OP/ED: Silica standards for maritime

Workers who do sandblasting for repairing and refurbishing of ship components are the subject of a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard that now includes the maritime industry. Employers and employees in the industry need to be aware of the new OSHA requirements that are designed to protect workers from the hazards of exposure to breathable silica dust. The new application of the "Respirable Crystalline Silica" standards requires all covered maritime employers to assess current exposures. Industry companies now covered by respirable crystalline silica standards should immediately conduct a review of written safety program(s). The programs and employee training should be updated, as necessary, to meet the silica standard requirements; determine whether any worker exposed to silica dust might be at or above a defined “action level” - 25 micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air on average over an 8-hour day. If silica dust is in the workplace, companies must take steps to protect workers from exposure - in excess of the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms of silica per cubic meter of air on average over an 8-hour day. As of June 23, a respirable crystalline silica standard has been adopted to cover all employers in the maritime and general industries. There are currently 28 OSHA-approved state plans. States are allowed to implement their own occupational safety and health programs pursuant to agreements with the U.S. Department of Labor. (Opinion/Editorial by Tom Davis, a partner in Poyner Spruill LLP’s litigation section in Charlotte, N.C.) (Source: Maritime Link 11/09/18)