Breathing in Death

Breathing in Death

Breathing in Death

Crystalline Silica 

Crystalline Silica is one of the most commonly used substances in construction materials and you need a Qualitative Respirator Fit Testing conducted when working with it. You will find Crystalline Silica in every concrete, product used today. Hardie Planks, used for exterior siding and trim also contains Crystalline Silica. Like Asbestos if soaked with water it is virtually harmless. It's when you cut these products dry, the dust becomes deadly.  

Long-term exposure to airborne crystalline silica (for example, quartz) can cause a disabling, sometimes fatal lung disease called silicosis. As well exposure to crystalline silica has been linked to lung cancer. The damage to your lungs and resulting scar tissue prevent oxygen transfer to your blood. 

When conducting a task that will create silica dust, use a water misting delivery system. The water molecules will grab the silica, make it heavier than air, and knocking it down. This is an engineering control. You still need PPE. The personal protective equipment widely used is a 1/2 mask with P100 HEPA filters. We conduct  Qualitative Respirator Fit Testing to a  CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z94.4-02

Maximum Daily Exposure rate of Crystalline Silica is  .025 mg /m³ of air over an 8 hour period.  TWA 

 

Asbestos 

Asbestosis still in houses and buildings built before 1980. It's in old floor tiles, ceiling tiles, roof shingles, and a very wide assortment of other materials. Some newer houses may also contain asbestos. In fact, due to old stockpiles of materials, construction projects built prior to 1990 may contain Asbestos.                         

Asbestos has been in products for a very long time. It was not until the early part of the twentieth century that the relationship between the use of asbestos and a variety of health effects became a source of concern to the medical profession. Even in modern times, Asbestos still accounts for over a dozen worker deaths each year in BC alone. 

Workers must protect themselves. A whole regiment of regulations legislates the abatement of materials being removed during the demolishing of older homes and buildings.  Fit Tested 1/2 masks with P100 HEPA filters must be utilized under the law. We conduct Qualitative Respirator Fit Testing using irritant smoke. All  Qualitative Respirator Fit Testing is conducted to a  CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z94.4-02

 

Lead 

Lead is one of the few natural substances that have no use in the human body. Even at very low levels lead has been shown to cause health problems. The difficulty with lead is that once it is mined from the earth, there is no known way to destroy it or make it harmless. This makes it extremely important that we reduce our use of lead and dispose of it properly.

Lead primarily enters the body through ingestion or inhalation, once the lead gets into the body it is absorbed and distributed throughout the body. This can damage the organs or the blood's ability to make red blood cells. Dangerous health effects or toxic effects are usually broken into two categories - short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic), Lead can cause both acute and chronic health effects.

Lead can be found in paint applied prior to 1978 and in the solder used for repairing tin water containers in older motorhomes, trailers, and campers in trailers. Back in the Roman Empire, lead cups were drunk from and it is widely considered to be one of the leading causes of its fall. 

When removing lead paint workers must wear a fit-tested 1/2 mask with P100 HEPA filters. 

 

Chemicals & Biological

Chemicals and Biological contaminants are not as common as silica, lead, and asbestos, but they can be just as deadly.m Chemicals can be found in any of your WHMIS files and SDS (MSDS) materials on site. Follow the recommendations to their fullest extent. In the case of biological contamination, most likely it would be caused by exposure during a demolition. Substances like black mold, or in the case of an abandoned building that squatters, transient, and homeless people have lived in, human waste, blood containing diseases, and airborne infections like SARS and  H1N1 are a very real risk.

A fit-tested 1/2 mask with the proper HEPA filters for such diseases and chemicals must be utilized.  In some cases, an additional black canister is utilized. This is charcoal and the purpose is to remove odors as well.  

 

Final Words

After reading all that is the understanding of your Breathing in Death more real now? Construction, and especially Renovations of pre-90s buildings are work locations with lung hazards in a few places. More so in structures with old materials in them. You must get assessments by professionals to see if Asbestos is present, or Lead Paint on the exterior. Because if you just go ahead and start creating dusk without the proper assessment, your just going to be Breathing in Death.