California Standards Board Adopts Permanent Silica Standard
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, the standards-setting agency within the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), voted in late December to permanently adopt the state’s emergency temporary standard for silica. The standard is particularly intended to protect people who work with artificial, human-made stone from the incurable, progressive lung disease silicosis, according to a news release by California’s Department of Industrial Relations.
The permanent silica standard “continues and strengthens” Cal/OSHA’s emergency temporary standard for the substance, DIR states. The emergency temporary standard was approved in December 2023 and required employers to implement engineering controls, training, and exposure monitoring for workers engaged in high-exposure tasks such as cutting, grinding, polishing, and cleanup of artificial and natural stone. According to DIR, the protections specified in the permanent standard “provide enhanced safety measures, improved monitoring for workers, and a stronger reporting process, along with other important provisions.”
The California Department of Health has identified more than 230 workers in the state who have developed silicosis, including 14 workers who have died from the disease. Workers who cut artificial stone are at greatest risk for developing silicosis because the material may contain 93 percent or more crystalline silica, a Cal/OSHA fact sheet explains (PDF).
During the 12 months that the emergency temporary standard was in effect, Cal/OSHA conducted 85 inspections related to silica. Twenty-six percent of the shops inspected received orders that temporarily shut down equipment or processes that posed immediate safety risks. Cal/OSHA issued citations in 95 percent of closed inspections, with the vast majority resulting in violations. According to DIR, this highlights the significant enforcement actions needed to improve the safety of workplaces with silica exposures.
More information about Cal/OSHA’s permanent silica standard, as well as a link to download the new standard as a PDF, may be found in DIR’s news release. Additional resources on silica are available from DIR’s website.