Silica Dust Exposure: How To Prevent It and Comply With Current Safety Standards
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Silica exposure remains a serious threat to nearly 2 million U.S. workers, including more than 100,000 workers in high-risk jobs such as abrasive blasting, foundry work, stonecutting, rock drilling, quarry work, and tunneling. Crystalline silica has been classified as a human lung carcinogen. Breathing crystalline silica dust can cause silicosis, which can be disabling, or even fatal. There is no cure for silicosis. There are other health effects such as lung cancer, etc.
A problem is that workers in non “high-risk” occupations are also exposed. The dust created by merely disturbing (cutting, grinding, drilling) silica-containing materials will release crystalline silica particles into the air that workers breathe. These dust particles are very small for the eye to see and it takes a very small amount of silica dust in the air to create a health hazard.
The Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2001-2010 provided information about silicosis deaths among individuals aged 15–44 years old. (Of 28 individuals between 15–44 years old, the youngest was 19 years old.) Such findings indicate the importance of educating at-risk workers and their employers regarding the dangers of exposure to respirable crystalline silica in the workplace.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- List the regulations that are applicable to employers in California and those covered by federal OSHA in regards to the employer’s requirement to protect employees from exposure to silica dust
- Understand the timelines and different compliance requirements for the construction and general industries
- List the required elements of the Silica Dust Exposure Control Plan
- Determine the importance of a competent person and the role they play regarding silica exposure prevention
- Discuss the specified exposure control methods including Table 1 of the regulation when working with materials containing crystalline silica
- Describe the “monitoring option” as provided by the regulation
- Design and effective training session for employees that is compliant with the regulation
- Mention the importance of the Recordkeeping and Medical Surveillance as required in both, construction and general industry standards
Agenda:
1. Introduction: What is Respirable Crystalline Silica?
a. Definition and statistics
b. Cal/OSHA and federal OSHA regulations regarding silica dust
c. The different requirements per type of industry: Construction vs. General Industry requirements
d. Timelines
e. Real-life OSHA citations to employers
2. Who is at risk of exposure?
a. Assessing the workplace fixed and non-fixed locations
b. Permissible exposure limit
c. Identifying the materials and most common work tasks that create silica hazards;
d. The dust-generating operations that will be undertaken and how the employer plans to control the dust (the silica control plan);
e. The health risks;
f. Working safely with silica, including proper use of equipment, protective
clothing, and appropriate hygiene practices;
3. The Employer’s Exposure Control plan
a. The identity of the competent person designated by the employer to implement the silica control plan and inspect the job site, materials, and equipment;
b. The required elements of an exposure control plan
c. Exposure Control Methods
d. Analysis of Table1 of the regulation
e. The monitoring option as allowed per the regulation
4. Training before assignment
a. Employee Training per the regulation including but not limited to:
i. Materials and tasks that create silica hazards;
ii. The dust-generating operations that will be performed at the worksite and how the employer will control the dust (the silica exposure control plan);
iii. Explanation of the health risks;
iv. How to working safely with silica, including proper use of equipment, protective clothing, and appropriate hygiene practices;
v. The identity of the competent person designated by the employer to implement the silica control plan and inspect the job site, materials, and equipment; and
vi. The purpose and description of the medical surveillance program.
b. Supervisor Training as required per the regulation including but not limited to:
i. All of the training topics provided to employees (list above) and
ii. training on how to implement the employer’s silica control plan.
5. Recordkeeping under the regulation
6. Medical Surveillance requirements
7. Helpful resources and sample forms
*Agenda subject to modification
Other Registration Options
Register by phone: 310-206-2304
Email Us: lmlorenzana@ucla.edu, erc@ph.ucla.edu
Payment Terms:
Classes are subject to cancellation by the host due to low registration or scheduling issues. If a class is cancelled by the host, participants will receive a full refund of their original payment.
(rev. 11/6/09):
Participant cancellations must be in writing. Refund schedule due to participant-requested cancellations is:
- 15 or more business days before the class: 80% of registration fee
- 7-14 business days before the class: 50% of registration fee
- Less than 7 days before the class and "no shows": No refund
If course materials such as books have been sent to course participants in advance, the cost of that material will be subtracted from the refund.
UCLA reserves the right to postpone an offering 7 days prior to the course date should minimum enrollment requirements not be met. If a program is canceled, you will be notified and your registration fee will be refunded in full, less the cost of course materials sent in advance if they are not returned in the condition in which they were received. The liability of UCLA is limited to the course fee.
