Construction dust: Cutting roofing tiles

Using cut-off saws on roofing tiles can produce very high levels of silica containing dust. Effective control is necessary because this work is high risk. This page tells you how to control the risk and why.  You also need to be aware of the general information on construction dust.

What you must do

Follow the Assess, Control and Review model. Pay particular attention to the following things:

Assess

Identify and assess: Using cut-off saws on roofing tiles can produce very high levels of silica containing dust. Anyone breathing in this dust cloud will be affected. Those using or very close to the cut-off saw will be particularly at risk. Follow the control steps below.

Control

Prevent: Think about limiting the amount of dust you could make before work starts by:

Control: Even if you minimise some of the dust this way, you may still need to use a cut-off saw. Control the risk by:

Industry guidance on this topic can be found on the website of:

Review

What you should know

This work involves a number of quick cuts done outside. That does not mean it is low risk. Dry cutting quickly produces very high peak exposure levels of silica dust. Breathing this dust causes serious lung diseases like cancer and silicosis. These diseases cause permanent disability and early death. Use the controls above every time you do this work to limit the amount of dust you breathe in. This will stop any damage to the lungs building up over time.

Updated 2021-08-06