To manage risks of respirable crystalline silica dust, you must first identify whether silica dust is being generated and released into the air at your workplace. Workers may be exposed to silica dust whenever it is airborne and they can breathe it in.

Have you had a look at your workplace to identify potential hazards?

For example, have you checked areas where engineered stone is fabricated or installed, administration areas, changerooms and lunchrooms for any hazards?

Regularly looking at your workplace and how your workers conduct their work will help you to identify when things change, such as there being more silica dust than usual.

Identification is the first step in managing work, health and safety (WHS) risks. If you identify a hazard by using the checklist below, you should do a workplace risk assessment.