Silica

Sacramento, CA — California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has unanimously approved to make permanent an emergency temporary standard aimed at safeguarding workers who handle engineered stone from silica hazards.

Bilbao, Spain — When carcinogens are present in the workplace, “employers must do everything in their power to prevent workers from coming into contact with them,” the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work says.

Arlington, VA — Collaboration within the mining industry has spurred “significant improvement” in reducing fatalities, Mine Safety and Health Administration head Chris Williamson said during a July 10 stakeholder meeting.

Triangle, VA — A legislative attempt to block federal enforcement of a rule intended to protect miners from exposure to silica is “morally reprehensible,” United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts says.

Sacramento, CA — The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health recently launched a campaign to increase awareness of the dangers of silica dust in the engineered stone industry.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a long-anticipated final rule that lowers miners’ permissible exposure limit to respirable crystalline silica.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has recorded 70% fewer miner deaths through the first 10 weeks of 2024 than during the same period in 2022 and 2023.

Washington — Protecting workers in the engineered stone industry from exposure to crystalline silica will be the topic of an OSHA webinar scheduled for March 14.

Washington — A long-anticipated Mine Safety and Health Administration final rule intended to reduce miners’ exposure to silica has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.

Arlington, VA — Miner inexperience contributed significantly to what Mine Safety and Health Administration head Chris Williamson called an “unacceptable trend” of industry deaths in 2023.