LAUSR

Crystalline silica is a natural chemical compound present in rocks, sand and soil. In industry, it is found in chemical products: cement, bricks, concrete... To measure the amount of silica a worker breathes, a dust sample must be taken from the respirable fraction. Due to the cost of chemical analysis of this fraction against silica, whose proportion is approximately 1:25, it is important to establish a methodology that allows an approximation of the risk calculation related to silica exposure, in order to reduce it. According to this, 63 data (2016-2019) were analysed, corresponding to measurements of the aforementioned dust with emphasis on silica belonging to industrial processes. The data were then analysed, and a statistically acceptable relationship was found for different industrial processes, resulting in a mathematical equation to determine the amount of silica, as a function of the amount of respirable fraction, with a statistical acceptance level.