['Toxic and Hazardous Substances - OSHA']
['Crystalline Silica']
07/17/2024
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Crystalline silica is a common mineral found in many naturally occurring materials and used in many industrial products and at construction sites. Materials like sand, concrete, stone, and mortar contain crystalline silica. Crystalline silica is also used to make products such as glass, pottery, ceramics, bricks, concrete, and artificial stone. Industrial sand used in certain operations, such as foundry work and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), is also a source of silica exposure. 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.
Scope
Cal/OSHA’s silica rule (Title 8 5204) applies to all general industry exposures to respirable crystalline silica, except where the employer has objective data demonstrating that employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica will remain below 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air (25 μg/m3) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) under any foreseeable conditions. Note: The construction industry has a separate standard (Title 8 1532.3) for silica exposure.
Federal OSHA’s silica requirements (29 CFR 1910.1053) are like that of Cal/OSHA as it relates to general industry exposures, except where the employer has objective data demonstrating that the employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica will remain below 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air (25 μg/m3) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) under any foreseeable conditions. Federal OSHA also has a separate standard (1926.1153) for silica exposure. Click the links below to view the applicable requirements.
Silica - Construction Industry
Citations
California: Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 7, Group 16, Article 107, 5144. Respiratory Protection
California: Title 8, Division 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter 7, Group 16, Article 109, 5194. Hazard Communication
Federal: 29 CFR 1910.1053
Federal: 29 CFR 1926.1153
A summary of the additional requirements includes the following:
- Survey your operations for potential exposure to silica. Employers can consult their suppliers or examine safety data sheets (SDSs) to identify silica-containing materials that are or could be present in the workplace.
- Understand the compliance dates in Cal/OSHA’s 2016 silica rule. Both the construction and general industry standards took effect on October 17, 2016, after which industries had one to five years to comply with most requirements, based on the following schedule:
- Construction — October 17, 2017, the original date of June 23, 2017, was delayed to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers.
- General Industry — June 23, 2018, two years after the effective date. Also, for all covered industries, requirements in subsection 5204(i)(1)(A) for medical surveillance were effective on June 23, 2020, for employees who will be exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level for 30 or more days per year.
- Hydraulic Fracturing — June 23, 2018, two years after the effective date for all provisions except engineering controls, which had a compliance date of June 23, 2021.
- Measure the amount of silica that workers are exposed to if it may be at or above an action level of 25 μg/m3 (micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air), averaged over an 8-hour day.
- Protect workers from respirable crystalline silica exposures above the permissible exposure limit of 50 μg/m3, averaged over an 8-hour day.
- Limit workers’ access to areas where they could be exposed above the PEL. To minimize any unnecessary employee exposures, the standard for general industry requires employers to establish a regulated area wherever an employee’s exposure to airborne concentrations of respirable crystalline silica is, or can reasonably be expected to be, in excess of the PEL. The standard requires that employers demarcate the boundaries of the regulated area (as separate from the rest of the workplace), post signs at the entrances to the regulated area, limit access to the regulated area, and provide an appropriate respirator to each employee and/or employee representative entering the regulated area.
- Use dust controls to protect workers from silica exposures above the PEL. In most cases, dust controls such as wet methods and ventilation can be used to limit workers’ exposure to silica, Cal/OSHA says. Note: The construction industry standard for silica includes a table (Table 1) setting out controls for a specified list of tasks and specifies which of those tasks require respiratory protection to complement the controls in order to maintain exposures at or below the PEL.
- Provide respirators to workers when dust controls cannot limit exposures to the PEL or during periods when a worker is in a regulated area. Respiratory protection must be used in accordance with Title 8, CCR 5144 respiratory protection standard, which includes annual fit testing, medical evaluation, training, selection, maintenance, as well as a written program. Note: Dust masks are considered to be filtering facepiece respirators.
- 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 — including chest X-rays and lung function tests — every three 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. This must follow the Title 8, CCR 5194 HazCom standard, as well as information on specific exposures, controls, and practices.
- Keep records of workers’ silica exposure and medical exams.
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