Why Was Someone Watering a Building During Demolition? Understanding Silica Dust Control

Have You Ever Walked Down the Street and Seen Somebody Watering a Building?

We recently witnessed exactly that while passing the demolition of the old Crosby Hotel in Scunthorpe.

Alongside the excavator bringing the building down, a worker was continuously spraying water onto the rubble as the demolition progressed.

To many passers-by, it probably looked unusual. Some may even have wondered what on earth he was doing.

From a Health & Safety perspective, however, it was genuinely encouraging to see.

Because that simple act of spraying water was helping control one of the most significant occupational health risks still affecting the construction industry today: silica dust.

The Crosby Hotel on Normanby Road in Scunthorpe during demolition June 2026

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently increased its focus on silica exposure, introducing new guidance and launching inspection programmes aimed at ensuring businesses properly control dust risks. More than 1,000 inspections are expected across Great Britain over the coming year as part of that effort.

And with good reason.

Silica dust is created whenever materials such as concrete, brick, mortar, stone and tiles are cut, drilled, ground, broken or demolished. The danger is that the particles are often so fine they cannot be seen. Workers do not necessarily notice them, and members of the public certainly will not.

Yet repeated exposure can lead to serious and often irreversible health conditions, including:

→ Silicosis

→ Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

→ Lung cancer

In fact, HSE describes silica as one of the biggest health risks facing construction workers after asbestos.

Unlike many workplace hazards, silica dust does not usually result in an immediate incident. There is no loud bang, obvious warning sign or dramatic event that draws attention to the risk. The damage often develops gradually over many years, which can make it easy to underestimate.

That is one of the reasons occupational health risks can sometimes receive less attention than more visible safety concerns. A slip, trip or fall is immediately obvious. Dust exposure often is not.

Yet the long-term consequences can be life-changing.

This is exactly why dust suppression matters.

The worker with the hosepipe was not simply wetting the rubble; he was helping prevent dust from becoming airborne in the first place. It is a relatively simple control measure, but an extremely effective one that reduces the likelihood of workers and others nearby inhaling potentially harmful particles.

By controlling dust at source, businesses can significantly reduce exposure before it becomes a problem. This approach is far more effective than allowing dust to become airborne and relying solely on personal protective equipment to manage the risk afterwards.

And that is often the reality of good Health & Safety.

People sometimes imagine that effective risk management is complicated, involving extensive paperwork, expensive equipment or complex procedures. In reality, some of the most effective controls are surprisingly straightforward:

→ A hosepipe

→ Water suppression

→ Dust extraction

→ A change in working method

→ A few minutes spent considering how a task will be carried out before work begins

What was particularly encouraging about the demolition site was that dust suppression did not appear to be an afterthought. It formed part of the demolition process itself.

That distinction matters.

Too often, health and safety controls are viewed as something separate from the task being undertaken. In reality, the most effective controls are built into the work from the very beginning, becoming part of the process rather than an obstacle to it.

When good practice is integrated into the way work is planned and delivered, safety becomes far easier to maintain and far more effective.

The excavator was carrying out the demolition, but the hosepipe was helping protect the health of everyone around it.

Both were important.

Because when it comes to occupational health, the hazards you cannot see are often the ones that cause the greatest harm.

As strange as it sounds, seeing that level of awareness and good practice on a demolition site was encouraging. The building may have been coming down, but somebody was still taking the time to protect the people carrying out the work.

For us, that simple observation serves as a reminder that prevention is rarely dramatic. It often takes the form of small, practical controls that many people will never notice, but which play a vital role in keeping people safe.

And that is exactly what Protection Through Prevention stands for.