Fiber Cement Siding Breathed In A Lot Of Dust

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.

Fiber cement siding breathed in a lot of dust.

This would not be easy because we needed to make a lot of long rip cuts and angled crosscuts for field joints. James hardie is here to help you work safely and efficiently with this standard. Wet cement is highly alkaline in nature. Then rinse with the hose.

Workers are exposed to crystalline silica dust in operations like cutting sawing drilling or crushing components that contain crystalline silica. In 2016 osha updated its rules for controlling exposure to respirable silica dust. The dust reacts with sweat or damp clothing to form a corrosive solution which will damage your skin. However even though you eliminate nearly all of your exposure to fiber cement dust by using fiber cement shears there are still dangers present.

A serious burn or ulcer can rapidly develop if it is trapped against the skin. 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. To get rid of any dirt dust and debris clean your siding gently once or twice a year using the following method. Crystalline silica is a mineral found in sand stone rock concrete brick block mortar and fiber cement siding.

Fine cement and concrete dust can land on exposed skin and get trapped between loose clothing and skin. 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. Dust containing silica is created when fibre cement weatherboards and other fibre cement and masonry products are cut ground drilled or otherwise disturbed. 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.

How much silica dust is too much. 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. 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. Take your soft brush and use it along the siding to remove the dust or chalk that you want to clean.

Never use a hard or abrasive brush to clean cement fiber siding. 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.