New Guide Helps Small Firms in Construction Industry Comply with Silica Rule

OSHA has released a compliance guide for the construction industry intended to help small employers comply with the agency’s Final Rule to Protect Workers from Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica.
The guide describes in easy-to-understand language the steps that employers are required to take to protect employees in construction from the hazards associated with silica exposure.
All employers covered under the final rule must:

• Provide respiratory protection when required
• Restrict silica exposure from housekeeping practices where feasible
• Implement a written exposure control plan
• Offer medical exams to workers who will need to wear a respirator for 30 or more days a year
• Communicate hazards and train employees
• Keep records of medical examinations

Enforcement of the final rule in construction is due to begin June 23, 2017.