Workplace heat-safety measures: Training vs. temperature triggers

Ahead of a month or more of vacation for some Washington, D.C. regulars, the White House instructed the Department of Labor to issue a first ever Hazard Alert in response to an unusually hot July. The agency will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction, while its Occupational Safety and Health Administration belabors a…

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Contractors secure three-month delay in OSHA silica rule enforcement

Sources: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; Mason Contractors Association of America, Algonquin, Ill.; CP staff

OSHA has moved the target for the construction industry to comply with the revised respirable crystalline silica exposure standard from June 23 to September 23, citing a need to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance due to the unique nature of employer requirements.

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Contractor coalition, Chamber: OSHA silica rule unworkable, economically infeasible

Sources: Construction Industry Safety Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C.

Two weeks after closing the public comment period for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is continuing to process documents from individuals, companies and organizations challenging the agency’s math and embrace of air-monitoring technology for workplaces and job sites.

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Cement and aggregate interests read OSHA rule writing on MSHA wall

Sources: Occupational Safety & Health Administration; CP staff

One of the most thorough cases challenging OSHA’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica is from a group representing producers not immediately affected by a change in the permissible exposure limit (PEL) threshold: National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

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Economist contrasts concrete pipe profitability with OSHA’s silica rule claims

Sources: American Chemistry Council, Washington, D.C.; CP staff

The American Concrete Pipe Association joined peers in the public comment period for OSHA’s proposed permissible exposure limit of respirable crystalline silica in General Industry and Construction, concluding it “is unnecessary (without sufficient verifiable data to support that an exposure problem exists), cost prohibitive, especially for small businesses (OSHA cost data is understated and outdated), and contrary to the intended purpose of protecting our workers.”

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Producers, associations implore OSHA to reconsider proposed silica rule

Sources: CP staff; Occupational Safety & Health Administration

Concrete, aggregate and cement interests are well represented in parties challenging the rationale, compliance costs and burdens—along with a timeline from announcement (August 28) to close of a four-month public comment period (February 11)—tied to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica.

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Industry panel: Silica rule compliance carries $8.6 billion price tag

Source: American Chemistry Council, Washington, D.C.

The American Chemistry Council Crystalline Silica Panel, whose 16 members include Lafarge North America, Vulcan Materials Co., James Hardie Building Products and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association, resolutely questions the basis for the OSHA-proposed halving of the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to respirable crystalline silica.

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