The Oil Sands Safety Association (OSSA) brought together regional oil sands stakeholders to develop and implement strategies and tools for an incident free workplace.
Learn MoreTraining is a proven route to better worksite safety. In collaboration with our industry partners, we develop innovative training courses to meet the changing needs of a dynamic and progressive oil and gas industry.
Search for CoursesThe Certificate of Recognition (COR) program is a proven way for oil and gas employers to improve their health and safety performance. Energy Safety Canada is the certifying partner of COR for the oil and gas industry.
Get to know the programEvery company has primary responsibility for the safety of its people. But no company can - or should have to - develop all the best safety practices in isolation. At Energy Safety Canada, safety practices and tools are developed, discussed and refined by industry, for industry.
View Our Resource ListFind out about safety events including the Petroleum Safety Conference.
About PSC 2018Energy Safety Canada is the voice for oil and gas safety in Canada.
Find out moreView your certificates, update your profile and more on My Account.
View your profileThe Oil Sands Safety Association (OSSA) brought together regional oil sands stakeholders to develop and implement strategies and tools for an incident free workplace.
Learn MoreTraining is a proven route to better worksite safety. In collaboration with our industry partners, we develop innovative training courses to meet the changing needs of a dynamic and progressive oil and gas industry.
Search for CoursesThe Certificate of Recognition (COR) program is a proven way for oil and gas employers to improve their health and safety performance. Energy Safety Canada is the certifying partner of COR for the oil and gas industry.
Get to know the programEvery company has primary responsibility for the safety of its people. But no company can - or should have to - develop all the best safety practices in isolation. At Energy Safety Canada, safety practices and tools are developed, discussed and refined by industry, for industry.
View Our Resource ListFind out about safety events including the Petroleum Safety Conference.
About PSC 2018Energy Safety Canada is the voice for oil and gas safety in Canada.
Find out moreView your certificates, update your profile and more on My Account.
View your profileSilica dust isn’t a new worksite hazard, but growth in the use of sand in wellsite activities prompted an initiative by Energy Safety Canada to update its Chemical Hazards Guideline to include a new Silica Exposure Control Plan (ECP) with accompanying tools and resources. Many upstream worksites are already successfully using a variety of engineering control strategies. But the goal is to increase access and use of those and other controls so it becomes normal practice.
Many dusts contain crystalline silica, a mineral that makes up nearly all of what is called sand and rock. It’s in masonry, tiles, granite, brick, concrete, grout, mortar, paint and asphalt. It’s also in abrasives used in blasting, the dust on roads and the sand used in oilfield operations. When dormant, silica is harmless – but when disturbed, airborne and inhaled it can become a formidable health hazard.
Prolonged or intense inhalation thickens the lining of the lungs causing them to become an opaque mass and lose the ability to expand and contract – making it as if you were breathing through a straw. The potential outcome is silicosis – a disabling, sometimes fatal lung disease. Silica exposure has also been linked to bronchitis, tuberculosis and lung cancer.
Information, tools and resource designed to proactively manage a variety of silica exposure risks:
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