OSHA's respirable crystalline silica standard for construction, explained

Almost any construction task that cuts, grinds, drills or crushes concrete, stone, brick or mortar releases respirable crystalline silica — a dust fine enough to lodge deep in the lungs and cause silicosis, lung cancer and COPD. OSHA's construction standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153, sets out how employers must control it.

Table 1 is the easy route

The standard's Table 1 lists common tasks — using a handheld saw, a core drill, a jackhammer — and, for each, the control (usually water or vacuum dust collection) and the respiratory protection required. Follow Table 1 fully for a task and you don't have to do your own air monitoring for it. That's why Table 1 is the practical backbone of silica compliance.

If you go off Table 1

Work outside Table 1 and you must assess exposures against the permissible exposure limit yourself, through air monitoring or objective data. Either way, you need a written exposure control plan naming a competent person, plus medical surveillance for workers wearing a respirator 30+ days a year, and training.

Keep the evidence

The written exposure control plan, the training records and the equipment (the saws with dust collection, the vacuums with HEPA filters) are what an OSHA compliance officer will ask to see. A plan that matches what's actually happening on site is the goal.