Silica Safety Training Course Description

Silica dust can cause serious and even fatal illness in anyone who breathes it in, and more than two million workers are exposed to it on the job each year. This course explains the dangers of silica dust, walks through the OSHA standards for construction and general industry, and shows workers what they can do to protect themselves.

OSHA’s silica rule established tough requirements to protect exposed workers, and this training breaks down what those requirements mean in practice.

Course Content

This course includes the following topics:

• The health hazards of respirable crystalline silica
• What OSHA's silica standards for construction and industry require
• Where silica dust exposure happens in the workplace
• Building a silica exposure control plan
• Control systems, safe work practices, and protective equipment
• Medical surveillance and recordkeeping requirements

Why Silica Safety Training Is Essential

Silicosis is entirely preventable, yet workers still develop it because silica dust is invisible in the air and its damage takes years to show. Cutting concrete, grinding mortar, blasting, and drilling all launch fine crystalline silica into the breathing zone. OSHA’s silica rule set strict exposure limits precisely because the old ways of working were making people sick.

This course is for the workers most likely to breathe silica: concrete cutters, masons, tile setters, demolition crews, fracking and mining workers, and anyone using power tools on stone, concrete, or brick. It explains the health risks, the OSHA standards for construction and general industry, and the controls that keep dust out of your lungs.

Course details (as of October 2026): This course takes about 45 minutes to complete. A score of 80% is required to pass, and you may take the course up to three times to reach the pass mark. A printable student manual is included for future reference.