Construction dust is not just a nuisance; it can seriously damage your health and some types can eventually even kill. Regularly breathing these dusts over a long time can therefore cause life changing lung diseases.
Silica dust is one of the main types of dust found on construction sites and is created when working on silica containing materials like concrete, mortar and sandstone (also known as respirable crystalline silica or RCS).
Anyone who breathes in these dusts should know the damage they can do to the lungs and airways. The main dust-related diseases affecting construction workers include lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Some lung disease, like advanced silicosis or asthma can come on quite quickly.
Construction workers have a high risk of developing these diseases because many common construction tasks can create high dust levels. Over 500 construction workers are believed to die from exposure to silica dust every year. The amounts needed to cause this damage are not large.
The most important action to help protect employees against silica dust is to stop the dust getting into the air in the first place. Although controlling 100% of the dust is impossible, water helps damps down dust clouds and stops the tiny particles being dispersed in the air. However, it needs to be used correctly. This means enough water supplied at the right levels for the whole time that the work is being done as just wetting the material beforehand does not work.
The Rapid Spray dust suppression range offers two economical options. The AquaMax is Rapid Spray’s innovative the economical all-in-one water delivery tank solution for dust control & fire safety. Ideal for dust suppression on yards or construction sites, this dual purpose unit can also be utilised for fire-fighting, transport & transfer water cartage, landscape maintenance for road verge watering, tree watering and batter watering. To find out more about the AquaMax range, click here.
For smaller sites, the towable EnviroMaster dust suppression trailer is a cost effective solution to help combat dust on access roads and smaller sites. The specially designed twin deflector system covers the ground quickly and the remote control actuator valve saves you time as you can operate unit from cabin with maximum spray control and accuracy. Click here to find out more on the EnviroMaster range.
To discuss your dust suppression requirements, call the friendly Rapid Spray team on 1800 011 000 or email info@rapidspray.net