OSHA proposes rule to reduce exposure to silica

摘要

OSHA has announced a long-awaited proposal it says will save some 700 lives and prevent 1,600 new cases of silicosis each year. The changes to its silica exposure standards would replace 40-year-old permissible exposure limits (PELs) OSHA says are dangerously out of date. Exposure to airborne silica dust affects those in cutting, sawing, drilling, and crushing of concrete and stone products. Construction workers in particular are often exposed to silica on the job. Also at risk are workers in operations that use sand, like glass manufacturing, foundries, and sand blasting.