Abrasive Blasting SWMS

For blasting contractors, protective coating crews, maintenance teams and builders who blast steel structures, plant or masonry with abrasive, either on site or in a cabinet. It follows the job from choosing the method and abrasive and testing the surface for lead, silica and asbestos through the exclusion zone and plant checks to blasting, dust and respirators, noise and heat, clean-up and waste. Water blasting and blasting inside tanks are outside it, and each needs its own SWMS.

Abrasive blasting is not high risk construction work by itself, so no item is pre-ticked; a SWMS is legally required under WHS Regulation s 299 only when the job is high risk construction work (s 291), so tick the items that apply, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres, work on or near energised electrical installations, or the contaminated atmosphere item when blasting masonry makes silica dust, as the Queensland silica code advises. Away from construction work, for example blasting in a workshop cabinet, this document works as a written safe work procedure or task risk assessment.

Learn More: What Is A Safe Work Method Statement?
Have you ever been asked to provide a SWMS on a project in Queensland? Read our guide to what a Safe Work Method Statement is and when you need one.

What Is Covered In Our Abrasive Blasting SWMS?

The job steps run in the order the work is done, from pre-start checks to finishing up. The hazards and controls include:

• Silica dust from masonry and concrete
• Lead and other toxic dust from old coatings
• Asbestos in or under the surface
• Blast hose whip and coupling failure
• Nozzle jet and ricochet injuries
• Air-fed respirator or breathing air failure
• Noise from the nozzle, pot and compressor
• Heat strain in the blast suit and helmet
• Blast pot and compressor pressure failure
• Static electricity and fire
• Dust drifting to other workers and the public
• Hose handling and awkward postures
• Spent abrasive and contaminated waste
• Restricted abrasives such as sand

High Risk Construction Work

No high risk construction work items (WHS Regulation 2011 (Qld) s 291) are pre-ticked, because this work is not high risk construction work by itself. Tick the items that apply to your job, such as a fall risk of more than 2 metres or work where powered mobile plant is moving.

Licences, Training and Competency

• Blast operators and pot attendants trained and verified as competent on the blast machine, nozzle, dead man control, hoses and air-fed helmet in use (Schedule 3 of the WHS Regulation has no high risk work licence class for abrasive blasting)
• Training in the hazards of the abrasive and of the surface and coating being blasted, including lead, silica, asbestos and other toxic metals, the SDS and the controls (WHS Regulation s 39)
• Competent person to sample and identify coatings and suspected asbestos, with asbestos samples analysed by a NATA-accredited laboratory (Abrasive Blasting Code of Practice 2021)
• Fit-testing and training for each worker who wears a tight-fitting respirator, such as the pot attendant; loose-fitting airline hoods and helmets are not fit-tested but are checked for fit and air flow before each use (silica code 7.6.2)
• Competent person, such as an occupational hygienist, for air monitoring in the breathing zone, including inside the helmet, where WHS Regulation s 50 requires it
• Competent person to inspect and test the blast machine, compressor, breathing air supply and any blast cabinet to the maker’s instructions
• Crystalline silica training (a VET accredited course, or training approved by the regulator) for workers when the silica assessment finds the blasting high risk (s 529CD)
• Health monitoring by or under a registered medical practitioner with experience in health monitoring where the Regulation requires it, for example for lead risk work or when the silica code’s 30-day respirator trigger is met
• Audiometric testing within 3 months of starting and at least every 2 years for workers the business requires to wear hearing protection (s 58)
• General construction induction training card (white card) for construction work, and site induction

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
• Abrasive Blasting Code of Practice 2021
• Managing respirable crystalline silica dust exposure in construction and manufacturing of construction elements Code of Practice 2022
• Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing Risks of Plant in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Hazardous Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021
• Confined Spaces Code of Practice 2021 (blasting inside a tank needs a separate SWMS)
• How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• Managing the Risk of Falls at Workplaces Code of Practice 2021
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): s 382 and schedule 10 table 10.3 (restricted abrasives), s 446 (compressed air on asbestos), chapter 8A (crystalline silica, ss 529A to 529CD) and ss 49 and 50 (exposure standards and air monitoring)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): chapter 7 part 7.2 (lead), ss 392 to 418
• Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld)
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2026 (Qld): s 140 for construction work, and the overhead electric line exclusion zones in schedule 2
• Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2020 – Working near overhead and underground electric lines (distances come from the 2026 Regulation)
• AS/NZS 1716:2012 and AS/NZS 1715:2009 (respiratory protective devices, and their selection, use and maintenance, as WHS Regulation s 529B names them)

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (18 pages), laid out on A4 landscape pages
• Business, client, job and document details typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• The high risk construction work checklist, worded as WHS Regulation s 291, and the construction project question (s 292)
• A worker and health and safety representative consultation record
• Qualifications, plant, PPE, hazardous chemicals, safety equipment, permits, references and emergency arrangements filled in for this work
• A 5 x 5 risk matrix, and job steps with initial and residual risk scores and the people responsible
• Implementing, monitoring and review requirements, an additional controls log, revision history and a worker sign-on sheet

Review and adjust it for your site, your plant and the way your crew does the job, and talk it through with your workers before work starts. If you have any trouble downloading this SWMS, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading this SWMS.