Silica Dust Exposure Avoidance and How To Comply With the Revised OSHA Standard

Why Should You Attend:

OSHA has what is known as a “Multi-Employer Worksite Policy”. They will hold four categories of Contractors responsible, regardless of their actual involvement in a violative condition. If you are a ‘Controlling, Creating, Exposing or Correcting’ Contractor under their definition, YOU can be drawn into a penalty situation, even though you had no direct involvement in a violation. Such as allowing your people to work in a cloud of dust created by someone else.

An OSHA Inspection on your site will ask for certain documentation and evidence of your effort at eliminating employee exposure to the dust. We will discuss new tooling on the market, safety hardware, Best Industrial Practices and state-of-the-trade techniques for dealing with Silica Dust Exposure Avoidance.

The revised exposure level for Silica dust exposure is sub-microscopic, measuring at roughly the ‘trace amount’ level. In realistic terms, if you can see the dust, you’re probably over-exposed under the revised Standard. We will also discuss how to interpret and apply the provisions in OSHA’s Table 1, which describes the steps you should be taking for minimizing employee exposures on dust producing jobs.

It is important to bear in mind that OSHA has also revised its’ penalty structure. This revision took into account about 30 years worth of inflationary increases. The new fines can quickly become astronomical. With a little effort, you can create a fairly solid defensive strategy to protect yourself, which we will talk about in this webinar.

This webinar is most critical for Self-Directed work teams and their supervisors. These Teams are becoming more the norm in the Construction industry. Learn about how to best protect your crews and Company.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

Compliance options will be explored as described in the revised OSHA Standard:

• Use of ‘Table 1’ in the OSHA Standard
• What your Written Exposure Control Plan should look like
• PPE and work practices for trades
• Use of water as a dust control agent
• Use of vacuum recovery – tips on how to do this most efficiently
• Respiratory protection against breathing dust particles; voluntary respirator use
• Best Industrial Hygiene Practices for construction and industrial trades

Who Will Benefit:

• Concrete and Masonry trades
• Cement kiln and plant operators
• Rock crushers and quarries
• Bridge and tunnel building
• Tunnel boring machines
• Street sweeping
• Industrial vacuum operations
• Rock drillers
• Heavy equipment operators
• Mining haul truck drivers
• Heavy equipment operators
• Truckers, dump truck drivers

John J. Meola
Safety Director, Pillar, Inc.

John J. Meola, CSP, ARM is the Safety Director for Pillar, Inc. based in Richmond, VA.

He is also an Instructor at the VA Commonwealth University, School of Business, Risk Management and Insurance Department and an OSHA 500 Community Outreach Construction Safety Trainer. He has authored two safety handbooks and contributes numerous technical safety articles for trade industry publications.

Mr. Meola is also an Executive Officer with the Colonial VA Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers and a Past-President of this Chapter. He works closely with clients from private industry to develop and manage employee safety and health issues across a wide range of businesses.

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