International Operating Engineer - Spring 2016

HAZMAT
Deadly Dust: OSHA’s New Silica Rule Will Save Lives
Confined Spaces 101 Mobile App Now Available
THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
(OSHA) announced its final rule
in March to improve protection for
workers exposed to respirable silica
dust. The final rule is effective June 23,
2016. The rule is written as two different
standards: one for construction 29
CFR 1926.1153 Respirable Crystalline
Silica, and one for general industry
and maritime 1910.1053 Respirable
Crystalline Silica.
Employers covered by the
construction standard have until
Jun 23, 2017 to comply with most
requirements. Employers covered by
the general industry and maritime
standard have until June 23, 2018
to comply with most requirements.
There is additional time to offer
medical exams to some workers and
for hydraulic fracturing employers to
install dust controls to meet the new
exposure limit.
Crystalline silica is a common
mineral found in many naturally
occurring materials like sand, concrete,
stone and mortar. It is also used in
many products like glass, pottery,
ceramics, bricks, concrete and artificial
stone.
Inhaling very small (“respirable”)
crystalline silica particles causes
multiple diseases, including silicosis,
an incurable lung disease that can lead
to disability and death. Respirable
crystalline silica also causes lung
cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD) and kidney disease.
PICTURE THIS: You’re
getting ready to tackle a
job and you’re not sure if
it’s a confined space. If it
is, is it safe to enter? What
do you do? The IUOE
NTF National HAZMAT
Program recently released
a Confined Spaces 101 app
that can help.
Following OSHA’s
guidelines and the Decision Flow
Chart for the general industry found
in OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.146,
the app provides general guidance
through questions and steps that need
to be taken to help you decide whether
the space is safe for entry or is a permitrequired
confined space. Additional
features include definitions, workers’
notes, and additional
references.
Available for both
Apple (iTunes) and
Android (Google
Play) devices, the
app can be used
without an Internet
connection after it
has been successfully
downloaded. So if
you’re at a remote jobsite, in a big city,
or even at home, you will be able to use
this app wherever and whenever you
need it.
Go to any search engine and type
“Confined Spaces 101” and the logo
above will appear.
What does the silica Construction Standard require?
About 2 million construction workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in over 600,000 workplaces.
OSHA estimates that more than 840,000 of these workers are exposed to silica levels that exceed the new
permissible exposure limit (PEL). The new PEL is 50 micrograms/cubic meter of air. The standard requires
employers to limit worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica and to take other steps to protect workers.
Employers can either use a control method laid out in Table 1 of the construction standard (see regulatory
text and table 1 at www.osha.gov/silica/SilicaConstructionRegText.pdf), or they can measure workers’
exposure to silica and independently decide which dust controls work best to limit exposures to the PEL in
their workplaces.
Regardless of which exposure control method is used, all construction employers covered by the standard
are required to:
• Establish and implement a written exposure control plan that identifies tasks that involve exposure
and identifies methods used to protect workers. This includes procedures to restrict access to work
areas where high exposure may occur.
• Designate a competent person to implement the exposure control plan.
• Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica where feasible alternatives are available.
• Offer medical exams every 3 years for workers who are to wear a respirator for 30 or more days per
year.
• Train workers on work operations that result in silica exposure and ways to limit exposure.
• Keep records of workers’ silica exposure and medical exams.
What does the silica General Industry and Maritime standard require?
About 295,000 workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in over 75,000 general industry and
maritime workplaces. OSHA estimates that over 100,000 workers are exposed to silica levels that exceed the
new PEL of 50 micrograms/cubic meter of air.
The standard for general industry and maritime requires employers to:
• Measure the amount of silica that workers are exposed to if it may be at or above the action level of
25 micrograms/cubic meter of air averaged over an 8-hour day.
• Protect workers from silica exposure above the PEL of 50 micrograms/cubic meter of air averaged
over an 8-hour day.
• Limit workers’ access to areas where they could be exposed above the PEL.
• Provide respirators to workers when dust controls cannot limit exposures to the PEL.
• Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica where feasible alternatives are available.
• Establish and implement a written exposure control plan that identifies tasks that involve exposure
and methods used to protect workers.
• Offer medical exams every 3 years for workers exposed at or above the action level for 30 or more
days per year.
• Train workers on work operations that result in silica exposure and ways to limit exposure.
• Keep records of workers’ silica exposure and medical exams.
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INTERNATIONAL OPERATING ENGINEER
SPRING 2016 9