Osha Compliance
Osha Silica Dust Regulation
Compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Silica Dust Standard is effective September 23, 2017.
What Does This Mean?
Crystalline silica is a common mineral used in industrial products such as concrete, mortar and stone. OSHA issued two standards to protect workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica that went into effect on June 23, 2016. It limits the maximum amount of crystalline silica to which workers may be exposed during an 8-hour work shift to 50MG/M³.; (29 CFR 1926.55.1910.1000). Beginning September 23, 2017, OSHA will begin to enforce the new ruling on respirable silica dust.
Ways to Comply
There are three ways employers can protect construction workers from respirable crystalline silica.
Option 1: Select an approved method based on your application from OSHA Table 1 – Specified Exposure Control Methods for Crystalline Silica Dust
Option 2: Employer may rely on objective data from the manufacturer showing the exposure level is below the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of < 50 averaged over an 8-hour work day when performing the task, under test conditions. SKILSAW conducted external testing on our saws that are engineered for use on materials containing crystalline silica. View test results below.
Option 3: Employer may periodically schedule self-monitoring for a specific application to confirm the user’s exposure level is under the PEL of < 50.
Tools with OSHA-Approved Dust Control
Concrete
7 In. MEDUSAW™ Walk Behind Worm Drive for Concrete
SPT79A-10
Tool Operating Conditions
Wet cutting per OSHA table 1 Download OSHA table 1
Dry cutting per objective data Download objective data results
Environmental Conditions
Outdoors: No APF Required
Indoors: APF 10 required
<= 46 minutes/shift, No APF required
> 46 minutes/shift, appropriate NIOSH mask required
Download operations manual
7 In. MEDUSAW™ Worm Drive for Concrete
SPT79-00
Tool Operating Conditions
Wet cutting per OSHA table 1 Download OSHA table 1
Dry cutting per objective data Download objective data results
Environmental Conditions
Outdoors: < 4 hours/shift, no APF required
> 4 hours/shift, APF 10 required
Indoors: APF 10 required
<= 30 minutes/shift, No APF required
> 30 minutes/shift, appropriate NIOSH mask required
Download operations manual
Fiber Cement
7-1/4 In. SIDEWINDER™ Circular Saw for Fiber Cement
SPT67FMD-01
