NAPA Provides Interim Guidance on Crystalline Silica Rule
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
via NAPA ActionNews
OSHA's final respirable crystalline silica rule becomes effective June 23 and the construction, general industry, and maritime sectors must be in compliance by as early as next year. The construction industry, which includes roadway milling operations, must comply with the new permissible exposure limit (PEL) for silica of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, averaged over an 8-hour shift by June 23, 2017. For maritime and general industry activities, which includes asphalt pavement mix plants, the compliance date is June 23, 2018.
NAPA recently released interim guidance to assist industry members in complying with the new rule. Although NAPA’s guidance focuses on why and when to use OSHA-approved engineering controls, such as those developed though the industry’s Silica/Asphalt Milling Machine Partnership, it also identifies where employers are granted additional flexibility in meeting the standard. If OSHA-approved engineering controls for certain tasks are used, for example, an employer is exempted from the need to conduct an exposure assessment for those job activities along with many of the rule's other compliance requirements. Equipment that lacks approved engineering controls can still be used so long as workplace exposures are accurately identified and employees do not exceed the PEL, per the rule’s stipulations.
NAPA is currently reviewing potential employee exposures across a variety of job tasks and activities to see where the industry should focus its resources and actions. For additional information, contact NAPA Vice President for Environment, Health & Safety Dr. Howard Marks.
