Dust Mask Shortage Puts Construction and Engineering Workers in Respiratory Peril: Business Casual

Powered by RedCircle

From using machine tools that produce fine dusts and particles or silica dust from bricks and concrete, respiratory hazards are common in the construction and engineering fields. A vital component of respiratory protective equipment (RPE), dust masks are used to control respiratory hazards, helping to protect workers from lung and airway diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis and silicosis while decreasing the risk for cancer. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sourcing FFP2 and FFP3 dust masks for work purposes has become a challenge for many firms, sparking concerns not only about a shortage of dust masks, but inflated prices when they are available.

On this snippet of Business Casual, Tyler Kern and Daniel Litwin break down the findings of a recent survey conducted by several trade bodies as well as the Construction Industry Coronavirus Forum (CICV Forum) regarding both the availability and escalated costs of dust masks, and the effect the shortage and inflated pricing of this critical RPE element are having on both employee safety and the construction industry as a whole.

Every week, Business Casual brings topics to the forefront that affect operators and workers in the Engineering and Construction sectors as well as other B2B industries. Tune in each Wednesday and Friday to stay abreast of the trends and news shaping our world today.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

courage
Creative Confidence and Moral Courage: The Leadership Traits Business Schools Should Be Betting On
May 25, 2026

What students need from higher education is becoming harder to pin down than it once was. As higher education faces mounting pressure—from student disengagement to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence—institutions are being forced to rethink not just what students learn, but who they become. New research and industry signals suggest that technical knowledge…

Read More
healthcare
From the C-Suite to the Classroom: A Healthcare Leader’s Bet on the Next Generation
May 25, 2026

Healthcare isn’t short on strategy right now—it’s short on people, access, and experienced leadership where it matters most. In Texas alone, more rural hospitals have closed than in any other state over the past decade, leaving entire communities with limited access to care. At the same time, many health systems are realizing they haven’t…

Read More
AI
The AI Health Score: Turning Hallucinations, Agents, and AI Risk Into Board-Ready Insight
May 24, 2026

As artificial intelligence moves deeper into enterprise operations, many organizations are discovering that the real challenge is not adoption, but control. Traditional software has always been predictable: the same input produces the same output, making it possible to audit systems at a fixed point in time. AI changes that equation. Jeff Carson, founder of…

Read More
TheAIAudit
Introducing TheAIAudit: A Platform Built to Measure, Monitor, and Govern Enterprise AI
May 22, 2026

Enterprise AI is advancing faster than most companies can govern it. Behind the scenes, AI systems are already influencing decisions tied to revenue, operations, compliance, customer outcomes, and risk — yet many organizations still lack a clear way to measure, explain, or oversee what those systems are doing. That is the gap TheAIAudit was…

Read More