MixNBreathe

The ban of engineered stone has highlighted the dangers of silica exposure in the home building industry. Wall and floor tilers are one of the largest group of workers in the nation exposed to silica each year. Many will develop silicosis, because there are very few options to limit their silica exposure whilst mixing grouts and adhesives donning personal protective equipment (PPE), for which there is poor compliance.A new device was required that extracted the dust with maximum efficiency to comply with exposure limits that was also extremely rugged, overcoming the pitfalls of existing devices.

Proof of concept of a device that completely encompassed the top of bucket was initially established by constructing a device from aluminium, however this was not commercially viable. Over the next 11 months a further 12 prototypes were made by 3D printing and quantitatively tested by measuring air velocities and mixing tile adhesive whilst wearing personal dust monitors. Design change to thick-walled plastic reduced the weight whilst maintaining stability during pouring and mixing. Ruggedness was a critical requirement and the final injection moulded ABS/PC product withstood being driven over by a truck whilst the high polish finish aided cleaning.

The greatest impediment to reducing silicosis for tilers is lack of compliance with PPE because it is invasive and uncomfortable. Silica exposure when using the MixNBreathe® is reduced to well below the 8-hour exposure limit, removing the need for masks. It is portable, quick and easy to use without impacting freedom or manoeuvrability, which facilitates adoption.There are 24000 licensed tilers in Australia and many more co-workers within their teams. The long-term goal is reduction in the number of silicosis cases amongst tilers. The immediate benefit is to improve Safety Audit and Inspection scores.

1. Reduce respirable crystalline silica and dust exposure to below mandated workplace exposure limits2. Completely encloses full 360⁰ circumference of the bucket for maximum efficiency3. Rugged to withstand being transported in a tiler’s heavily loaded vehicle as well as being roughly handled on the work site4. Compact, portable, light weight (1 kg) and can be carried in one hand or underarm5. Connects to M-class vacuum that the tiler already possesses 6. Fits buckets standard in the tiling industry or common to hardware stores7. High polish injection moulded plastic aids cleaning8. Australian made9. Sits on top of the bucket, rather than clipping onto the side, so it can work with buckets that have been previously used and have dried on adhesive or groutPoints 1-3 differentiate the MixNBreathe® from existing products, which only cover a small sector of the bucket circumference (<1/4), were very flimsy and had a fragile attachment system that had soured the user experience with bucket extraction devices. Covering the entire circumference achieved maximum dust extraction efficiency and increased strength to the extent the device was tough enough to drive over.