The OSHA has regulated exposure to crystalline silica dust for many
years. The new regulation cuts in half the amount of crystalline silica
dust workers can be exposed to on their jobs.
What Does the Regulation Require? How Does Table 1 Work?
The regulation requires employers to limit worker exposures
to crystalline silica and to take other steps to protect workers.
The standard provides two methods of compliance. First,
employers can use equipment that limit workers’ exposure.
The equipment and how it must be used is set out in Table
1 of the regulation. Second, an employer can measure work-
ers’ exposure to silica and independently decide which dust
controls work best to limit. The second method requires
the employer to constantly monitor the workers’ exposure.
This includes costly monitoring equipmentdevises, medical
examinations, and respiratory equipment. Table 1 (see pages 28 & 29) provides a good alternative
to the expensive cost of regularly monitoring workers’
exposure to crystalline silica dust. The Ttable sets out
common construction tasks with dust control methods.
Employers who follow Table 1 correctly are not required
to measure workers’ exposure to silica.
As an example, consider a worker using a handheld
power saw with an integrated water system to cut marble
tiles. If the worker uses the saw outdoors for four hours or
less per day, no respirator would be needed. If a worker
uses the saw for more than four hours per day, or any time
indoors, he or she would need to use a respirator with an
assigned protection factor (APF) of at least 10 such as a
NIOSH-certified filtering dust mask that covers the nose
and mouth. If a worker needs to use a respirator on 30
or more days a year, he or she would need to be offered a
medical exam.
Are There Basic Requirements?
Regardless of which control method is used, Table 1 or
monitoring, all construction employers covered by the
standard are required to:
Establish and implement a written exposure control
plan that:
• Identifies tasks that involve exposure
• The methods used to protect workers
• Procedures to restrict access to work areas where
high exposures may occur;
• Designate a person to implement the written
exposure control plan;
• Establish, where feasible, housekeeping practices
that minimize exposure to silica;
• Offer medical exams—including chest X-rays and
lung function tests—every three years if a worker is
required to wear a respirator for 30 or more days
per year;
• Train workers on ways to limit exposure; and
• Keep records of workers’ silica exposure and
medical exams.
What is the Alternative to Table 1?
Employers who do not use control methods in Table 1
must monitor it workers’ exposure to silica to determine if
it exceeds 25 μg/m3 (micrograms of silica per cubic meter
of air) on average over an eight-hour day, and protect the
worker from exposure to respirable crystalline silica above
the permissible exposure limit of 50 μg/m3 averaged over
an eight-hour day. In addition, the employer must use dust
controls to limit the exposure and provide workers with
respirators if he or she are exposed to more than the lim-
its allowed.
WFCA was also able to get an exception to the entire
regulation if an employer could can show data proving that
there was is deminimus exposure of silica dust to its work-
ers. Specifically, the regulation requirements do not apply,
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