Risk & Business Magazine Spectrum Insurance Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 29
OSHA’S CRYSTALLINE SILICA RULE
Regardless of which exposure control
method is used, all construction employers
covered by the standard are required to do
the following:
Establish and implement a written
exposure control plan that identifies
tasks that involve exposure and
methods used to protect workers,
including procedures to restrict access
to work areas where high exposures
may occur
Designate a competent person to
implement the written exposure
control plan
Restrict housekeeping practices that
expose workers to silica where feasible
alternatives are available
Offer medical exams—including chest
X-rays and lung function tests—every
three years for workers who are
required by the standard to wear a
respirator for 30 or more days per year
Train workers on work operations that
result in silica exposure as well as on
ways to limit exposure
Keep records of workers’ silica
exposure and medical exams
WHAT IS TABLE 1?
Table 1 matches common construction
tasks with dust control methods, so
employers know exactly what they need to
do to limit worker exposure to silica. The
dust control measures listed in the table
include methods known to be effective,
such as using water to keep dust from
getting into the air or using ventilation
to capture dust. In some operations,
respirators may also be needed.
Employers who correctly follow Table 1 are
not required to measure worker exposure
to silica and are not subject to the PEL.
TABLE 1 EXAMPLE: HANDHELD POWER
SAWS
If workers are sawing silica-containing
materials, they can use a saw with a built-in
system that applies water to the saw blade.
The water limits the amount of respirable
crystalline silica that gets into the air.
In this example, if a worker uses the saw
outdoors for four hours or less per day, no
respirator w ould be needed. If a worker
uses the saw for more than four hours per
day or for any amount of time indoors, he
or she would need to use a respirator with
an assigned protection factor (APF) of at
least 10. In this case, a NIOSH-certified
filtering facepiece respirator that covers the
nose and mouth (sometimes referred to as a
dust mask) could be used. If a worker needs
to use a respirator for 30 or more days a
year, he or she would need to be offered a
Table 1: Specified Exposure Control Methods When Working
with Materials Containing Crystalline Silica
Equipment/Task
Engineering and Work
Practice Control Methods
ALTERNATE EXPOSURE CONTROL
METHODS
Employers who do not use control methods
on Table 1 must do the following:
Measure the amount of silica that
workers are exposed to if it may
be at or above an action level of 25
micrograms of silica per cubic meter
(μg/m3) of air, averaged over an eight-
hour day
Protect workers from respirable
crystalline silica exposures above the
PEL of 50 μg/m3, averaged over an
eight-hour day
Use dust control methods to protect
workers from silica exposures above
the PEL
Provide respirators to workers when
dust controls cannot limit exposures
to the PEL
WHEN ARE EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO
COMPLY WITH THE STANDARD?
Construction employers must comply
with all requirements of the standard
by September 23, 2017, except the
requirements for laboratory evaluation of
exposure samples, which begin on June 23,
2018. +
For additional information on OSHA’s
silica rule, go to www.osha.gov/silica.
Source: OSHA
Required Respiratory Protec-
tion and Minimum Assigned
Protection Factor (APF)
≤ 4
hours/
shift
Handheld power
saws (any blade
diameter)
medical exam.
Use saw equipped with inte-
grated water delivery system
that continuously feeds water
to the blade. Operate and
maintain tool in accordance
with manufacturer’s in-
structions to minimize dust
emissions.
• When used outdoors
None
• When used indoors or in
APF 10
an enclosed area
> 4
hours/
shift
BY: DAN FROST
RISK MANAGEMENT/DOT SPECIALIST
APF 10
APF 10
With over 30 years experience, Dan Frost
specializes in OSHA, DOT and Worker
Compensation Claims. If you have any
questions or would like to discuss this topic,
he can be reached at 877-582-7046 or
[email protected]
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