Beginning on September 23, 2017, contractors must comply with OSHA’s respirable crystalline standard for construction, while Virginia Occupational Safety and Health began enforcing the new standard on June 23, 2017.  To help educate AGC members, AGC has developed the "Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction" members-only webpage designed to provide contractors with a better understanding of how to comply.

The information on the page includes the following:

• Plain text summary of the rule
• Compliance flow chart
• Enhanced Table 1
• Air monitoring and objective data collection form

The standard provides a comprehensive and complex regulatory scheme for protecting construction workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica containing dust.  The scope of the standard applies to all occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica and significantly lowers the permissible exposure limit (PEL) from 250 micrograms/m3 to 50 micrograms/m3.  In addition to the new PEL, contractors will also have to comply with a host of ancillary provisions such as respiratory protection (when required by the standard), housekeeping, medical surveillance, and recordkeeping. 

AGC staff will continue to develop additional materials so check back periodically to see what’s new.  If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Cannon at (703) 837-5410 or cannonk@agc.org.