OSHA Mulling Silica Standard Revisions, Record-Keeping Changes
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is considering revisions to its silica standard for the construction industry and working to finalize a controversial proposal to amend its 2017 electronic record-keeping regulation. OSHA has issued a request for information on the effectiveness of control measures not currently included for tasks and tools listed in Table 1. "The agency is also interested in tasks and tools involving exposure to respirable crystalline silica that are not currently listed in Table 1, along with information on the effectiveness of dust control methods in limiting worker exposure to respirable crystalline silica when performing those operations. OSHA intends to evaluate the available information to determine if revisions to Table 1 may be appropriate," OSHA said. Meanwhile, the agency is in the final rule stage of amending its 2017 electronic record-keeping regulation to rescind the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA forms 300 and 301 but still require them to submit information from their Form 300A summaries.