Feds Execute Stricter Silica-Dust Regs

By Emerson Schwartzkopf

WASHINGTON – After a two-and-a-half-year process of comments, hearings and yet more comments, the federal government didn’t bend much in its recommendations on workplace silica-dust regulations.

The final rule, announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor, kept the same drastically reduced rates of permissible exposure levels (PELs) on crystalline-silica exposure that were first proposed in August 2013.

The regulation on occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, set to go into force on June 23, also call for increased use of respiration and ventilation, as well as medical exams for highly exposed workers, with costs to be borne by employers.

Fabricators working with quartz surfaces and natural stone will get apparently get two years to comply with the new rule, with a deadline of June 23, 2018.

In announcing the final rule today, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez invoked the efforts Francis Perkins, his New Deal-era predecessor, and her work in protecting workers with silicosis regulation.

“This rule will save lives,” saidU.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “It will enable workers to earn a living without sacrificing their health. It builds upon decades of research and a lengthy stakeholder engagement process – including the consideration of thousands of public comments – to finally give workers the kind of protection they deserve and that Frances Perkins had hoped for them.”

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) estimates that when the final rules will annually save more than 600 lives and prevent more than 900 new cases of silicosis when fully effective. The agency also claims the regulations will provide net benefits of approximately $7.7 billion per year.

The new rule came under criticism by representatives from a variety of industry groups, including the Marble Institute of America (MIA) and the Building Stone Institute (BSI) for a variety of reasons, including the setting of exposure levels far lower than necessary.

The Construction Industry Safety Coalition, which includes the MIA+BSI, claimed last March that the cost to the construction industry for the new regulations would be $5 billion annually, or ten times more than OSHA’s estimate.

OSHA included and, in most circumstances, countered industry comments (including the CISC estimate) in the 1,772 pages of the silica-dust-rule action.

The gist of the rule is that workplace PEL for crystalline silica will be reduced to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged during an eight-hour shift. Employers will be required to use controls such as water, general ventilation or specific respiratory protection; limit access to high-exposure areas; and train and exam workers.

The rule offers an alternative to constant monitoring PEL with Table 1, a chart that determines what’s needed based on different workplace situations. Table 1 is presented in the rule as a cost-saving way to aid smaller businesses.

However, initial OSHA materials on the new rule offers the Table 1 alternative for the construction industry, while natural-stone and engineered-stone countertop work is apparently under the “general industry” standard that doesn’t include the Table 1 option.

Those businesses under general industry get until June 23, 2018 – two years from the rule’s effective date – to comply. The construction industry, including masonry, must comply one year sooner.

“Safety is paramount,” said MIA+BSI Executive Vice President/CEO Jim Hieb. “However, we (along with much of the construction industry) believe that the cost of implementation places an undue burden on business.

“OSHA has also misrepresented the costs and benefits associated with the rule change. Litigation will likely impact the implementation and legislative outreach will continue. We urge everyone to contact their legislative representative immediately.

“In the meantime – all stone companies are encouraged to review their current silica exposure measurements to assure they will be compliant when the OSHA ruling goes into effect. In cases where no monitoring has occurred, it is recommended to conduct breathing zone sampling. Continue to utilize wet cutting and other ‘best practices’ for that limits silica exposure whenever possible.”

For more information, go to OSHA’s Silica website.

Note: The full 1,772-page rule document is scheduled to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register and will be available here. The preliminary document is available now as a PDF.

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