OSHA Delays Silica Enforcement

On April 6, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that it will delay enforcement of the respirable crystalline standard for construction for three months—until Sept. 23, 2017. In its announcement, OSHA explained that the construction silica standard has a number of unique features warranting development of additional guidance and educational materials before enforcement begins. AGC continues to believe that implementation of this standard is technically infeasible and continues to challenge it in court.

Although OSHA enforcement of the standard is delayed, the notice does not alter the compliance date of June 23, 2017. OSHA will not take enforcement action against contractors that fail to meet the standard on their sites between June 23, 2017 and Sept. 22, 2017, but legally, the standard will still be in effect.

While an interested group could file a lawsuit challenging the three month delay, that appears to be unlikely given the short duration of the delay and the broad enforcement discretion federal agencies—like OSHA—have traditionally enjoyed. AGC will continue to fight this standard in court and advise OSHA on the problematic issues the construction industry faces with implementation. In addition, members should review AGC educational resources on its comprehensive silica website. If you do not find an answer on our silica website, please contact nazia.shaw@agc.org with your questions. We are trying to address all the questions on our site and we are also providing questions to OSHA to populate the Frequently Asked Questions on their site so that there is a common understanding of the issues the construction industry will face when complying with this very complex regulation.

For more information, contact Kevin Cannon at cannonk@agc.org or (703) 837-5410. 

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