California adopts emergency temporary standard on silica exposure

Sacramento, CA — California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board approved an emergency temporary standard on silica hazards for workers who handle engineered stone.

Adopted on Dec. 14, the ETS is set to go into effect Dec. 29.

The state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health proposed the ETS to protect workers from breathing in respirable crystalline silica particles, which can lead to silicosis – an incurable, progressive lung disease that causes serious and sometimes fatal health issues. Since 2019, the California Department of Public Health has identified 95 workers with silicosis, 10 of whom died from the disease.

The ETS specifically focuses on workers who engage in high-exposure tasks such as cutting, grinding, polishing and cleanup of artificial stone products that contain more than 0.1% crystalline silica and natural stone with more than 10% crystalline silica.

Among the protections employers must implement:

• Use of wet methods without exception.
• Air monitoring to confirm respirable crystalline silica levels are below the action level of 25 micrograms per cubic meter.
• Worker use of full-face, tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators or an equally protective alternative.
• Provide workers with training and information on the ETS in languages they understand and at appropriate literacy levels.

The ETS includes requirements on housekeeping, exposure assessments, regulated areas and reporting of confirmed silicosis cases.