NSI Offers Respirator Selection Guidance
OBERLIN, Ohio – The Natural Stone Institute (NSI) announces the release of a new fabricator resource on respirable crystalline silica (RCS) and respiratory protection.
Developed through its collaboration with the Yale School of Medicine’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program, the document provides practical guidance for fabrication shops.
Entitled Air Purifying Respirator Selection Criteria for Respirable Crystalline Silica in General Industry, it was developed to help fabrication shops better understand both regulatory requirements and proper respirator selection when respirators are required.
The new resource reinforces that engineering controls, including wet cutting and ventilation, remain the primary methods for reducing silica exposure, in a comprehensive silica exposure control program respirators serve as an additional protective measure when necessary.
The document is the latest information in an ongoing collaborative effort between the Natural Stone Institute and Yale’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program. The program develops research, training and practical safety guidance for fabrication shops.
Additional research from the Yale collaboration, including a new medical surveillance study, is currently in the final stages of publication and is expected to be released soon.
Current resources developed through the Yale collaboration include literature review on both exposure studies and medical studies, as well as Work Practices and Respirable Crystalline Silica Exposure in Stone Countertop Fabrication Shops. The latter was published in the American Journal of Internal Medicine.
Additionally, guidance documents are available on respirator selection criteria for RCS; RSC medical surveillance guidance, and; fabricator guidance for workplace silica exposure, among others.
Jim Hieb, CEO of the Natural Stone Institute, says these collaborative efforts are focused on providing practical tools to help fabrication shops protect their employees.
“Our goal is to make sure companies have access to the proper training and resources to manage silica exposure and protect worker health,” Hieb says.
In addition to these technical resources, the NSI continues to provide online silica safety training and education resources for fabrication companies to help them maintain compliance with OSHA regulations. Many are available in Spanish.
To access the resources available in the NSI Silica Safety Resource Center, go to www.naturalstoneinstitute.org/silica.