Silica Awareness Quiz: 10 Questions with Answers
Cutting, drilling or grinding concrete, block, brick or stone throws respirable crystalline silica into the air. Ten questions on what OSHA’s construction silica standard actually requires on site — from the exposure limit to how you are allowed to clean up.
Based on: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153 · OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 (assigned protection factors)
Question 1 of 10
What is the silica competent person on a construction site there to do?
Question 2 of 10
Your crew cuts block outdoors with a handheld saw that has integrated water feed, for 3 hours a shift. Under Table 1, what respirator is required?
Question 3 of 10
What does it mean to "follow Table 1"?
Question 4 of 10
An N95 filtering facepiece respirator has what assigned protection factor?
Question 5 of 10
How should silica dust be cleaned up on a job site?
Question 6 of 10
Can you blow silica dust off your clothes with compressed air?
Question 7 of 10
Which document must the employer have for silica work?
Question 8 of 10
When must the employer offer medical exams to a worker?
Question 9 of 10
Which of these diseases is linked to breathing respirable crystalline silica?
Question 10 of 10
Below what exposure level does the construction silica standard not apply?
Answer key with explanations (spoilers — take the quiz first)
1. What is the silica competent person on a construction site there to do?
Answer: Make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to carry out the written exposure control plan
The written exposure control plan must designate a competent person — someone who can spot existing and foreseeable silica hazards and has the authority to fix them promptly — to inspect the site, materials and equipment and make the plan happen.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(b) (definition) and (g)(4)
2. Your crew cuts block outdoors with a handheld saw that has integrated water feed, for 3 hours a shift. Under Table 1, what respirator is required?
Answer: None
Handheld power saw with water delivery, used outdoors, 4 hours or less per shift: no respirator. Over 4 hours outdoors, or any time indoors or in an enclosed area, it becomes APF 10.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(c)(1), Table 1, row (ii)
3. What does it mean to "follow Table 1"?
Answer: Fully and properly implement the listed engineering controls, work practices and respirators for the task
Table 1 is a recipe: do all of it — for example, water flowing to the blade and the tool maintained per the manufacturer — and you do not need to measure exposures. Skip part of it and you must assess and control exposure yourself.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(c)(1) and (d)
4. An N95 filtering facepiece respirator has what assigned protection factor?
Answer: 10
Half masks, including filtering facepieces like the N95, have an APF of 10 — which is what most Table 1 tasks call for when a respirator is required. It still has to be fit-tested under a respiratory protection program.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134(d)(3)(i)(A), Table 1
5. How should silica dust be cleaned up on a job site?
Answer: Wet sweeping or a HEPA-filtered vacuum
Dry sweeping and dry brushing are not allowed where they add to exposure unless wet methods or HEPA vacuuming are not feasible.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(f)(1)
6. Can you blow silica dust off your clothes with compressed air?
Answer: Only with a ventilation system that captures the dust cloud, or if no other method is feasible
Compressed air cleaning of clothing or surfaces is prohibited where it adds to exposure, unless it is paired with a system that captures the dust cloud or no alternative is feasible. A HEPA vacuum or wet wipe is the normal answer.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(f)(2)
7. Which document must the employer have for silica work?
Answer: A written exposure control plan
The written exposure control plan lists the tasks, the controls and respirators for each, the housekeeping methods, and how access is restricted. It is reviewed at least once a year.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(1)–(2)
8. When must the employer offer medical exams to a worker?
Answer: When the worker must wear a respirator under the standard for 30 or more days a year
Medical surveillance is offered at no cost to workers required to wear a respirator under the silica standard 30 or more days per year, with periodic exams at least every three years.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(h)(1)(i), (h)(3)
9. Which of these diseases is linked to breathing respirable crystalline silica?
Answer: Silicosis, lung cancer, COPD and kidney disease
Silicosis is the best known, but OSHA also links silica exposure to lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease. Silicosis can take years to show and cannot be reversed.
Source: OSHA silica rule (29 CFR 1926.1153) — health effects basis
10. Below what exposure level does the construction silica standard not apply?
Answer: Below 25 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA under any foreseeable conditions
The standard covers all construction exposures except where exposure will stay below the 25 µg/m³ action level (half the 50 µg/m³ PEL) under any foreseeable conditions — a short task like hand-mixing a small batch of mortar outdoors may qualify; saw-cutting block will not.
Source: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1153(a)
Take it past the quiz
More practice quizzes
This is a practice quiz, not a certification or a qualification. It is scored in your browser, nothing is recorded, and passing it does not satisfy any OSHA training requirement. Answers reflect the cited standards as published; where your employer, site owner or the equipment manufacturer sets a stricter rule, that rule applies.