ArticleAnnals of work exposures and health2017
Experimental Evaluation of Respirable Dust and Crystalline Silica Controls During Simulated Performance of Stone Countertop Fabrication Tasks With Powered Hand Tools.
Article in Annals of work exposures and health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Artificial Stone Associated Silicosis: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Emission rates of respirable crystalline silica and dust from engineered stone fabrication.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Evaluation of occupational exposure to airborne quartz in the cutting and grinding of ceramic tiles.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Silica Hazards in Engineered Stone Countertop Production: Worker Experiences and Challenges in Los Angeles.American journal of industrial medicine · 2025Article
- A review of silicosis and other silica-related diseases in the engineered stone countertop processing industry.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025Review
- Mouse pulmonary response following solid surface composite dust inhalation.Inhalation toxicology · 2025Article
- From Engineered Stone Slab to Silicosis: A Synthesis of Exposure Science and Medical Evidence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Active Surveillance of Engineered Stone Workers Facilitates Early Identification of Silicosis: A Discussion of Surveillance of Occupational Lung Diseases.New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS · 2023Article
- Development of a Coal Dust Concentration Sensor Based on the Electrostatic Induction Method.ACS omega · 2023Article
- Hazardous dusts from the fabrication of countertop: a review.Archives of environmental & occupational health · 2023Review
- Silica Exposure Estimates in Artificial Stone Benchtop Fabrication and Adverse Respiratory Outcomes.Annals of work exposures and health · 2022Article
- Characterization of Silica Exposure during Manufacturing of Artificial Stone Countertops.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Old adversaries in new places.Occupational and environmental medicine · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesWorkers who fabricate stone countertops using hand tools are at risk of silicosis from overexposure to respirable crystalline silica. This study explored the efficacy of simple engineering controls that can be used for dust suppression during use of hand tools by stone countertop fabricators.
methodsControlled experiments were conducted to measure whether wet methods and on-tool local exhaust ventilation (LEV) reduced respirable dust (RD) exposures during use of various powered hand tools on quartz-rich engineered stone. RD samples collected during edge grinding with a diamond cup wheel and a silicon carbide abrasive wheel were analyzed gravimetrically as well as by X-ray diffraction to determine silica content. A personal optical aerosol monitor was used simultaneously with the RD samples and also for rapid assessment of controls for polishing, blade cutting, and core drilling.
resultsOn-tool LEV and sheet-flow-wetting were effective in reducing exposures, especially when used in combination. Sheet-flow-wetting with LEV reduced geometric mean exposures by as much as 95%. However, typical water-spray-wetting on a grinding cup was less effective when combined with LEV than without LEV. Mean silica content of RD samples from grinding operations was 53%, and respirable mass and silica mass were very highly correlated (r = 0.980). Optical concentration measures were moderately well correlated with gravimetric measures (r = 0.817), but on average the optical measures during a single trial using the factory calibration were only one-fifth the simultaneous gravimetric measures.
conclusionsSheet-flow-wetting combined with on-tool LEV is an effective engineering control for reducing RD exposures during engineered stone edge grinding and blade cutting. On the other hand, addition of LEV to some water-spray-wetted tools may reduce the effectiveness of the wet method.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.