Work safely with crystalline silica and engineered stone

Find practical information about how to work safely with crystalline silica and engineered stone.

Key information

As an employer or person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), when you employ workers at-risk of being exposed to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) you must:

The Small Business Rebate makes $1,000 available to eligible businesses and sole traders in NSW who buy and install equipment that makes their workplace safer.

Visit Safe Work Australia for more information about crystalline silica and silicosis for PCBUs and workers.

Identify crystalline silica processes

To manage the risk of exposure to RCS, you must identify whether you are processing a CSS. Some examples of crystalline silica processes include:

  • excavation, earth moving and drilling
  • sand, stone and clay processing
  • cutting and laying pavers and surfacing
  • mining, quarrying and mineral ore processing
  • road construction and tunnelling
  • construction, building and demolition
  • brick, concrete or stone cutting
  • abrasive blasting (blasting agent must not contain greater than 1% of crystalline silica)
  • foundry casting
  • hydraulic fracturing of gas and oil wells
  • making pottery or ceramics
  • clean-up activities, such as sweeping or pressurised air blowing of dust containing crystalline silica.

If you are unsure whether you are processing a CSS, refer to the label or safety data sheet (SDS) (PDF, 3030.68 KB). If a SDS is not available, contact the supplier or manufacturer.

This video will help you to understand which products might contain respirable crystalline silica, or RCS, and what you need to do to work safely with them.

Assess risk

If you are processing a CSS, you must assess if the work is high risk and record this in writing.

Processing a CSS is high risk if it’s reasonably likely to result in a risk to the health of a person at the workplace. If you’re unsure, assume it is high risk until proven otherwise.

Your risk assessment should consider the following factors:

At the end of your assessment, you must record in writing:

  • how the factors have been considered, and
  • whether or not the processing is high risk.

You must make sure all processing is controlled. If you’re processing a high risk CSS, there are additional requirements you must meet.

Develop a silica control plan

If processing is high risk, you must develop a silica risk control plan. The plan must:

  • be developed with workers who are involved in the processing
  • include a copy of the risk assessment for each task
  • be available to all workers
  • be followed during high risk processing.

Review your silica risk control plan when:

  • it's no longer effective
  • it's impacted by a change at the workplace
  • a new hazard or risk is identified.

For more information about completing a silica risk control plan, refer to:

If you are carrying out a high risk crystalline silica process in construction work, you may use a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) instead of a silica risk control plan.

Provide safety advice for workers

Share the following resources to help protect workers from RCS:

Control processing

You must put control measures in place when processing a CSS to eliminate or minimise risk so far as reasonably practicable. Examples of controls include:

  • a fully enclosed operator cabin fitted with a high-efficiency air filtration system
  • wet dust suppression method
  • on-tool dust extraction system
  • local exhaust ventilation system
  • isolating areas of the workplace where dust is generated
  • regular cleaning in dusty work areas to prevent the accumulation of dust
  • wearing personal protective equipment.

Control measures must be regularly reviewed and revised to make sure they remain effective.

To learn more about controls for processing activities, visit WorkSafeQLD.gov.au.

This video will help you learn to manage the risks involved when working with silica dust.

Construction

Construction materials such as sandstone, concrete and bricks can contain up to 90% silica dust.

This video provides advice on planning your job and using the correct safety controls to help protect workers and others from respirable crystalline silica (RCS).

On-tool dust capture is an effective way to eliminate and reduce exposure to silica dust.

This video highlights how to use on-tool dust capture to ensure the safe cutting of materials such as bricks and concrete.

Using water to control dust while cutting materials such as brick or concrete is an effective way to eliminate and reduce exposure to silica dust.

This video highlights how to use water to control dust.

Demolition and excavation

Crystalline silica dust can be generated when carrying out demolition and excavation work.

Exposure to silica dust when drilling can be minimised by using the right tools and protective equipment.

Fit testing and personal protective equipment

Workers must be provided with masks that comply with the Australian Standards and have their masks fit tested:

  • when they start working
  • every 12 months after that.

This video shows you how to properly wear and look after a mask.

Monitor the level of respirable crystalline silica (RCS)

The workplace exposure standard (WES) for RCS is 0.05mg/m3 averaged over 8 hours, or adjusted for extended work shifts (for example, 12-hour shifts).

You must make sure that no one at the workplace is exposed to levels above the WES.

You must monitor the level of RCS if:

  • you're unsure whether it exceeds the WES, or
  • you need to determine whether there’s a risk to health from RCS at the workplace.

Air monitoring must be conducted by a suitably qualified person. Monitoring should be done in the worker’s breathing zone for the duration of a worker’s shift to gauge the average amounts that they would be exposed to during normal work activities, including routine breaks.

You must:

  • provide air monitoring results to workers, whether an exceedance is recorded or not
  • keep air monitoring reports for 30 years.

If air monitoring results exceed the WES, you must notify SafeWork NSW within 14 days of when you receive the report.

This video explains how to use air monitoring to understand what level of RCS your workers may be exposed to.

Video captions are also available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Vietnamese and Korean.

Monitor the health of workers

If there is a significant risk to the health of your workers from exposure to RCS, you must provide regular health monitoring:

  • at the start of employment
  • when they first start work involving high risk processing of a CSS.

This includes workers who use personal protective equipment. You should also consider providing health monitoring to other workers who might be exposed to RCS – for example, through cleaning or working near high levels of crystalline silica. icare recommends health screening is undertaken every 12 months and offers subsidised health monitoring to businesses across NSW through its lung screening service.

You will receive a report from the doctor about each worker. You must:

  • keep this report for at least 30 years
  • provide each worker with a copy of their health report.

A single clear health monitoring report doesn’t mean a worker won't develop silicosis in the future. It can take time for signs and symptoms of silicosis to develop.

This video explains how health monitoring is used to identify changes in a worker’s health status from exposure to hazardous levels of RCS.

Video captions are also available in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Vietnamese and Korean.

How to notify

Notify an adverse health monitoring report

You must provide a copy of the health monitoring report to SafeWork NSW if the doctor:

  • informs you that a worker may have contracted a disease, injury or illness as a result of using, handling, generating or storing silica, or
  • recommends that you take remedial measures.

To notify SafeWork NSW, download and complete Notification of an adverse health monitoring report (PDF, 771.67 KB). A penalty applies to employers who fail to notify SafeWork NSW of an adverse health monitoring report. A penalty applies to employers who fail to notify SafeWork NSW of an adverse health monitoring report.

You must also update your silica risk control plan if the processing of a CSS causes adverse outcomes. Do not include any information that will identify workers, such as personal details or confidential medical information.

Notify a silicosis diagnosis

Medical practitioners must notify the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry when they diagnose a case of silicosis.

Notify legacy engineered stone work

You must notify SafeWork NSW if you are undertaking any processing work to remove, repair or make minor modifications to legacy engineered stone products that were installed before the ban came into place.

Temporary removal and reinstallation of legacy engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs is permitted to complete repairs or minor modifications. Examples of permitted removal and reinstallation include:

  • cabinetry underneath a benchtop is damaged and needs to be replaced. The existing benchtop can be removed and reinstalled as long as it is reinstalled in the same location and position
  • a sink or cooktop needs to be reinstalled. Minor modifications such as drilling holes for screws, cutting, or polishing the benchtop are permitted to enable reinstallation
  • cabinetry has been replaced and the reinstalled panel requires polishing, cutting or grinding to ensure it is flush with walls/joints.

If the original benchtop, slab, or panel cannot be reinstalled, you must use an alternative product that is not banned. Find out more about the reinstallation of legacy engineered stone.

When to notify:

  • annually, estimating the type and amount of processing work for the next 12 months
  • before starting work or directing workers
  • within 30 calendar days if work changes from a previous notification – for example the frequency or type of work
  • if you unknowingly process legacy engineered stone
  • if you are undertaking temporary removal and reinstallation work.

A re-notification is not required if you cease to carry out work with legacy engineered stone.

Find out more about legacy stone and how to notify SafeWork NSW.

Exemption from the engineered stone ban

You may apply for an exemption to use a banned product under clause 689B of the WHS Regulation. You need to show that the standard of health and safety is at least the same as it would be without the exemption.

You must first consult with the Safe Work Australia members who represent the interests of employers and workers in Australia (referred to as social partners). SafeWork NSW will then:

provide the application documents to other states and territories and invite them to make a submission

consider your application against clause 689D of the WHS Regulation.

Visit Safe Work Australia to find out more about the exemption process.

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