Feds Issue Silica Health Alert for C’top Industry
WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), along with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), issued an advisory health alert yesterday on countertops production and crystalline-silica exposure that could be an indication on tighter future regulation.
The advisory comes as OSHA continues to formulate exposure rule changes that could drastically reduce allowable levels of airborne silica in fabrication, finishing and installation of countertops and other stone products.
Industry groups, including the Marble Institute of America (MIA), consulted with OSHA and NIOSH prior to release of the health advisory.
“The hazard alert is fairly balanced, because they did consult the industry, but we are all, obviously, very anxious to hear the news on the rule change, and we’re being proactive with this through numerous coalitions,” said Jim Hieb, MIA CEO/executive vice president.
“We’re fortunate we were consulted on this.”
Read the OSHA/NIOSH health alert in PDF form here.
The seven-page alert offers details on why silica exposure is a concern for the countertop trade, recommendations on lowering exposure levels (mainly through ventilation and wet production) , and the role of OSHA and NIOSH concerning workplace safety.
The advisory notes the current OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) is 100 ?g/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air). However, it also states the NIOSH-recommended exposure limit (REL) of 100 ?g/m3 , which is the level recommended by OSHA in its proposed new exposure rules.
The health advisory also encompasses certain types of manufactured surfaces, as well as stone such as granite, quartzite, sandstone, slate and soapstone. A table in the alert notes granite’s silica content as 10%-45%, while engineered stone’s silica level is greater than 93%.
Workers who inhale very small crystalline silica particles are at risk for silicosis. Symptoms of silicosis can include shortness of breath, cough and fatigue, and may or may not be obviously attributable to silica. Workers exposed to airborne crystalline silica also are at increased risk for lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney disease.
Read the industry coalition response on new OSHA silica rules here.
In announcing the alert, OSHA and NIOSH cites reports of countertop workers in Spain and Israel developing silicosis, although the health advisory itself notes no comparable cases in the United States.
OSHA began a reconsideration of its silica-exposure rules for a large index of U.S. industries in summer 2013, and the agency is still considering more than 10,000 pages of comments concerning the proposed action. Stone industry groups like the MIA and the Natural Stone Council work as part of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC).
No timetable has been set for the final decision, although the MIA told members today that federal officials see a final rule as “a top priority” before the end of the Obama administration.
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