New OSHA silica standard

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peakbagger

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Jul 11, 2008
8,901
Northern NH
Its been coming for years but finally has hit the streets. https://www.osha.gov/silica/

Going to be plenty of old dry cutting gear hitting the streets and a lot of contractors getting fined. I expect just like asbestos work, every job will need to third party testing firm to do the mandatory testing.
 
This summer I saw a lot of masonry work being done in my neighborhood. I saw one guy cutting pavers morning to late afternoon, dust blowing everywhere, no mask, no gloves. He looked to be from Mexico or Central America. I wondered if he knew or cared what the dust could do to his lungs.

I don't know how they are ever going to enforce this rule.
 
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Its pretty simple OSHA self funds, every job site they go near will get hit with fine. Generally the little guys ignore the rules as OSHA rarely goes after them unless they have an accident. That's what a LLC is for.