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Best Practices in Workplace Surveillance
Allies in the Fight Against Silica
J. Dimos, W. Harlan, W. Meyers, and W. Coulihan
Following the revisions to the OSHA Respirator
Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) and the implementation of the Special
Emphasis Program (SEP) for Respirable Silica, Chicago area contractors
engaged in tuckpointing activities had difficulties in meeting the
requirements of the standard and the goals of the SEP. Also, the union
workforce was concerned about the potential for overexposure. Barriers
identified included medical clearance, fit testing, care and
maintenance of the respirators, and training. Adding to the
difficulties, labor turnover and the associated costs of compliance
made it difficult for large companies to keep up and near impossible
for small companies to comply.
To help overcome these barriers, a partnership was formed between
the Pointers, Cleaners And Caulkers Union Local 52 of the
International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, the Chicago
Tuckpointing Contractors Association, and the OSHA, Calumet City,
Illinois, Area Office to create a cooperative solution to the
problem.
Local 52 provided for ~1,000 members (as of April 2000): a medical
evaluation (including spirometry); quantitative fit testing using a
TSI PortaCount®; a 3M 6000 Series
full-face, negative pressure, air-purifying respirator with HEPA/N100
filters; and training on respirator use, storage, care and
maintenance. Local 52 then issued each member a card, indicating
fitness and training.
A tuckpointing industry fund paid for the medical evaluations and
the cost of the respirators and each employer company was still
responsible for developing a respirator program and for trying to
reduce exposures.
OSHA provided training for the member contractors on the
responsibilities of the Respirator Standard and the Silica Special
Emphasis Program (SEP).
The outcomes include: a sense of better health, eye and respiratory
protection by the Union; the tuckpointing contractors gaining
assistance in complying with the Respirator Standard and the SEP; and
valuable surveillance spirometry data of union tuckpointers.
The importance of this final outcome to the safety and health and
medical communities that has yet to be realized is a study of the
spirometry data when matched with age, time in the trade/exposure
years and other demographic data from workers in the cohort. If
privacy concerns can be overcome, this analysis should be complete in
time for dissemination at the conference.
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NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.