# Is this red dust dangerous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2001, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-red-dust-dangerous/80703 "2001-09-10T16:48:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-red-dust-dangerous/80703/1 "2001-09-10T16:48:55Z")
A while back, my landlord decided to make some “improvements” to my building. Actually, they’re not really improvements, just some simple stuff to make the building look nicer so he can justify ridiculously high rents. Anyway, one of the things he did was sandblast the grey paint off the front of the building, exposing the original brick. I leave my windows open and fans running during the day because A/C is too expensive and I have to keep the place relatively cool (I leave two computers running 24/7/365). Last week, I noticed that the exposed brick is creating a lot of red dust, which is settling on my window sills and all over anything that’s close to the windows. It’s also stuck to the blades of my fans, which makes me think that I’ve been breathing this dust for the few months since my landlord decided to sandblast. Is the dust harmful? I don’t think there’s anything harmful in the stuff that makes up bricks, but you never know, so I thought I’d ask. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-red-dust-dangerous/80703/2 "2001-09-10T17:03:36Z")
Hey, they’ve got a Material Safety Data Sheet for bricks. Huh. [http://www.interstatebrick.com/msds/isb1.htm](http://www.interstatebrick.com/msds/isb1.htm) > [@](#): > > Inhalation: Dusts may irritate the nose, throat, and respiratory tract by mechanical abrasion. Coughing, sneezing, and shortness of breath may occur following exposures in excess of appropriate exposure limits. Use of natural sand and gravel for construction purposes is not believed to cause additional acute toxic effects. However, repeated overexposure to very high levels of respirable crystalline silica (quartz, cristobalite, tridymite) for periods as short as six months have caused acute silicosis. Acute silicosis is a rapidly progressive, incurable lung disease that is typically fatal. Symptoms include (but are not limited to); shortness of breath, cough, fever, weight loss, and chest pain. So you probably shouldn’t be breathing it. I’d also be worried about your computers getting filled up with dust. If you know how, you might pop the backs off and check, maybe vacuum with one of those teeny vacuums. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-red-dust-dangerous/80703/3 "2001-09-11T00:28:21Z")
Only to the Visitors, although there have been some studies done that indicate it can cause birth defects in humans. … [sub]Sorry, sorry, I promise I won’t do anything like this again until the next time I do it[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-red-dust-dangerous/80703/4 "2001-09-11T00:55:40Z")
From the MSDS that DDG cited, contact of brick dust with your skin is an **acute hazard**. Do not touch the dust! Aren’t we lucky that most roads today are paved? Just think of all the cancers and birth defects that have been prevented by limiting our exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Sorry for being so sarcastic, but you know water can be an acute hazard if you drown. I suggest the red colour is very obvious even for a very small quantity, and running a white glove on horizontal surfaces in your room is far more telling of what you are actually breathing. In any event, a good rain or watering down of the exterior walls should put an end to the dust.