In  the trainings I perform for employers, I try to explain to them that there IS overexposure to silica on their jobsite. I tell them that if I could be at their site everyday, and be ready to perform air monitoring at a moments notice, I could find overexposures.

Here is an example of a road crew cutting asphalt with a concrete saw. I’m sure it was a small cut (since they were not a concrete cutting subcontractor, and it was a tiny little saw). But the haze you see is the dust plume from the cutting.

I just happened to drive by and be stopped at a red light when this occurred. I know, I probably shouldn’t have touched my phone (while in my car) to take a picture…but I couldn’t resist. And, with that same train of thought, the road construction crew probably thought, “it’s just a small cut and it will only take 5 minutes”. So, neither of us are innocent

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