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Guideline for minimizing dust in building Source: GDA

Guidelines on Minimising Dust During Construction

Dust is an ever-present occurrence during construction. Inhaling high concentrations of dust over a long period of time can lead to considerable damage to the health of the respiratory organs. Cancerous dusts may also be found at construction sites; quartz dust, for example, can cause silicosis, silicotuberculosis and lung cancer.

Implementing a high level of protection throughout Germany, thus countering health problems caused by dust during construction, requires intensive and efficient efforts by all parties involved; the same applies to other, new challenges such as the considerable reduction in occupational limit values for fine particles of dust and the new evaluation scale for quartz dust.

Accordingly, the guidelines developed by the GDA aim to strengthen cohesion among supervisory agencies when monitoring occupational safety during construction while at the same time ensuring the exchange of up-to-date knowledge and experience.