8 2017 | TECH METHODS AND STANDARDS Industry prepares for life after OSHA's silica ruling By Louis Iannaco Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) instituted a new, more restrictive ruling/requirement on crystalline silica to combat silicosis and lung issues related to silica (www.osha.gov/silica/). While many believe this to be a positive move in order to protect the lungs and overall health of industry profes- sionals, there is controversy regarding the ruling in that it requires a specific range of measures that some consider cumbersome and costly for contracting companies to adhere to moving forward. Jim Olson, assistant executive director, National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA), revealed that the association’s Training & Education Committee and “Safety and Task Refresher” subcom- mittee – chaired by Doreen Welch of Welch Tile & Marble in Kent, Mich. – is reviewing OSHA’s 3902 Small Entity Compliance Guideline. The commit- tee is “working hand and hand with the Five Star Contractor director, Amber Fox, to prepare a ‘Best Practice Checklist’ for our members,” Welch said. “Our goal is to present an easy- to-read document that will refer to pages in the OHSA Compliance Guide.” Some welcome the new ruling Specifically, this final rule on silica dust exposure, which went into effect on September 23 of this year, is designed to curb lung cancer, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmo- nary disease and kidney disease in America’s workers by limiting their exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Many welcome the ruling and believe it is long overdue. “I can’t express how happy I am these new laws are being passed regarding silica dust,” said Five Star Contractor Phillip Kozey, project manager, Stuart Tile Co. in Macomb, Mich., and NTCA Michigan state director. Kozey recalled instances in the early ‘90s when he was just a teenager, “making thinset by hand in a wheelbarrow, using a bag of Portland cement, a bag of silica sand and liquid latex additive. I can’t forget the cloud of dust around my entire body while mixing the sand and cement and just breathing all of it in. I did this for years.” Kozey also noted, when he was about 19 years old, using a diamond cup wheel grinding thinset from walls and floors, and “even grinding glazed block with no vacuum dust collec- tion system attached, just a paper drywall dust mask.” In 2015, “I started having serious breathing issues and was diagnosed with COPD and asthma,” he said. “Nodules were also found in both of my lungs. Thank God they were benign. It really upsets me this could have been prevented by having the proper dust protection.” Another tile contractor who’s happy about the ruling is Jeremy Waldorf of Legacy Floors, Howell, Mich. “My father passed away just this past July from meso- thelioma due to asbestos from all the years he was in the flooring trade, and I believe you and I face an even greater concern with crystalline silica,” Waldorf said. “I have already been implementing greater protec- tive measures in my work practices over the last few years.” Proper protection has become important during industry hands-on exams as well as on the jobsite. As Scott Carothers, director of certification and training for the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), recalled, the Certified Tile Installer (CTI) program began in April of 2008 at the Coverings show in Orlando, with five qualified tile install- Doreen Welch Phillip Kozey Jeremy Waldorf