Dust toolbox talk: dust control on the job

The rule

What OSHA requires

Plain-language summary. Each line links to the exact paragraph of the regulation.

• In construction, employers must limit each employee's exposure to any substance listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of 29 CFR 1926.55. For limits not marked as ceiling values, exposure measured from breathing-zone air samples must not exceed the limit as an 8-hour time-weighted average in any work shift (29 CFR 1926.55(a)(2)). General industry has its own air contaminant limits in Tables Z-1, Z-2 and Z-3 of 29 CFR 1910.1000.

  “Employers must limit an employee's exposure to any substance listed in Table 1 or 2 of this section in accordance with the following”

  29 CFR 1926.55(a)

• To meet those limits in construction, administrative or engineering controls must be implemented first whenever feasible. When they are not feasible to achieve full compliance, protective equipment or other protective measures must be used to keep exposure within the limits, and any respirator use must comply with 29 CFR 1926.103. General industry has the same order of controls (29 CFR 1910.1000(e)).

  “administrative or engineering controls must first be implemented whenever feasible”

  29 CFR 1926.55(b)

• In construction, for each employee doing a task listed on Table 1 of the silica standard, the employer must fully and properly implement the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection Table 1 specifies for that task, unless it assesses and limits the employee's exposure under paragraph (d) instead. When implementing Table 1, the employer must provide a means of exhaust as needed for tasks indoors or in enclosed areas to minimize the buildup of visible airborne dust, and must apply water at flow rates sufficient to minimize the release of visible dust when wet methods are used (29 CFR 1926.1153(c)(2)(i) and (ii)).

  “the employer shall fully and properly implement the engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection specified for the task on Table 1”

  29 CFR 1926.1153(c)(1)

• In construction, for tasks not listed on Table 1, or where the Table 1 controls are not fully and properly implemented, no employee may be exposed to respirable crystalline silica above 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average (the permissible exposure limit, or PEL). General industry has the same PEL (29 CFR 1910.1053(c)).

  29 CFR 1926.1153(d)(1)

• In construction, where dry sweeping or dry brushing could contribute to silica exposure, the employer must not allow it unless wet sweeping, HEPA-filtered vacuuming or other methods that minimize the likelihood of exposure are not feasible. Compressed air must not be used to clean clothing or surfaces where it could contribute to exposure, unless it is used with a ventilation system that effectively captures the dust cloud or no alternative method is feasible (29 CFR 1926.1153(f)(2)). General industry has the same rules (29 CFR 1910.1053(h)(1) and (h)(2)).

  “The employer shall not allow dry sweeping or dry brushing where such activity could contribute to employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica”

  29 CFR 1926.1153(f)(1)

• In construction, the employer must establish and implement a written exposure control plan that describes the tasks involving silica exposure, the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection used for each task, the housekeeping measures used to limit exposure and the procedures used to restrict access to work areas when necessary. The employer must also designate a competent person to make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to implement the plan (29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(4)).

  “The employer shall establish and implement a written exposure control plan that contains at least the following elements”

  29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(1)

• In construction, each employee covered by the silica standard must be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the health hazards of silica, the tasks that could expose them, the protective measures in use, the contents of the standard, the identity of the competent person and the purpose and a description of the medical surveillance program. General industry has a similar list, without the competent person item (29 CFR 1910.1053(j)(3)(i)).

  “The employer shall ensure that each employee covered by this section can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of at least the following”

  29 CFR 1926.1153(i)(2)(i)

• Under OSHA's respiratory protection standard, which construction also follows (29 CFR 1926.103), the primary objective in controlling diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts and other contaminants is to prevent atmospheric contamination, as far as feasible by accepted engineering controls such as enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials. When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being put in place, appropriate respirators must be used.

  “the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination”

  29 CFR 1910.134(a)(1)

• Where respirator use is not required, an employer may provide respirators at employees' request or let employees use their own, if it determines that the use will not in itself create a hazard. If voluntary use is allowed, the employer must give users the information in Appendix D of the standard. Employees whose only respirator use is the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks) do not have to be included in a written respiratory protection program (29 CFR 1910.134(c)(2)(ii)).

  “An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard.”

  29 CFR 1910.134(c)(2)(i)

• OSHA's hazard communication standard exempts some wood and wood products, such as lumber that will not be processed where the manufacturer or importer can show the only hazard is flammability or combustibility, but not wood treated with a hazardous chemical covered by the standard or wood that may later be sawed or cut, generating dust. Employers must give employees effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at their initial assignment and whenever a new chemical hazard they have not been trained about is introduced (29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1)). Construction follows the same rules (29 CFR 1926.59).

  “wood which may be subsequently sawed or cut, generating dust, are not exempted”

  29 CFR 1910.1200(b)(6)(iv)

Who must be trained

In construction, the employer must make sure each employee covered by the silica standard can demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the health hazards, the tasks that could expose them, the protective measures in use, the contents of the standard, the identity of the competent person and the medical surveillance program (29 CFR 1926.1153(i)(2)(i)). The silica standard covers all occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica in construction work, except where exposure will remain below 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air as an 8-hour time-weighted average under any foreseeable conditions (29 CFR 1926.1153(a)). Under the hazard communication standard, which construction also follows (29 CFR 1926.59), employers must train employees on the hazardous chemicals in their work area at their initial assignment (29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1)).