Lychee, I never thought to use any protection the few times I used Surround; I found it obnoxious after it was applied because of the texture, but I didn't experience a dusty quality, and of course chemically it's very inert (it's clay and pretty dense). Of course it goes on wet, so dust isn't an issue during application.

But it's worth considering whether the dust might be dangerous if inhaled in quantity. I doubt it myself, unless one smokes (because smoking destroys the cilia that provide the first line of defense against such things) but even then I have to wonder whether it's any worse than the many country roads I've driven on. It's not like asbestos or those kinds of things, to the best of my knowledge.

The active ingredient in Surround is also the active ingredient in Maalox. I agree with MN that you might want to use a dust mask in breezy conditions while mixing, but that's about it.

THANKS for the response guys. i had the same question about working with turface. any thougts anyone?