Can glass really break into tiny harmful dust particles?

[glassbreaker123]

my dog jumped on table and dropped a drinking glass to the floor. obviously i took a brush and cleaned it. later on my dad comes and starts yelling that i should have vacuumed that. he said that the glass for some reason breaks into small little dust that will penetrate thru your bare feet skin.

is it true that the glass breaks into a somewhat big amount(an amount that would cause harm if stepped on, that's what i thought my dad said) of small dust that i can't even see, and then that dust would be more harmful than any other dust? why would the glass break into dust, it breaks into bigger pieces. and dust I am talking about really fine flour or something.

 

[A.T.]

he said that the glass for some reason breaks into small little dust that will penetrate thru your bare feet skin.

Dust is not the right word, but vacuuming is a good idea. Glass debris around 1-2mm cannot be brushed up very well, but can still hurt if you step on them barefoot.

 

[Andy Resnick]

why would the glass break into dust, it breaks into bigger pieces. and dust I am talking about really fine flour or something.

Flour-fine glass dust won't penetrate your skin (inhaled is a different problem), but glass will also fracture into small needle-like shards that will penetrate skin and are also very hard to see. My technique of choice is a damp paper towel...