust and debris clean your siding gently once or twice a year using the following method.

Take your soft brush and use it along the siding to remove the dust or chalk that you want to clean. This would not be easy because we needed to make a lot of long rip cuts and angled crosscuts for field joints. 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. Wet cement is highly alkaline in nature.

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. How much silica dust is too much. Never use a hard or abrasive brush to clean cement fiber 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.

Cutting fiber cement siding can produce clouds of dust and i wanted us to breathe in as little of it as possible. The dangers of fiber cement dust one of the main benefits of using fiber cement shears is reduction in exposure to fiber cement dust. A serious burn or ulcer can rapidly develop if it is trapped against the skin. 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.

The dust reacts with sweat or damp clothing to form a corrosive solution which will damage your skin. 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.