Professional Tool Reviews for Pros

Think you know everything about the OSHA silica dust standards and rules? Dust collection and mitigation have been a big topic overseas and domestically for years. The OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard protects workers from exposure to crystalline silica. The rule deals with construction environments as well as general industry and maritime. This lets employers address the issues and provide solutions for the specific conditions found in their workplaces. A recent report by the U.S. DOL has some concerns following the implementation of the 2017 rule.

The OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard became law in 2017. It brought with it increased business costs for mitigation. This necessarily drove up costs to consumers—but it also facilitated better working conditions and a path to a safer work environment. Since it affects both commercial construction companies as well as smaller residential construction and remodeling companies, the effects of the OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica standard or rule are enormous once you take into account compliance costs, insurance, and potential penalties.

Be sure to check out our article on the OSHA Silica Dust Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)

On February 5, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor Revised the National Emphasis Program to Reduce or Eliminate Worker Exposure to Silica. It made the following changes:

OSHA claims that 1.85 million workers are currently exposed to respirable crystalline silica in construction workplaces. That number is awfully high, but it merely deals with people around those materials, not people negatively affected by overexposure. OSHA does give us another number that estimates 640,000 (roughly one-third) of these workers may have exposure to silica levels that would exceed the proposed permissible exposure limit (PEL).

The OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard puts some hard data and solutions in place to deal with these issues. Check out our article on Table 1 compliance for even more information on tools and systems.

When you talk about crystalline silica you’re talking about mixing, grinding/polishing, cutting, and drilling concrete as well as tuckpointing and using demo hammers. You also have to address rock crushing, drywall finishing, and using heavy equipment when moving concrete and dirt.

OSHA believes the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard will save as many as 560 lives and prevent up to 1080 silicosis conditions per year in just the construction market alone. We’re continuing to see tools hit the market that address this standard and help mitigate silica dust exposure.

So far, OSHA has yet to force the use of apparatus designed to filter dust to the lungs in most scenarios. That would mean having to don some pretty bulky headgear!

Respirable crystalline silica is made up of particles that are 100 times smaller than ordinary sand (or less). Crystalline silica is found on beaches and playgrounds—and of course on job sites where concrete, tile, and masonry materials like brick, block, and mortar are being moved, cut, or otherwise manipulated. Workers can respirate crystalline silica when cutting, sawing, grinding, drilling, or even crushing or transporting these materials.

The OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for construction forces employers to do the following:

Fortunately for small businesses and construction companies, the OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard lets employers measure their workers’ exposure to silica and independently decide which dust controls work best in their workplaces. In this way, employers can use control methods indicated in the following table:

While the most common method of limiting exposure to silica dust on a construction site uses water, the best dust extractors also play a big part in mitigating airborne particles. This plays a large role in the OSHA Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard.

Oddly enough, OSHA performed fewer inspections since the proposed rule became law. In fact, a September 29, 2021 report on a performance audit by the U.S. Department of Labor found that “OSHA’s diminished enforcement following the enforceable date of the final rule on September 23, 2017, may have left more workers at risk for exposure to silica.”

First, OSHA’s inspection data for the two fiscal years after the final rule became enforceable shows OSHA performed an average of 440 inspections annually. In contrast, for the two fiscal years before the final rule became enforceable, OSHA performed an average of 1,054 silica inspections per year. Therefore, after the final rule became enforceable, OSHA performed approximately 600 fewer silica inspections per year, a decrease of more than fifty percent.

Also, inspection data provided by OSHA was inconsistent with data extracted from OSHA’s publicly available database. Last, OSHA did not set clear goals and processes for evaluating whether outreach efforts sufficiently reached covered industries and 2.3 million workers at risk for silica exposure.

Do you work with tools that generate and release silica dust into the environment? How has your company handled the new rules and guidelines? Has it impacted your safety in a positive manner? How has it affected (if at all) your productivity and workflow? Let us know in the comments below.

When he's not remodeling part of his house or playing with the latest power tool, Clint enjoys life as a husband, father, and avid reader. He has a degree in recording engineering and has been involved in multimedia and/or online publishing in one form or another since 1992.

Clint’s career has covered nearly the entire realm of audio and video production. After graduating at the top of his class with an Associates Degree in Recording Engineering, he began working for the famed Soundelux studios in 1994, one of the largest post-production companies specializing in audio for feature films & television. Working on a myriad of feature films, Clint honed his skills as a dialogue editor, foley editor, and sound designer. Years later, he moved into the expanding area of video editing, where he served as the company’s senior AVID video editor for three years.

Working for such clients as Universal Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, NASA, Universal Studios, Planet Hollywood, SEGA, NASCAR, and others, Clint dealt extensively with client management as well as film & video editing, color correction, and digital video & MPEG compression. He also carries several THX certifications (Technician I and II, THX Video), and is ISF Level II Certified.

After founding the CD Media, Inc. publishing company in 1996, he went on to help start or grow several successful online publications, including Audioholics (as Editor-in-Chief for 12 years), Audiogurus, and AV Gadgets. In 2008, Clint founded Pro Tool Reviews followed by the landscape and outdoor power equipment-focused OPE Reviews in 2017. He also heads up the Pro Tool Innovation Awards, an annual awards program honoring innovative tools and accessories across the trades.

Crediting his excellent staff for the success of what is now the largest power tool review publication in the industry, Clint DeBoer hopes to see continued growth for the company as it rapidly expands its reach. Pro Tool Reviews critically reviews hundreds of hand tools, power tools, and accessories each year to help inform users about the best and newest products in the industry. Reaching everyone from the construction industry professional and tradesman to the serious DIYer, Pro Tool Reviews helps tool consumers shop better, work smarter, and stay aware of what tools and products can help put them at the top of their game.

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OSHA is non existent on anything other than commercial sites. In over twenty years I’ve never seen OSHA on a site that wasn’t commercial, UNLESS the local guy has a grudge against someone in particular.

Really now we can’t even go to the beach! On the bright side, new revenue for oceanside business; spring breakers will have to buy dust masks at least .

So, providing proper PPE won’t be enough anymore. You gotta love OSHA (not).

How about using water? With PPE.

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Professional Tool Reviews for Pros