CMPA Dust Management Training

GAVIN MOREIRA, Member Services Manager for CMPA reports on the Dust Management Training.

THE Dust Management training was held at William Adams on Thursday 27th February 2014. CMPA Secretariat reports on a successful training session recently held in Laverton for CMPA members.

The Workshop began with a brief introduction from Jason Rudge of William Adams who sponsored the event through use of their training facilities. David McKelvie ofDMcK Management facilitated the training for which there were 15 attendees.

Some of the objectives were to provide participants with information:

The sources of dust generation in your workplace:

Blasting, haul roads, feeders, crushers, screens, hoppers, chutes, conveyors, stockpiles, silos, maintenance activities, loading, unloading, sweeping, compressed air blowing, crushing, grinding, cutting concrete and bricks, materials testing, shaking, heating and so on.

The hazards and health effects associated with working with dust:

Dust can irritate the eyes, skin, nose and upper throat, leading to watery eyes, itchy nose and throat, dry cough and rough skin. Excessive levels may scratch the eye lens leading to vision impairment. Repeated heavy contact to the skin may cause drying of the skin and can result in dermatitis, an allergic reaction that is manifested by one or more lines of red, swollen, blistered skin that may itch or seep.

Excessive exposure to dust can cause the bronchioles in the lungs to become inflamed due to constant irritation by the dust. This can lead to breathing difficulties.

Silicosis is a lung disease caused by inhaling excessive amounts of fine particles of respirable Crystalline Silica Dust over a long period of time. The silica causes scarring of the lung. This permanently reduces a person’s ability to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, leading to loss of fitness. If untreated this may lead to significant illness and ultimately death.

Cement Hazards

Manufactured from limestone and clay, cement is a chemical combination of calcium, silicon, aluminium and iron to which gypsum is added in the final grinding process to regulate the setting time of the concrete.

Lime and silica make up about 85% of the mass therefore cement powder is to be controlled as a respirable Crystalline Silica Dust. Repeated contact with cement powder can cause irritation and drying of the skin and can result in skin reddening and skin rash (dermatitis).

Dry cement powder in contact with mucous membranes can cause severe eye or respiratory irritation. Cement is highly alkaline, wet cement and wet concrete are strongly caustic and can easily cause severe skin burns if not promptly washed off with water.

OHS Act – Duties of employers to employees

An employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain for employees of the employer a working environment that is safe and without risks to health.

• plant or systems of work that are safe and without risks to health;
• the absence of risks to health in connection with the use, handling, storage or transport of plant or substances;
• each workplace under the employer’s management and control in a condition that is safe and without risks to health;
• adequate facilities for the welfare of employees at any workplace under the management and control of the employer;
• provide such information, instruction, training or supervision to employees of the employer as is necessary to enable those persons to perform their work in a way that is safe and without risks to health.

OHS Act – Duties of employees

While at work, an employee must:

• take reasonable care for his or her own health and safety,
• take reasonable care for the health and safety of persons who may be affected by the employee’s acts or omissions at a workplace,
• co-operate with his or her employer with respect to any action taken by the employer to comply with a requirement imposed by or under this Act or the regulations.

An employee must not, intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided at the workplace in the interests of health, safety or welfare.

Exposure standards for dust

Safe Work Australia (SWA) set exposure standards for hazardous substances which are then adopted by the state or territory WHS regulatory authorities such as WorkSafe.

Crystalline silica in the form of respirable dust is classified as a Hazardous Substance according to SWA.

Exposure standards are based on the airborne concentrations of individual substances that, according to current knowledge, should neither impair the health of, nor cause undue discomfort to, nearly all workers.

They do not represent a fine dividing line between a healthy and unhealthy work environment. the exposure standards for a 40 hour week are:
– Inspirable Dust = 10mg/m3
– Respirable Dust = 2.5mg/m3
– Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust = 0.1mg/m3

Industry best practice is to adopt an action level that is half of the ASSC exposure standard, i.e. 0.05mg/m3 for RCSD. An action level triggers actions to control exposure ensuring all employee exposures stay well below the exposure standard.

Storage and care of PPE

PPE must be stored correctly so that it does not become damaged, worn or contaminated.

Disposable dust masks will be stocked in appropriate storage cabinets around the work site.

PAPR should be stored in the site’s safety equipment cabinet. Must be cleaned after every use and the batteries are kept charged.

Safety glasses should be stored so as to avoid the lenses getting scratched.

Health Surveillance Checks may include:

• Health survey – interview
• Spirometer test (Lung function test)
• Chest X-Ray as recommended by doctor or respiratory physician
• Physical Examinations

The training was interactive and well received by all participants.

“Given that we extract basalt, I did not think all of today’s material would be applicable but it was.”

“It exceeded my expectations, because it was useful information and important that I can contribute and bring back to the company.”

“I was completely engaged for the whole session. Very interesting material presented well.”

“First time I have attended such a course, will definitely attend more to increase my knowledge of the industry and to provide opportunities to network with others.”

Thank you to William Adams for providing a fantastic venue.

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