Contractors Prepare for OSHA’s New Silica Rule

Contractors across North Carolina and South Carolina are preparing to address the new silica standards for construction issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The new standard was set to go into effect on September 23, but OSHA recently announced it would delay enforcement.

What is the new silica standard for construction?

The construction industry is required to comply with it the new rule, OSHA’s Final Rule to Protect Workers from Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (29 CFDR 1926.1153). Essentially, contractors who engage in construction activities that create silica dust, specifically respirable crystalline silica,  cutting, grinding, drilling or blasting any materials such as concrete, stone, masonry and brick, are required must meet a stricter standard for how much of that dust workers inhale. The same goes for employers of tradespeople working around such activities.

What does compliance mean?

The new rules specifically set exposure limits for employees, and the new rules require contractors to:

• Develop a written silica exposure control plan.
• Designate a competent person to implement the plan.
• Adjust housekeeping practices to maximize control of silica dust.
• Provide medical evaluations and exams every three years to employees who are exposed to silica to the point of having to wear a respirator for 30 days or more each year.
• Train workers on how to limit exposure to silica.
• Keep records of workers’ silica exposure and related medical treatment.

As part of the implementing, companies are required to conduct an initial assessment of how much silica dust a company’s operations generate.

OSHA estimates that about two million construction workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in over 600,000 workplaces. OSHA estimates that more than 840,000 of these workers are exposed to silica levels that exceed the new permissible exposure limit (PEL).

What Resources are Available?

National and local construction organizations are working to educate their members on the new OSHA standards by offering training events, webinars and other materials.

“Silica is the new asbestos and ABC is leading the industry with a competent person training course on the new OSHA 1926.1153 Silica regulations,” said Doug Carlson, President & CEO  ABC of the Carolinas.  “We have trained over 250 certified employees with 2 more classes scheduled including 1 in Spanish.”

Bill Stricker, Vice President, Operations, Workforce Development, and Safety for Carolinas Associated General Contractors (CAGC) said that the organization has created a web page that will provides information and resources on this topic.

“People will be able to see the standard and get their questions answered, Sticker said. “We will have links to AGC’s national webinar… and its associated resources, as well links and information about our locally produced webinar for Carolinas members scheduled for September 29.”

Construction companies are expecting to incur large costs associated with compliance for OSHA’s new rule. The new standard is expected to have a ripple effect as it impacts owners in many markets.

GroundBreak Carolinas has also prepared a resource page for firms looking for information on the new silica standard.

The new OSHA standards represent the first time the agency has updated its silica standards for the first time in over 40 years. The construction industry was required to comply with the new rule (29 CFDR 1926.1153) and OSHA will start enforcement beginning September 23, 2017.  However, last week OSHA announced they would delay enforcement for a month.

Old OSHA rules set a permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica for construction activity at 250 µg/m3 (250 micrograms per cubic meter of air). The new limit is a PEL of 50 µg/m3 with an action level of 25 µg/m3 for an eight-hour average exposure.