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Toolbox Talks

Cutting tile and stone without breathing the dust

Cutting tile and stone without breathing the dust

Silica 5 min 29 CFR 1926.1153

Masonry, Concrete

Why it matters

Porcelain tile, quartz, granite, and stone are full of silica. Dry cutting or grinding them throws fine dust you can't see that scars the lungs over time. A tile setter who dry cuts every day can be breathing a lot of it without knowing.

The talk

On a tile job the cuts never stop. Notches around a toilet flange, holes for the shower valve, edges along the wall, a miter on a quartz threshold. The wet saw is out on the porch, so it's easier to grab the grinder and make the cut dry right where you are. Sometimes the cut is inside a small bathroom with the door shut. The white cloud hangs there, and so does the dust you can't see. Quartz countertops can have a lot more silica than natural stone. That is why fabricators have been getting sick young.

The silica rule gives clear controls for common tools. A bench tile saw gets water fed to the blade the whole cut, and you run it the way the maker says. A handheld saw on tile or stone needs built-in water at the blade. Indoors, the rule also calls for a respirator at APF 10, the protection level of a fitted half mask with the right filters. A handheld grinder can use built-in water outdoors, or a shroud hooked to a dust collector with the right airflow and filter. If you can't match a row in Table 1, the company has to measure exposure and control it another way.

Cleanup matters as much as cutting. Don't dry sweep the slurry and dust, and don't blow it off with an air hose. Use a HEPA vacuum or wet methods. Here is how we run it. Make cuts at the wet saw when you can, and bring the saw closer instead of grinding dry. Keep water in the tray and keep the pump clean. Hook grinders to the vac and keep the shroud tight to the tile. Wear the respirator when the job calls for it. Let slurry dry and get picked up, not tracked through the house. Wash up before you eat.

Key points

  1. Porcelain, quartz, granite, and stone contain silica.
  2. Bench tile saws cut wet, with water on the blade the whole time.
  3. Handheld saws need built-in water, plus a respirator indoors.
  4. Grinders use water outdoors, or a shroud and dust collector.
  5. No dry sweeping and no compressed air to clean up dust.
  6. Use a HEPA vacuum or wet cleanup.
  7. If a tool doesn't match Table 1, the company must measure and control exposure another way.

Do this

  • Move the wet saw closer instead of grinding dry.
  • Keep water in the tray and the pump working.
  • Hook grinders to a vacuum with a shroud.
  • Wear your fitted respirator when the job requires it.
  • Clean up with a HEPA vacuum or wet methods.

Do not do this

  • Do not dry cut tile or stone in a closed bathroom.
  • Do not blow dust off with an air hose.
  • Do not dry sweep slurry or dust.
  • Do not run a grinder shroud without the vacuum on.
  • Do not eat or smoke with dusty hands.

Talk about it

  1. Which cuts on this job are we tempted to make dry, and how can we avoid it?
  2. Do we have the vacuum, shroud, and respirators we need for today?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

Training aid only. This talk is not legal advice. It does not replace your company's safety program, a competent person, the equipment maker's instructions, or the OSHA standard itself.

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