ISFA Proposing California Fab Licensing

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA) proposed state licensing all surface fabricators in California in an action filed with the state’s workplace-safety board earlier this week.

The fabricator group petitioned the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board on Sept. 28, asking it to adopt a new regulation that would require every countertop and surface fabrication shop in the state to hold a license and pass an independent third-party compliance audit.

The petition, according to an ISFA press release, offers “a verified compliance pathway as a reasonable alternative to prohibition of surfaces. The process would apply to all surface materials, and “stands along with the existing silica standard” in Section 5204 of the state’s code of regulation.

ISFA also asks the board to consider the pathway to the pending process of Cal/OSHA emergency standards on fabrication and installation and refer its petition to the Emergency Silica Advisory Committee with fabrication employers and workers at the table, as well as accepting into the record the public comments and scientific submissions ISFA collects.

“The record shows that most California shops have never been inspected,” says Laurie Weber, CEO of ISFA. “This petition gives the board a way to reach every one of them, for every material, not only the ones the inspectors can find.”

ISFA asked to present the petition during the public comment period at the board’s Nov. 19 meeting in Monterey, Calif. Public comments on the ISFA’s petition run from Sept. 29-Nov. 13

The ISFA’s proposed regulation in its petition is Title 8 Section 5204.2, responding to \a rise in silicosis cases among California fabrication workers. It offers an alternative to prohibiting engineered stone, and other surface materials that have more than 1% crystalline silica by weight.

Under the proposal, a shop could fabricate countertop and surface materials only if it:

• holds a license for each location;

• passes an independent audit by an ISO 45001 Lead Auditor from a provider the Division recognizes:

• carries workers’ compensation for everyone who performs or supports fabrication, however they are classified;

• provides medical surveillance and reports exposure monitoring results to the Division, and;

• stops fabricating immediately after a failed audit, failure to report, or an official order prohibiting use.

To give the board actual-workplace evidence, ISFA created a program to collect grants to fund a six-month feasibility program with a goal of 300 California shops. Independent ISO 45001 Lead Auditors will conduct the audits, and qualified professionals will take air samples at no fewer than 45 shops.

ISFA also launched www.CountertopLicensing.org, where fabricators, workers, manufacturers, the medical community and the public can comment on the petition and submit scientific evidence.

The site is the home of the petition and the program behind it. Along with containing a copy of the full petition, it allows users to submit scientific information in response to 16 published questions, register a California shop for an independent audit, or make a commitment to fund audits.

ISFA will report on interim results in month three, and a six-month feasibility report to the board, the division and the Emergency Silica Advisory Committee.

Although the work starts in California, the structure is built to work anywhere. ISFA’s partnership with more than 1,100 ISO 45001 auditors lets shops in every state take part in the feasibility program now, although only California shop data will be reported to California regulators.

 The American Countertop Manufacturers Council (ACMC), ISFA’s standing council for licensing advocacy, developed two pieces the petition relies on: the definition of a countertop and surface fabrication business, and the reference list of recognized standards for each countertop material. Both appear in the proposed regulation.

“ACMC’s work to organize itself and put its policies and procedures in writing is what gave this petition its definitions and its standards,” Weber said. “That structure is still adapting as we learn, and we still have a lot of work to do. We are asking for comment because we want the whole industry, and the people who study this disease, to help us get it right.”

Workplace-safety agency Cal/OSHA is currently developing emergency standards to amend existing state code to ban fabrication and installation of surfaces containing more than 1% (by weight) of crystalline silica. The agency hasn’t announced a timetable for presenting the final version before the standards board; the next regular meeting is Oct. 15 in San Diego.

The move came after the state standards board accepted a petition earlier this year by the Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association (WOEMA) calling for the fabrication/installation of the material.