OSHA Steps Up Silicosis Inspections
WASHINGTON – OSHA launched a new program late last month to increase inspections of U.S. surface-fabrication facilities to enforce standards on crystalline-silica exposure.
The action, announced Sept. 25, adds to the workplace-safety agency’s ongoing efforts to check silica-dust levels in shops, and is prompted by the continuing focus on silicosis among engineered-stone fabrication in California.
The new effort also expands the focus on enforcement to include a business classification that includes more wholesale and private “captive” shops.
“Many workers in the engineering stone industry are experiencing illnesses so severe that they’re unable to breathe – much less work a full shift – because of their exposure to silica dust,” explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker, in announcing the new effort.
The initiative, detailed out in a Sept. 22 memo to administrators and other key officials, requires each of the eight OSHA federal-region offices to complete a minimum of five inspections targeting companies working with engineered stone. The memo also spells out specific areas of inspection, from water-spray with machines and hand-held tools to proper ventilation to pre-washing slabs prior to cutting.
The new effort also goes beyond OSHA’s current National Emphasis Program (NEP) on crystalline silica, which basically targeted shops under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 327991 – Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing.
The new initiative gives equal importance to NAICS Code 423320 – Brick, Stone, and Related Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers. While the description sounds more like product distribution, NAICS 423320 is used by a variety of fabricators serving exclusive accounts.
“OSHA inspection data shows that silica overexposures are found more frequently in the Cut Stone and Stone Product Manufacturing industry, but also that inspections in the Brick, Stone, and Related Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers industry were five times less frequent,” according to the OSHA memo.“ This initiative targets and addresses the hazards of overexposure to silica in NAICS 327991 and NAICS 423320 and is expected to increase the likelihood of inspecting high-risk tasks.”
Inspection lists will be drawn from the two NAICS codes.
In addition, OSHA also reissued an updated Hazard Alert on silica-dust exposure that the agency originally issued in 2015 with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
As part of the initiative, OSHA is sending affected employers and stakeholders information on the initiative, including fact sheets on dust control methods and safer work practices for engineered stone manufacturing, finishing and installation operations.
A July 2023 study released by the American Medical Association underscores the dangers for workers in these industries. The “Silicosis Among Immigrant Engineered Stone Countertop Fabrication Workers in California” study cited 52 male patients diagnosed with silicosis caused by occupational exposure to respirable silica dust from engineered stone.
Of these patients, 20 suffered progressive massive fibrosis, 11 needed lung transplants and 10 died due to their exposures.
