How does the OSHA silica rule affect me?

The recently updated OSHA rule on silica dust has lowered the allowed amount a person can breathe in an 8-hour day.  The new amount is 50 µg/m³ as a time weighted average. The new rulings have also set up a monitoring system, whereby if the average is greater than 25 µg/m³, the employer shall monitor the employee’s health with regular medical checkups.  The ruling allows respirators to be used, but highly recommends venting the silica away and not using respirators.

Read more: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3682.pdf

So how does this affect you? 

The main industries affected include: Construction, Glass, Pottery, Structural clay, Concrete, Foundries, Dental labs, Painting & Coatings, Jewelry Production, Refractory, Abrasive Blasting, Hydraulic Fracturing, Railroad Track Maintenance, and Cut Stone & Stone Products. Approximately 676,000 workplaces will be affected, including in construction and in general industry and maritime. About 2.3 million workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica in their workplaces.

Read more: https://www.osha.gov/silica/Silica_FAQs_2016-3-22.pdf

The ideal solution would be to vent the silica dust away from workers and out of the facility.  In order to ventilate the work areas, ventilation systems will have to be installed.  There are 3 different options available for ventilation.

• Vent the air outside with no dust collector – this could be an EPA violation
• Expand / modify existing dust collection systems
• Add new local or general dust collection systems

REMEMBER: A well-designed pickup point/hood will provide the best dust collection with the lowest amount of air required.  This will allow your dust collector to be as small as possible or put more areas on the same dust collector. 

How can Aerodyne help?

Aerodyne’s Point-of-Use collectors and GPC cyclones can collect the dust in your ventilation system without adding a large amount of ductwork. By thinking differently about dust collection, Aerodyne Environmental offers solutions to tough dust problems that typical equipment can’t handle. To explore new ways to improve dust collection efficiency and reduce maintenance costs, visit http://www.dustcollectorhq.com/ or call (440) 543-7400, toll free at (800) 358-7546, or email dc@dustcollectorhq.com.

Also read:

1. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/03/25/2016-04800/occupational-exposure-to-respirable-crystalline-silica
2. https://nwlaborpress.org/2016/04/deadly-dust-oshas-new-silica-rule-will-save-lives/