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Aug 28, 2024 · Under the new rule, when respirable silica dust levels go above the 50-microgram limit, mine operators must provide miners with respirators and ensure they are worn until exposure levels are safe. The use of respirators when levels are high is part of the rule that many advocates and miners say doesn’t go far enough.
Apr 16, 2024 · WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule to better protect the nation’s miners from health hazards associated with exposure to respirable crystalline silica, also known as silica dust or quartz dust.
As with all safety issues, employers need to provide training to workers on the new silica dust rule. Training should cover the health hazards associated with exposure respirable crystalline silica including silicosis, lung cancer, and kidney disease. Workers should be made aware of the tasks on the jobsite that could expose them to silica dust.
- What Implementation Entails
- General Contractors Take The Lead
- Getting Help Understanding The Rules
OSHA has been on the receiving end of pressure from construction industry groups that claim the standard’s cost of implementation and technological limitations will put too big a burdenon contractors. They also argue that some parts of the standard — like measuring the new exposure limit — are nearly impossible to implement. In addition to the expo...
Industry-wide resistance to the new standard failed to gain enough traction to scuttle it. OSHA did, however, delay the rule’s implementation by 90 days. That was intended to give the agency time to offer employers additional guidance on what it called the “unique nature”of the requirements in the construction standard. Still, the new regulations h...
Contractors that need assistance getting their programs up and running can look to trade associations like the Associated General Contractors of America. “They have a lot of good information, and they have a lot of good stuff on their websites,” Garvey said. Workers’ compensation insurance carriers are another good resource. “They have loss-control...
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a proposal by its Mine Safety and Health Administration to amend current federal standards to better protect the nation’s miners from health hazards related to exposure to respirable crystalline silica, or silica dust. The proposed rule change will ensure miners have at least the same level of protections as workers in other industries.
Apr 16, 2024 · Addressing a problem first identified 50 years ago, federal regulators say stricter new rules to limit miners' exposure to silica dust are expected to finally go on the books on Tuesday.
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Apr 23, 2024 · The new rule creates a limit for levels of silica dust exposure and requires mining companies to actively monitor it. The new limit, 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, is half of what is...
