Hierarchy of control measures
WHS Regulation clause 36 Hierarchy of control measures
A PCBU must eliminate risks arising from exposure to silica dust , or if that is not reasonably practicable , minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable to workers and other persons at their workplace .
A good way to meet this duty is to apply the hierarchy of control measures ( Figure 3 ). The hierarchy ranks control measures from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest .
Dry cutting , trimming , drilling , sanding , grinding or polishing engineered stone without effective controls generates very high levels of silica dust .
A PCBU must not direct or allow workers to undertake uncontrolled dry cutting or processing of engineered stone . This will expose workers and others to levels of silica dust that would be expected to exceed the workplace exposure standard and is a serious risk to health .
Figure 3 : The hierarchy of control measures .
Managing the risks of respirable crystalline silica from engineered stone in the workplace - Code of Practice 30 of 57