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📋 Toolbox Talk · Health & Safety

Silica Dust:
The Damage You Breathe In

COSHH 2002 — respirable crystalline silica, the workplace exposure limit, water suppression, extraction and why a dust mask off the shelf is not enough.

✅ Verified August 2026📚 HSE · COSHH 2002🇬🇧 Applies across the UKukworkrights.co.uk

The risk

Why construction dust kills

Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is released when you cut, grind, drill or break concrete, brick, stone, tile, mortar and some engineered stone
It causes silicosis, which is incurable and progressive, plus chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer
The particles that do the damage are too fine to see — if you can see dust hanging in the air, far more is invisible
Symptoms often appear years after exposure, by which point the damage is permanent
Engineered stone worktops have caused a resurgence of severe, rapid-onset silicosis in younger workers internationally
Silicosis and related conditions are reportable under RIDDOR when diagnosed and work-related

⚠ There is no treatment

Silicosis cannot be cured or reversed. Lungs do not recover. Every control you use today is the only protection you will ever get for the exposure happening now.

The controls

What actually works

Eliminate the dust first — order materials cut to size, use pre-formed products, or use a different method entirely
Water suppression — enough water, fed continuously, not a quick splash at the start
On-tool extraction — an M or H class vacuum designed for the tool, emptied and maintained
RPE comes last, and only after the other controls are in place — usually FFP3 as a minimum for silica
RPE must be face-fit tested to the individual, and a tight-fitting mask cannot seal over a beard
Controls must be maintained and examined, and extraction units need regular testing
Where exposure is significant, health surveillance including lung function testing is required

A shop-bought dust mask is not RPE

A nuisance dust mask offers almost no protection against respirable silica. Adequate RPE is rated, face-fit tested to the person wearing it, and used alongside water or extraction — never instead of them.

Your rights

What you're entitled to

Controls provided and maintained free of charge — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.9 means you never pay for RPE or PPE
Face-fit testing for any tight-fitting mask you are required to wear
Information and training on the risk and how to use the controls
Health surveillance where exposure warrants it, in working time and at no cost to you
Somewhere clean to eat and drink away from the dust, and facilities to wash
Protection from detriment for raising dust concerns — Employment Rights Act 1996 s.44 and s.100

Beards and tight-fitting masks don't mix

Facial hair at the seal breaks the mask's protection completely. If you have a beard, you need a powered hood or loose-fitting respirator — and your employer must provide it.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Is a normal dust mask enough for cutting concrete?

No. A basic nuisance dust mask gives almost no protection against respirable crystalline silica. You need adequate RPE, typically FFP3 as a minimum, face-fit tested to you, and it should be used alongside water suppression or on-tool extraction rather than instead of them.

Can I be charged for my own mask?

No. Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 prohibits employers charging employees for anything provided to meet a specific health and safety requirement. That includes RPE, face-fit testing and replacement filters.

What health surveillance should I get?

Where exposure to silica is significant, COSHH requires health surveillance, which typically includes a respiratory questionnaire and lung function testing, repeated periodically. It must be provided in working time at no cost, and you are entitled to be told your own results.

For whoever runs this talk

Delivery notes & attendance record

Suggested length: 10–15 minutes. A toolbox talk is a short briefing on one hazard, given by a supervisor to the crew doing the work.

Before you start

Bring the point home with the cutting task people do most often here. Silicosis is irreversible and there is no treatment. The two controls that actually work are water suppression and on-tool extraction — masks come third.

Questions to ask the team

Which jobs here produce the most dust, and what do we do about it?
Is water suppression or on-tool extraction available, and is it actually used?
Has anyone been face-fit tested for the mask they use?
Could the material be ordered cut to size so we don't cut it here at all?

The law behind this talk

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (regs. 6, 7, 9 and 11 — assessment, control, maintenance of controls and health surveillance); Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c)

Employers must give workers comprehensible information, instruction and training on the risks they face — Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.2(2)(c) and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 reg. 10. Keep the record below as evidence that you did.

Attendance record

Topic	Silica Dust: The Damage You Breathe In
Date
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Attendees

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Use the Print handout button to print this record. General guidance only, not legal advice.

Free H&S guidance

Silica Dust
free guidance

Get plain-English guidance on your rights and your employer's legal duties.

HSE Infoline

0300 003 1747

hse.gov.uk

ACAS

0300 123 1100

acas.org.uk

Citizens Advice

0800 144 8848

citizensadvice.org.uk

UK Work Rights

Silica Dust

ukworkrights.co.uk/toolbox-silica.html

Silica Dust:The Damage You Breathe In