Silica Guides
Resources · Resources overview
Reference guides on respirable crystalline silica, silica dust monitoring, silica air sampling, silica risk assessment and silica control measures for UK workplaces. These silica guides are written for H&S managers, occupational hygienists, site supervisors, stone fabrication leads and compliance teams who need durable, technically defensible reference material on silica exposure under COSHH and HSE EH40.
Scope of these silica guides
The silica guides on this site cover the full operational lifecycle of managing respirable crystalline silica (RCS): identifying where silica dust is generated, designing a defensible silica exposure assessment, selecting silica control measures against the COSHH hierarchy, and demonstrating silica compliance against the respirable crystalline silica Workplace Exposure Limit in HSE EH40.
Each guide is written as standalone reference content. They are not training material, not promotional copy and not legal advice. They are intended to be cited internally during silica COSHH reviews, used by silica monitoring programme designers, and referenced by H&S teams scoping silica dust monitoring or silica risk assessment work.
How to use the silica guides
If you are starting from the substance, begin with the respirable crystalline silica reference. It defines what RCS is, where it sits in UK regulation, how the respirable fraction is generated and why silica exposure has to be controlled rather than just measured.
If you are scoping a silica monitoring programme, the silica dust monitoring and silica air sampling guides explain personal pumped sampling with respirable cyclones, the BS EN 689 strategy for comparison with the silica WEL, gravimetric and X-ray / FTIR laboratory analysis, and what a defensible silica monitoring report should contain.
If you are reviewing controls, work through the silica risk assessment guide first to anchor the exposure profile, then the silica control measures guide for COSHH hierarchy selection across water suppression, on-tool extraction, enclosure and RPE.
- Start with respirable crystalline silica if you need the substance reference.
- Use the silica dust monitoring and silica air sampling guides to scope measurement.
- Use the silica risk assessment guide before redesigning silica controls.
- Use the silica control measures guide for COSHH-hierarchy decisions.
- Use the industry guides (construction, engineered stone) for task-specific silica exposure context.
Industry and task guidance
Silica exposure profiles vary widely by industry. Construction silica dust is dominated by cutting concrete, chasing brick, grinding mortar and breaking stone; engineered stone dust is dominated by sizing, edge profiling and polishing of very high silica content slabs in fabrication workshops. The industry guides explain these task patterns so that silica risk assessments and silica monitoring strategies can be matched to the actual workplace.
Each industry guide focuses on the tasks that generate respirable crystalline silica, the typical control gaps observed in that sector, and the silica monitoring evidence required to demonstrate adequacy of control under COSHH.
Compliance, limits and silica WEL context
The silica exposure limits and silica compliance guides set out the regulatory backdrop: the respirable crystalline silica Workplace Exposure Limit in HSE EH40, the 8-hour TWA comparison used in silica air sampling reports, and the COSHH duties on UK employers to prevent or otherwise control silica exposure so far as is reasonably practicable.
These guides are deliberately written to be useful inside a silica COSHH file. They do not replace HSE guidance documents but they translate the regulatory expectations into operational language for the people who actually own the silica risk on site.
Editorial standards
All silica guides on this site are scoped strictly to respirable crystalline silica, silica dust monitoring, silica air sampling, silica risk assessment, silica control measures, silica LEV systems and silica compliance. Topics outside the silica scope are deliberately out of scope and are not addressed here.
Guides are reviewed when relevant UK regulation, HSE guidance or measurement standards change in a way that materially affects how silica exposure is assessed or controlled.
Frequently asked questions
Are these silica guides written for the UK or international audiences?
The silica guides are written for UK workplaces and reference UK regulation - COSHH, the respirable crystalline silica Workplace Exposure Limit in HSE EH40, and the BS EN 689 strategy for comparison with limit values. They are not written against US OSHA or EU member-state silica exposure limits.
Do the silica guides cover silicosis and other silica health risks?
Yes, at a reference level. The silica health risks guide explains the long-latency disease burden of respirable crystalline silica - silicosis, lung cancer and COPD - as the rationale for the COSHH duty to control silica exposure. It is reference content, not medical or diagnostic advice.
Can I use these silica guides as part of my COSHH file?
They can sit alongside your silica COSHH assessment as supporting reference material, but they do not replace a site-specific silica risk assessment, your own silica monitoring data or HSE guidance. The duty to ensure your silica COSHH assessment is suitable and sufficient rests with the employer.
Do the guides explain how to design a silica monitoring programme?
Yes. The silica dust monitoring and silica air sampling guides describe similar exposure group definition, full-shift personal sampling with respirable cyclones, task-based sampling for short high-energy silica work, gravimetric and X-ray / FTIR analysis, and the EN 689 framework for interpreting results against the silica WEL.
Do the silica guides cover engineered stone specifically?
Yes. Engineered stone dust is treated as a distinct industry guide because the silica content of engineered stone is typically much higher than natural stone, the fabrication tasks generate intense respirable silica exposure, and the silica control expectations (wet processing, dedicated silica LEV, robust RPE) differ from general construction silica work.
Are these silica guides updated?
They are reviewed when UK silica regulation, HSE guidance on respirable crystalline silica, or the underlying measurement standards change in a way that materially affects how silica exposure is assessed or controlled. They are not a news feed and do not log minor editorial revisions.
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