OSHA's Silica Standard for Construction: What You're Required to Have in Place

Crystalline silica is present in concrete, masonry, rock, and sand — materials that are cut, drilled, ground, or disturbed on virtually every construction site. Inhaling fine silica dust causes silicosis, a progressive and irreversible lung disease that has no cure. OSHA's construction silica standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153, has been in enforcement since September 2017 and is one of the more actively cited standards in the construction industry.

If your crews cut concrete, grind masonry, drill rock, operate jackhammers, or work with any material that contains crystalline silica, this standard applies to you.

What the Standard Applies To

29 CFR 1926.1153 covers all construction operations that disturb materials containing crystalline silica. That includes:

• Cutting, grinding, drilling, or crushing concrete, mortar, or masonry
• Chipping or breaking concrete
• Abrasive blasting with sand or on concrete and masonry surfaces
• Milling or mixing silica-containing materials
• Demolition of concrete or masonry structures
• Jackhammering and rock drilling
• Operating equipment that disturbs silica-containing soils or materials

If the work generates dust from any of these materials, it is covered.

The Exposure Limits

The standard sets two thresholds:

Action Level (AL): 25 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m³) as an 8-hour time-weighted average. At or above this level, additional requirements kick in even if you are below the PEL.

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL): 50 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA. Exposures above the PEL are not permitted. The previous PEL was 250 µg/m³ — the current standard reduced it by 80 percent.

Most concrete cutting and grinding operations without controls generate exposures well above both thresholds.

Table 1 — The Most Practical Compliance Path

For most construction contractors, Table 1 is the right approach. OSHA's Table 1 lists specific tasks along with the engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection that, when fully implemented, are deemed to achieve compliance without requiring air monitoring.

Table 1 covers the most common silica-generating tasks in construction. Examples:

• Handheld power saws cutting masonry, concrete, or tile: Use saw with integrated water delivery that continually wets the blade and material, or use a saw with local exhaust ventilation (LEV) with a NIOSH-approved vacuum. Respiratory protection: half-mask APF 10 respirator required when water or LEV is used indoors or in an enclosed area.
• Grinders used on concrete or masonry: Use grinder with integrated LEV with a HEPA-filtered vacuum. Respiratory protection required in certain conditions.
• Jackhammers and chipping hammers: Use tool with water delivered at the point of impact to wet the material, or use with LEV. Respiratory protection required.
• Handheld and stand-mounted drills: Wet drilling or use with LEV. Respiratory protection required in enclosed areas.
• Vehicle-mounted drilling rigs: Wet drilling or use with LEV. Enclosed cab with positive pressure and filtered air provides an alternative.

For each task in Table 1, the required controls are listed precisely. Implement them fully, document that you have done so, and you have a compliant program for that task — no air monitoring required.

If you are using controls that differ from Table 1, or performing tasks not listed, you must either use objective data or conduct air monitoring.

Written Exposure Control Plan

A written Exposure Control Plan (ECP) is required for any work covered by the standard. The ECP must:

• Describe the tasks in the workplace that involve exposure to silica
• Describe the engineering controls, work practices, and respiratory protection used for each task
• Describe the housekeeping measures to limit silica exposure
• Identify the competent person for silica tasks on the project

The ECP must be kept at the job site and made available to workers. It must be reviewed and updated when tasks, controls, or other relevant conditions change.

The ECP does not need to be lengthy. A page or two per project that describes the specific silica-generating tasks, the controls applied to each (Table 1 controls or alternatives), and the competent person is compliant. Generic documents that do not address the specific tasks on the project are not.

Housekeeping

The standard prohibits specific housekeeping practices that spread silica dust:

• Dry sweeping or dry brushing of surfaces where silica-containing dust has accumulated — prohibited unless no other method is feasible
• Use of compressed air to clean clothing or surfaces — prohibited unless the worker is wearing appropriate respiratory protection and no other method is feasible

Wet methods, HEPA-filtered vacuums, and wet sweeping compounds are the compliant alternatives. On a concrete slab with heavy grinding residue, this is a practical consideration that requires planning, not an afterthought.

Medical Surveillance

Medical surveillance is required for workers who are exposed to silica at or above the action level for 30 or more days per year.

The surveillance program must include:

• A medical examination administered by a PLHCP (physician or other licensed health care professional) knowledgeable in occupational lung disease
• A chest X-ray evaluated by a B-reader (a physician specially certified to read chest X-rays for pneumoconiosis)
• Pulmonary function tests
• A medical history

Initial exams must be offered within 30 days of determining that a worker is eligible. Follow-up exams must be offered every three years.

Medical surveillance records must be maintained for the duration of employment plus 30 years.

Training

Workers must be trained on:

• The health hazards of silica exposure
• Tasks that expose them to silica and the specific controls used for those tasks
• The Exposure Control Plan and how to access it
• The purpose of medical surveillance
• The respirators used and how to use them correctly

Training must be provided before initial assignment to silica-generating tasks and when changes in tasks or controls create new exposures.

Competent Person

The standard requires a competent person for silica work — someone who is knowledgeable about silica hazards and the controls required by the standard, and who has authority to take corrective action. The competent person must:

• Conduct periodic inspections to identify and evaluate silica exposure
• Implement and maintain Table 1 controls or other controls
• Make the ECP available to workers

On most commercial construction projects, the site superintendent or safety manager serves as the competent person for silica. The role requires demonstrated knowledge of the standard, not a specific credential.