Health Hazards of Dust

In a paper by the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on hazard prevention and control of airborne dust, research featured in the report shows that airborne dust particles can be harmful to people who have been exposed to it.

Even in countries where occupational hygiene is well developed, fully understood and widely practiced, there is still need to further promote hazard prevention and control. This is well illustrated by a study in the USA, which estimated the long-term cost of coal miners pneumoconiosis (“black lung”), in terms of benefit compensation costs, for 1991 – 2010; and for the same period, research expenditures on dust control by the responsible U.S. agency are expted to be only of hte order of 0.44% of such projected compensation costs. (Page el al.,1997).

Page SJ, Organiscak JA, Lichtman K (1997). The cost of respirable coal mine dust: an analysis based on new black lung claims. Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 12 (12):832-839 [Full Report]

Due to the size of the particles, airborne dust may reach the gas-exchange region of the lungs. In this region, removal mechanism become much more difficult and less efficient. Certain substances, if they are deposited in this region, have shown to cause serious disease. One example is free crystalline silica dust – when these particles enter into the depth of the lungs, they have been known to cause silicosis. Of course, the smaller the particles, the greater the probability that they can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract.

Since dust particles can range from 1 um to 100 um in size, when breathed in through the nose or mouth can have the possibility of posing health risks.

Dust Control is extremely important in work environments where workers may be exposed to airborne dust particles for a prolonged period of time. Project budgets should be allotted for dust suppression to ensure workers are properly protected from this hazard.

For further information, please contact Cypher Environmental.