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Recent Research

Additional studies can be found in other sections of the website, including Step 2 of the Planning Tool, Option 3 - Construction Studies and Data on Silica Exposure and the Use of Dust Controls and Option 3 - Oil & Gas Studies and Data on Silica Exposure and the Use of Dust Controls.

• Evaluation of Silica Exposures During Drywall Sanding Hannah Echt, Dallas S. Shi, Karl D. Feldmann, and Melissa Charles, NIOSH (2024)
  

  Management from a drywall finishing company requested a health hazard evaluation concerning employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica during drywall-sanding activities. Recommendations and a series of actions are provided based on the findings from the evaluation. 

• Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systematic Review Veruscka Leso, Luca Fontana, Rosaria Romano, Paola Gervetti, and Ivo Iavicoli, International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health (2019)
  
• Pneumatic rock drill vs. electric rotary hammer drill: Productivity, vibration, dust, and noise when drilling into concrete David Rempel, Andrea Antonucci, Alan Barr, Michael R. Cooper, Bernard Martin, and Richard L. Neitzel, Applied Ergonomics (2019)
  

  While there were no differences in drilling productivity between an electric and pneumatic drill of similar mass, there were substantial differences in exposure levels of noise, handle vibration, and respirable silica dust. Structural contractors should switch from pneumatic rock drills to electric rotary hammer drills for structural drilling into concrete in order to reduce worker exposures to the hazards of noise, hand vibration, and silica dust.

• Dust Suppression Hopper reduces dust liberation during bulk loading: Two case studies J.F. Colinet, A.B. Cecala, and J.R. Patts, Minerals Engineering (2018)
  

  Sand that is being transferred and loaded can release dust into the work environment. For bulk loading sand into trucks or trains, NIOSH evaluated a Dust Supression Hopper (DSH) at two industrial sand processing plants. Results show that the DSH reduced airborne respirable dust levels by 39-88%, depending on the sand size being loaded.

• A Case-Control Study of Airways Obstruction Among Construction Workers John Dement, Laura Welch, Knut Ringen, Patricia Quinn, Anna Chen, and Scott Haas, American Journal of Industrial Medicine (2015)
  

  While smoking is the major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), occupational exposures to vapors, gases, dusts, and fumes increase COPD risk. Control methods should be implemented to prevent worker exposures, and smoking cessation should be promoted.