[trobertson]

> Fortunately it was a granite countertop and not quartz.

Granites are primarily composed of feldspar and quartz, which are both primarily composed of silica. Silica is the thing that causes silicosis, and when that granite was cut it was clouds of silica dust that covered your home.

You were no more safe in that granite dust than you would have been in quartz dust.

[jader201]

Do you have a source? Everything I’m reading [1] says that granite contains 10-45% silica, compared to quartz containing 90%+.

[1] https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA37...

[thehappypm]

Those are pretty much equivalent health-wise. The poison cloud is half as dense, but still a poison cloud.

[jader201]

Not sure I agree/understand, but it seems like if I’m inhaling 2x the poison over the same amount of time, that has exactly 2x the impact/risk on your health.

This isn’t the same as something like a virus, where it’s more binary.

To be clear, I’m not arguing to prove I’m right (because I’m certainly not an expert and am open to being wrong), I’m trying to understand more about how particle inhalation can have varying risks (or not) based on density.

[mhb]

TFA article says the stuff gets in your lungs and stays there. Are you trying to figure out whether you should wear protection for x% silica containing materials? Seems like a fool's errand.

[jader201]

Not at all, I actually wear a mask when just sweeping the garage. :) I certainly think there should be regulation requiring masks in industries like this — and I will definitely wear a mask the next time I’m around any sort of countertop dust.

I’m mostly just curious about the science, and whether/why it is more binary than I’m understanding, vs. just taking some random HN strangers’ words.

[thehappypm]

Basically the point is—a poison cloud is a bad thing to expose yourself to!

[readyplayernull]

Silica particles won't disolve in water, it's like breathing broken glass, and that's the main problem not limited to silica, but breathing ANY particle that harms your organs.

[creato]

Lots of things don’t dissolve in water but are still effectively contained by water. That said, I wonder what happens to the water being used for this purpose. If it isn’t treated/disposed of somehow, I could see it evaporating and allowing the dust to become airborne again. If this is in a permanent shop environment, it might explain the apparent lack of effectiveness of this solution.