{"id":753,"date":"2017-12-21T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2017-12-21T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/?p=753"},"modified":"2022-06-06T18:08:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:08:57","slug":"silica-dust-team-protected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/","title":{"rendered":"Silica Dust: Is Your Team Protected?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"m-entry__feedback\"><div class=\"m-feedback-prompt\">\n\t\t  <h4 class=\"m-feedback-prompt__header\">Was this article helpful?<\/h4>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__social m-feedback-prompt__social_thumbsup yes\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-up\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a>\n\t\t  <a href=\"#\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt_form no\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\">\n\t\t    <i class=\"fa fa-thumbs-down\">&nbsp;<\/i>\n\t\t  <\/a><br>\n\t\t  <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__social yes\">\n\t\t    <p class=\"m-feedback-prompt__text\">Awesome, share it:<\/p>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon facebook fa fa-facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon twitter fa fa-twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/&text=Silica Dust: Is Your Team Protected?\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon googleplus fa fa-google-plus\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">Google Plus<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t    <a class=\"m-feedback-prompt__social--button p-button-social has-icon linkedin fa fa-linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/&title=Silica Dust: Is Your Team Protected?\" onclick=\"javascript:window.open(this.href,\n  '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;\">\n\t\t      <span class=\"p-button-social__social-text\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n\t\t    <\/a>\n\t\t  <\/div>\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__display m-feedback-prompt__form no\">\n\t\t  \t<div class=\"thanks feedback-nodisplayall\"><h2>Thanks!<h2><div class=\"m-contact\"><p>Thanks for getting in touch with us.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t    <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"new_support_request\" action=\"\" accept-charset=\"UTF-8\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t    <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"659de24d36\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\" \/>\n\t\t      <input value=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\" id=\"currenturl\">\n\t\t      <input value=\"Silica Dust: Is Your Team Protected?\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\" id=\"currenttitle\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Help us improve. Give us your feedback:<\/label>\n\t\t      <textarea class=\"p-input__textarea\" name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\"><\/textarea>\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your Full Name:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"feedbackfullname\" id=\"feedbackfullname\">\n\t\t      <label class=\"is-required\">Your email address:<\/label>\n\t\t      <input class=\"p-input__text\" type=\"text\" name=\"mailinglistemail\" id=\"mailinglistemail\">\n\t\t      <div class=\"feedback-message\" id=\"feedback-message\"><\/div>\n\t\t      <div class=\"__submit\">\n\t\t        <input type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" value=\"Submit\" class=\"p-button\" id=\"submit-contact-form\" data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n\t\t      <\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/form>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div><p>It\u2019s so small you can\u2019t see it. You can\u2019t smell it. Yet silica dust could gravely affect your health. Fortunately, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is trying to do something about it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is silica dust?<br \/>\n<\/strong>Silica is a common mineral found in the Earth\u2019s crust and is prevalent in many materials common on construction sites\u2014including sand, concrete, masonry, rock, granite and landscaping materials. When these items are cut, ground, drilled, crushed or otherwise disturbed, silica dust is created. Inhaling these silica particles leads to increased health risks including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and kidney disease.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The new rules<br \/>\n<\/strong>Recently, OSHA issued a new set of standards to reduce the Permissible Exposure Level (PEL) to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air averaged during an eight-hour work shift. Employers are now required to control employee exposure to the substance by:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Wetting down work operations or using local exhaust ventilation (such as vacuums) to keep silica-containing dust out of the air and out of workers&#8217; lungs. Another control method that may work well is enclosing an operation (&#8220;process isolation&#8221;).<\/li>\n<li>Using respirators when applicable\u2014however, respirators are only allowed when engineering and work practice controls cannot maintain exposures at or below the PEL.<\/li>\n<li>Wetting down dust before sweeping it up or using the manufacturer&#8217;s water flow rate when using a tool with water controls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Protect yourself<br \/>\n<\/strong>Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is required for employees who work with hazardous materials and is one way they can protect themselves from the dangers of silica dust. While these new OSHA regulations significantly decrease silica dust exposure, they do not eliminate exposure altogether. Respirators can significantly lower health risks. Employers and employees, together, should review all of the available respirator options to determine which offers the most protection while not inhibiting the work. Depending on the project at hand, your PPE needs can vary. Employers should not only provide but also enforce the use of PPE to ensure jobsite safety and employee well-being.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let\u2019s get compliant!<br \/>\n<\/strong>Staying compliant with these new standards may seem like a headache at first\u2014however, they are immensely important to the sustainability of your operation. Not only does it protect your valuable skilled workers, but it also saves your business from steep fines as well.<\/p>\n<p>OSHA understands that most employers want to protect their employees and keep them healthy. In order to ease the transition to the new standards, OSHA has developed some compliance assistance resources for silica. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osha.gov\/dsg\/topics\/silicacrystalline\/index.html\">Click here<\/a> for more information on those resources.<\/p>\n<p><!-- =============== --><br \/>\n<!-- HIDE AUTHOR BOX --><br \/>\n<!-- =============== --><\/p>\n<style>.social {border: none;}#author-info {display: none;}<\/style>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Was this article helpful? &nbsp; &nbsp; Awesome, share it: Share Tweet Google Plus LinkedIn Thanks!Thanks for getting in touch with &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/silica-dust-team-protected\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[470,467,469,471,468,472],"yst_prominent_words":[464,466,455,427,460,459,458,453,461,456,457,463,426,462,465,117,454,452,431,139],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":772,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jschaeffer.us\/sandbox\/airgasthinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}