Expanding control banding for workplace silica exposures throughout the Americas

Abstract

Background: Silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhaling respirable crystalline silica dust, is an occupational illness affecting millions of workers worldwide. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has partnered with the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, and multiple agencies in the Americas to implement the program “The Elimination of Silicosis in the Americas”.

Objectives: One component of this program is control banding, a qualitative risk assessment and management strategy that allows non-experts to use task-based hazard data and potential exposure information to determine appropriate controls.

Results: From 2005 to the present, NIOSH occupational health researchers have worked with experts in Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Brazil to assess, implement, and provide tools to evaluate the use of control banding methodology.

Keywords:

• Control banding
• Silica
• Silcosis
• International collaboration

We would like to offer appreciation to all of our international partners for their devotion to the elimination of silicosis. We would also like to thank John Lechliter for editing this document and Maria Lioce, Marilyn Fingerhut, Donna Heidel, Anne Bracker, Wendy MacDonald, and Deborah Nelson for reviewing this manuscript. Support for this research was provided by the Chilean Institute of Public Health, the Venezuelan Occupational Hygiene Association, the Corporation of Occupational and Environmental Health (Medellin, Colombia), and the Brazilian Occupational Hygiene Association.

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.