OSHA Announces Revised Silica Emphasis Program

Enforcement and Outreach To Raise Awareness

By Dan Kamys

In a new letter dated February 5, 2020, OSHA announced a revision to the National Emphasis Program for Respirable Crystalline Silica to "identify and reduce or eliminate the dangerous health effects from occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica." The letter goes on to state that OSHA will be targeting workplaces prone to exposure that are capable of causing occupational illness.

Through a combination of enforcement and outreach, OSHA hopes to make employers more aware of the issue in order to protect their workers from the serious health effects associated with work-related exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

The NEP is available on OSHA's website at: https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/enforcement/directives/CPL_03-00-023.pdf.

For more information on how the MCAA is equipping business owners to prepare and train their respective workforces on safe practices regarding Silica Exposure, please visit: https://www.masoncontractors.org/silica/