A View From The Hill - Political News: OSHA Delays Silica Standard Rule for Construction

Western States Roofing Contractors Association shares news on OSHA’s delay of the Silica Standard.

By Craig Brightup, The Brightup Group LLC

On April 6, Fed-OSHA announced its delaying enforcement of the silica rule for construction by three months, from June 23 to Sept. 23, 2017 (click here to download the Press Release).  The fact that this was done before Alex Acosta was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor on April 27 is a positive sign for future actions to delay and ultimately stop Fed-OSHA’s silica rule.

However, Cal-OSHA recently adopted Fed-OSHA’s silica rule and maintained that it was bound by law to begin implementing the rule on June 23.

Fortunately, construction industry coalition efforts in California and Washington, DC, appear to have paid off when Cal-OSHA announced on April 19 that it, too, will delay enforcement of the silica rule, and that its June 23 date for construction will now be pushed back to Sept. 23 to remain in sync with Fed-OSHA.

Please note that Cal-OSHA’s PEL, which had been 100 micrograms per M³, was lowered to 50 micrograms (.05 milligrams) on Oct. 17, 2016 and will stay at that level in conjunction with Cal-OSHA’s current construction workplace requirements.  However, Cal-OSHA’s current requirements are far simpler and less onerous than Fed-OSHA’s rule.

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