GeneralQ My company has been using the gunite process (dry-mix shotcrete) for years now. What I have been finding lately is that a lot more questions are being asked by outside safety services, neighbors to our facility, etc., about the health effects of the shotcrete process. I believe that with the new proposed laws dealing with silica, everyone is paying more attention to products with sand and cement, and shotcrete has both. To try to educate myself and to answer these questions I am on the search for enlightenment and am coming up short. Here is where I am falling short: there is no (or I haven’t found a) general material safety data sheet (MSDS) on shotcrete. Most MSDSs I have found on the Internet are for proprietary mixtures. I have yet to find an MSDS or any safety info on just plain sand and cement mixture.
Shotcrete is a method for placing concrete, so an MSDS for concrete or its constituent components would be appropriate. MSDS sheets for cement, aggregates, and concrete are readily available from cement manufacturers, aggregate suppliers, and concrete producers, as evidenced by a simple web search. This is the type of issue that can be discussed and effectively addressed by networking with other contractors and suppliers in the shotcrete industry. This is a primary benefit of actively participating in ASA—you or your organization should join ASA and attend committee meetings. ASA meetings are held three times a year. Check our Calendar for the next available meeting.
