Air Monitoring During Abrasive Blasting
Do You Need Help Leveraging Your Abrasive Media Marketing With Airborne Monitoring Data?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued two standards (“rules”) to protect workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica and beryllium. Those that do not adhere to these standards may be putting their workers at risk and could face fines from OSHA. More details on this can be found at the bottom of this page under “Risks of Not Adhering…”
Exposure Assessment Requirements
KTA Can Help You With:
KTA Provides the Following Services for Abrasives Manufacturers:
Risks of Not Adhering to OSHA Standards Include:
Workers who inhale respirable crystalline silica, particles at least 100 times smaller than ordinary sand, are at increased risk of developing silica-related diseases, including: silicosis (an incurable lung disease), lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and kidney disease. The first of two standards apply to the construction industry and the second to general industry and maritime. The new standards reduce the OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) averaged over 8 hours.
Workplace exposure to beryllium has been linked to chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and associated with lung cancer. The new beryllium standards apply to general industry, construction and maritime and reduces the OSHA PEL for beryllium to 0.2 µg/m3 averaged over 8 hours and establishes a short-term exposure limit (STEL) for beryllium of 2.0 µg/m3 over a 15-minute sampling period.
Exceedance of OSHA exposure limits for respirable crystalline silica and/or beryllium may result in increased costs to employers due to standard requirements, including implementing engineering and work practice controls, limiting access to high-exposure areas, providing the necessary personal protective equipment, assessing employee exposures, increased training, and offering medical examinations to certain exposed workers.
How Can We Help?
Watch a Free Webinar (click to signup) conducted by Dr. Leah K. Tipton and Carly McGee, of KTA. In it, they go in depth about KTA’s part in airborne monitoring of your abrasive media. They also explain how this optional testing can help market your abrasive media by proving that it falls within OSHA guidelines & regulations.