OSHA

Source excerpt

# OSHA's Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction (cont.) ## Table 1 Example: Handheld Power Saws (cont.) hours per day or any time indoors, he or she would need to use a respirator with an assigned protection factor (APF) of at least 10, such as a NIOSH-certified filtering facepiece respirator that covers the nose and mouth (sometimes referred to as a dust mask). See the respiratory protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134) for information on APFs. ## Alternative Exposure Control Methods Employers who do not fully implement the control methods on Table 1 must: . Determine the amount of silica that workers are exposed to if it is, or may reasonably be expected to be, at or above the 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 PEL of 50 μg/m³, averaged over an 8-hour day; • Use dust controls and safer work methods to protect workers from silica exposures above the PEL; and - Provide respirators to workers when dust controls and safer work methods cannot limit exposures to the PEL. ## What Else Does the Standard Require? 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 methods used to protect workers, including procedures to restrict access to work areas where high exposures may occur; • Designate a competent person to implement the written exposure control plan; . Restrict housekeeping practices that expose workers to silica, such as use of compressed air without a ventilation system to capture the dust and dry sweeping, where effective, safe alternatives are available; - Offer medical exams-including chest X-rays and lung function tests-every three years for workers who are required by the standard to - wear a respirator for 30 or m…