ensure your plan is in place and working on the job. Knowing a jobsite-specific task’s “Personal Exposure Limit (PEL) is a major component of determin- ing whether your jobsite’s require certain control measures. PELs are cumulative for multiple tasks and for the length of time persons are exposed to the task. It is a lot to discuss in a simple email, but it all adds up to determine the level of protection or controls required. As I mentioned, grinding outside isn’t necessarily an easy solution. We must protect other trades and the general public from exposure to any silica dust contractors gen- erate on our jobs. General contrac- tors must calculate the PELs for all trades contributing to the overall PEL for the entire job site. They will want to know how you will be containing or reducing dust-gener- ating practices and you will want to know how the other trades are doing the same and contributing to the overall job site environment. You will want to become famil- iar with the engineering controls or mechanical control measures that can be put in place to reduce dust below certain exposure levels, or eliminate it entirely. An engi- neering control might mean using a carbide scoring tool to score and snap cement board instead of using an angle grinder to cut it. Others range from tools we already use every day such as wet saws and snap cutters to grinder shrouds and HEPA vacuums. Speaking of vacuums, not every Shop-Vac® - type vacuum works to collect silica dust and keep it from becoming airborne. Specific vacuums are required. Simple dust masks don’t do the trick. If engineering controls alone don’t keep your job site PEL beneath minimum thresholds you may need to look at a respira- tor program. Such a program may require fitness and physical test- ing of your employees to ensure the respirators work and they are healthy enough to wear them. The key is to understand Personal Exposure Limits, tasks listed in Table 1, Engineering Controls, writing a company plan, provid- ing employee training, and putting your plan in place. It sounds like a lot, but it is a good health and hygiene best practice for you and your employees. I may be making this sound more complex than it might actually be. Please take a look at the documents available on the website and read what OSHA has to say on their website at https://www.osha.gov/ dsg/topics/silicacrystalline/. I expect you will be getting some excel- lent feedback from your employ- ees. I encourage you to contact the OSHA inspector that visited your job site – I am sure they will be willing to help your understanding of the regulation. – Mark Heinlein, NTCA Training Director ASK THE EXPERTS –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 28 TileLetter | March 2019