If your workers cut, grind, drill or crush materials like concrete, brick, tile or stone, they’re almost certainly generating respirable crystalline silica, and the rules around it are about to get stricter, especially in Australia.
From 1 December 2026, Australia’s exposure standard for silica dust becomes a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL), carrying stronger legal weight. Safe Work Australia has also proposed halving the limit itself. If you haven’t reviewed your silica controls recently, now is the time to take a look.
What is respirable crystalline silica?
Crystalline silica is found in most common construction materials. Concrete, mortar, bricks, tiles and natural stone all contain it in varying amounts. On its own, the material is harmless. The danger comes when it’s cut, ground or crushed, releasing dust particles so fine they can’t be seen in normal light and travel deep into the lungs.
When inhaled, these particles cause scarring of lung tissue that the body cannot repair. This is where prevention becomes critical.
The health risks
Respirable crystalline silica is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen. Prolonged or high-level exposure is linked to:
- Silicosis, an irreversible and potentially fatal lung disease
- Lung cancer
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Kidney disease
Silicosis can develop after years of moderate exposure, but in severe cases workers have developed the accelerated form within just a few years. It’s the reason engineered stone benchtops were banned nationally from July 2024, and why regulators are watching silica-generating industries closely.
What are the legal limits in Australia?
The current Workplace Exposure Standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica is 0.05 mg/m³, averaged over an eight-hour shift. To put that in perspective, that’s a tiny pinch of dust dispersed across a volume of air roughly the size of a shipping container.
There are two changes every employer should know about:
- From 1 December 2026, the WES becomes a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) with strengthened legal standing
- Safe Work Australia has proposed reducing the limit to 0.025 mg/m³, half the current standard
That second point matters. Exposure results that are comfortably compliant today could become exceedances under the proposed limit. Regulators are already encouraging businesses to design their dust controls around the lower benchmark rather than waiting.
On top of the exposure limit, WHS regulations introduced in 2024 created specific duties for high-risk crystalline silica work, including air monitoring where workers could be exposed above half the limit, health monitoring for at-risk workers, and reporting exceedances to the regulator.
How do you know if you have a problem?
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and silica dust is invisible at the concentrations that cause harm. A workplace can look clean and still exceed the legal limit.
The only way to know your actual exposure levels is personal air monitoring, where sampling equipment is worn in a worker’s breathing zone across a full shift and analysed by an accredited laboratory. An occupational hygienist can then interpret the results against the exposure standard and tell you exactly where you stand.
Protecting your workers
Silica controls follow the hierarchy of control, and PPE should always be the last line of defence, not the first:
- Substitute high-silica materials for lower-silica alternatives where possible
- Use water suppression or on-tool dust extraction when cutting, grinding or drilling
- Isolate dusty processes from other workers
- Ensure good ventilation in enclosed work areas
- Provide fit-tested respiratory protection where dust can’t be fully controlled
- Train workers so they understand the risk and use controls properly
That last point is often the cheapest fix with the biggest impact. Workers who understand why the controls exist are far more likely to use them every time.
Where to start
If you’re not sure whether silica dust is a risk in your workplace, start with a baseline exposure assessment. It will tell you which tasks generate silica, how much your workers are actually breathing in, and whether your current controls are doing their job, before the tougher limits arrive.
EnviroScience’s occupational hygienists provide silica air monitoring, exposure assessments and practical control advice across Australia, and our online silica awareness training gets your team up to speed in under an hour. Get in touch to talk through what your workplace needs.
