Newly Enforced Silica Monitoring Requirements for Employers!

EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS

Cal/OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for General Industry

CURRENTLY BEING ENFORCED AS OF DECEMBER 29, 2023

Cases of silicosis, a marker disease of the lungs resulting from exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS), are on the rise in California. Since 2019, a California Department of Public Health study noted that over 90 cases of silicosis have been reported in workers who fabricate and manipulate stone countertops. At least 10 of those cases resulted in the deaths of the workers, all of whom were under 40 years of age. The increase has been hypothesized to stem from an industry-wide increase in artificial stone manufacturing and the use of artificial stone in countertops.

Cal/OSHA has responded to this agency-defined epidemic by authoring and enforcing an emergency temporary standard for RCS – EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 29, 2023. Reference Title 8, California Code of Regulations, Section 5204, and the following link for more information: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/respiratory-silica-FAQ.html#exposures

EMPLOYERS

If you employ ANY PERSONS performing the following noted HIGH-EXPOSURE TRIGGER TASKS on artificial stone (greater than 0.1% by weight crystalline silica) or natural stone (greater than 10%by weight crystalline silica), you are REQUIRED to perform exposure monitoring on a representative fraction of your employees at LEAST once every 12 months, or more frequently if exposures above the Action Level or Permissible Exposure Limit are noted:

machining, crushing, cutting, drilling, abrading, abrasive blasting, grinding, chiseling, carving, gouging, polishing, buffing, fracturing, intentional breaking, or intentional chipping, OR the disturbing, or handling of wastes, dusts, residues, debris, or other materials created during the above-listed tasks

This requirement is CURRENTLY BEING ENFORCED. Call Ellis Environmental today to receive a free itemized proposal for this required exposure monitoring and related reporting.