1. Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board

Petition File No. 609

Section 5204 Occupational Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica

Petition File No. 609

Western Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association (WOEMA)

To amend title 8, section 5204 Occupational Exposures to Respirable Crystalline Silica through expedited rulemaking process to prohibit all fabrication and installation tasks on engineered stone that contains more than 1% crystalline silica. The Petitioner states that this action is necessary in light of the continuing epidemic of silicosis that is causing disabling disease and death among California fabrication workers as a result of their workplace exposure to silica dust from engineered stone containing crystalline silica and will open the market for safer products, which are already commercially available. They add that the most effective approach to preventing occupational disease is elimination of hazardous products and substitution with safer and less toxic materials.

The Petitioner believes that the evidence is now clear that engineered stone containing crystalline silica is too toxic to fabricate and install safely, and education and enforcement alone will not be sufficient to curtail the escalating occupational health emergency caused by this product. Among their rationale is that the progressive nature and relatively short latency of silicosis among workers exposed to engineered stone dust suggests unique toxicity that cannot be attributed solely to the high levels of respirable crystalline silica produced by these materials. As long as exposure to crystalline silica dust from engineered stone continues, they expect the total number of silicosis cases and deaths to continue to grow unless there is expedited Cal/OSHA rulemaking that effectively prohibits all fabrication and installation (processing that generates dust) of engineered stone. Petitioner notes that a recent Australian government evaluation confirmed that Australia’s prohibition is largely working as expected, creating a rapid change in the market and new opportunities for safer products, while protecting workers from exposure to respirable crystalline silica. If the Standards Board adopts the Australian approach and implements revisions to section 5204 that prohibit all fabrication and installation tasks on all engineered stone that contain more that 1% crystalline silica, it is highly likely that these safer products will be made immediately available in the California market, without significant economic consequences for fabrication businesses and their workers.