DORSICOAT®: Working Against Dust on the Job Site
Whether they stem from traffic or the job site: Fine dusts are dangerous to inhale, and doing so can cause a variety of respiratory diseases. In order to minimize health risks arising from the work environment, the EU has introduced a new maximum limit for respirable crystalline silica. Member States have two years’ transition time to implement the new requirements. But Dorfner customers can relax. Why? Because the dustless quartz sands and mixtures of the DORSICOAT® product line have long fulfilled all the requirements of the new EU Directive, as well as the even stricter assessment criteria set by the German Builder’s Union.
Already exceeding EU-requirements
On the job, no more than 0.1 mg/m3 of respirable dust – that is, particles so small that they can penetrate into the deep lung (alveoli) – is permissible per cubic meter of air. This is stated in the amended Directive 2004/37/EC revised in dezember 2017, which mandates the protection of workers against risks related to carcinogens or mutagens at the workplace. But for some EU - Member States, that just isn’t safe enough. For example, as early as 2014 the German Builder’s Union (BGBau) had set the maximum for crystalline silica dust much lower, at just 0.05 mg/m3.
The DORSICOAT® product line already underscores the limit significantly: The quartz crystals are covered in a special layer that prevents the formation of particulates. That protects health and ensures safety when working with the product. Of course, these coated sands are also compatible with all the usual polymer binder systems (EP, PU and MMA/PMMA). Flooring technology companies across Europe can immediately benefit from the extraordinary features of DORSICOAT® products, whether for pre-filling coating resins, for use as a broadcast sand or as a filler mixture for self-leveling mortars.
DORSICOAT®: Excellent dust prevention
Whether Europe-wide or in Germany: The sands and mixtures of the DORSICOAT® product range from Dorfner are solutions that have met or exceeded even the EU’s future requirements for protection against crystalline silica dust – for years! DORSICOAT® products have already been proven dustless many times. After elaborate testing according to DIN EN 15051-3 to confirm its material properties, the Institute for Hazardous Substance Research (IGF) of the Association of Raw Materials and Chemical Industry (BG RCI) has classified it as “dust-free”. And measurements taken recently by the German Builder’s Union (BGBau) under real conditions at job sites demonstrate that DORSICOAT® easily fulfills the stricter German assessment criteria for crystalline silica dust.
In 2016 DORSICOAT® already was distinguished for its lack of dust by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) with the German Hazardous Substance Protection Award. For over 20 years, this award has acknowledged exemplary and groundbreaking activities around worker protection.
