The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in the year 1971 with the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act on December 29, 1970. Signed into law by President Nixon, OSHA was created to protect the health and safety of American workers from the hazards of their work environments. A significant workplace health hazard, especially in the construction industry, is crystalline silica, or silica dust. Only recently was an official rule on crystalline silica exposure signed into law. The OSH Act was published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2016, issued on June 23, and effective a year later on June 23, 2017. Previous guidelines and standards on proactive measures to reduce the health effects of silica on workers included federal, state and local programs and initiatives. A systematic review of crystalline silica resources was conducted, including the history of crystalline silica as an occupational health hazard, the history of governmental and non-governmental standards and guidelines on silica, and the anticipated physical adjustments that industries, specific companies, and other entities plan to implement for future compliance with the new standards. The economic consequences of implementing the new practices and permissible exposure limits have yet to be measured, and there were conflicting outlooks between the data published by OSHA and the studies released by groups representing the affected industries. In April 2017, the effective date of the new silica rule was delayed by three months to September 23, 2017.
Key words: OSHA, silica, crystalline silica, silica regulations, glass manufacturing, pottery manufacturing
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