If you need to collect belongings or do basic clean up in your previously flooded home, you do not usually need to use a respirator (a mask worn to prevent breathing in harmful substances), according to recommendations published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Times when you may want to use a respirator are explained below.

A new online resource from the Center for Construction Research and Training provides information and tools to help identify silica hazards, understand the health risk, and easily find equipment and methods to control the dust.