Respirators can also be uncomfortable, especially in hot weather, and cannot be used by some workers, states OSHA. Even when respirators are selected, fitted, and maintained correctly, they must be worn consistently and correctly by workers to be effective.
In many cases, workers using only respirators would also have to wear more extensive and expensive protection. Unless respirators are selected for each worker, individually fitted and periodically refitted, and regularly maintained, and unless filters and other parts are replaced as necessary, workers will continue to be exposed to silica. Respirators are not as protective as engineering controls, states OSHA, and they aren’t always as practical. Why can’t my workers exposed to silica dust above the PEL simply wear respirators? Respirators are only allowed when engineering and work practice controls cannot maintain exposures at or below the PEL.įor construction, the standard includes Table 1, a list of common construction tasks along with exposure control methods and work practices that work well for those tasks and can be used to comply with the requirements of the standard. Another control method is enclosing an operation (“process isolation”).Įxamples of work practices to control silica exposures include wetting down dust before sweeping it up or using the water flow rate recommended by the manufacturer for a tool with water controls. To purchase your course, please visit our online course catalog by clicking the link below.How do I control silica exposures to below the PEL?Įmployers must use engineering controls and work practices as the primary way keep exposures at or below the PEL.Įngineering controls include wetting down work operations or using local exhaust ventilation (such as vacuums) to keep silica-containing dust out of the air and out of workers’ lungs. Course participants receive detailed information about silica, exposures and health effects.
Summit's Silica Safety Awareness course helps protects workers from the hazards of crystalline silica in order to avoid unnecessary illness and death. Good faith efforts to comply with the new standard, which “establishes a new 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m 3, an action level (AL) of 25 µg/m 3, and a host of ancillary requirements,” can include offering applicable training to those who work in environments where silica dust is present. OSHA intends to issue inspection and citation guidance, with the compliance directive to follow after.įor more about OSHA’s final ruling on the standard, please see our blog post from April 1, 2016. OSHA will assist employers who are making good faith efforts to meet the new requirements to assure understanding and compliance." Given the novelty of the Table 1 approach, OSHA will pay particular attention to assisting employers in fully and properly implementing the controls in the table. OSHA will render compliance assistance and outreach to assure that covered employers are fully and properly complying with its requirements. "During the first 30 days of enforcement, OSHA will carefully evaluate good faith efforts taken by employers in their attempts to meet the new construction silica standard.
OSHA’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Thomas Galassi issued a memorandum on September 20 regarding the administration’s enforcement policy. The Respirable Crystalline Silica construction standard, 29 CFR § 1926.1153, became enforceable on September 23, 2017.
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