The Natural Stone Institute has introduced the newly-updated Silica & Slab Safety Certificate. This online certificate consists of seventeen courses focused on preventing silicosis, safe slab handling, and creating a safety program. The updated certificate can be completed in 4-6 hours. The certificate includes videos, course readings, and tests. Videos … Read more
The Natural Stone Institute has announced the debut of a new safety resource for stone fabricators and distributors. The Silica & Slab Safety Certificate is an 8-hour online certificate that provides training material for silicosis prevention, slab handing and creating a safety program. This program, comprised of 20 courses, is … Read more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established a revised National Emphasis Program (NEP) to identify and reduce or eliminate worker exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in general industry, maritime, and construction. The NEP targets specific industries expected to have the highest numbers of workers exposed … Read more
As of December 2019, confirmed cases of silicosis among countertop and construction workers rose to 260 across Australia, where countertops are known as benchtops, and some estimates have the cases at 350. The Daily Mail reports that Caesarstone was denied insurance coverage because of the silica content of its products, … Read more
At the end of September, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report showing that stone fabricators suffering from silicosis are more numerous than has previously been believed. A total of 18 cases of silicosis, including two fatalities have now been reported across four states: California, Colorado, Texas … Read more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is requesting information and comment on Table 1 of the agency’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard for Construction. OSHA seeks information on additional engineering and work practice control methods to effectively limit exposure to silica for the equipment and tasks … Read more
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will be hosting a free silica safety webinar on Tuesday, May 14 at 11am PST. Designed for stone countertop fabrication employers, the webinar will describe the dangers of silica exposure, outline employer requirements to comply with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Rule, … Read more
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will be hosting a free silica safety webinar on Tuesday, May 14 at 11am PST. Designed for stone countertop fabrication employers, the webinar will describe the dangers of silica exposure, outline employer requirements to comply with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Rule, … Read more
At the beginning of 2019, OSHA published a new video titled “Protecting Workers from Silica Hazards in the Workplace.” While it is only 5 minutes long and focuses on general silica protection vs. specific protection for stone/quartz fabrication shops, it is a decent primer for beginning to get an understanding … Read more
In March 2019, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) received a report of an apparent cluster of multiple cases of silicosis among workers associated with occupational silica dust exposures that occurred during the manufacture, finishing and installation of stone countertops. DSHS is currently investigating these cases. There are … Read more