California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced August 27 that it cited nine employers in Sun Valley within the greater Los Angeles area as part of the agency’s efforts to address the growing number of silicosis cases among stone workers in California.
The agency is seeking over $168,000 in fines. The cited employers include the following:
- Miguel Clavel: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,320
- Gasper Marble and Tile: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- Jose Sandoval Marble and Granite: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- Valley Marble: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- Edward Ponce: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- Durango Marble: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- Nacho Brothers Marble Inc.: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- M & M Three Marble Inc.: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
- LB Quality Stone Experts Inc.: One regulatory, six general, and two serious violations; fines totaling $18,785
Cal/OSHA’s Van Nuys District Office conducted the inspections and determined that all nine employers violated multiple safety and health regulations, including failure to use methods to effectively suppress dust and failure to provide employees with full-face, tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR).
Cal/OSHA has intensified its education and enforcement efforts as cases of silicosis have increased across the state. Last year, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) adopted an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to enhance existing regulations for respirable crystalline silica hazards. On August 15, the board voted to readopt the emergency standard.
Requirements of the state’s ETS include work practices like:
- Using wet methods,
- Properly handling all waste materials,
- Employing safe cleanup housekeeping methods, and
- Monitoring the air to confirm respirable crystalline silica levels are below the emergency rule’s action level.
The ETS also contains respiratory protection requirements that include the use of a full-face, tight-fitting PAPR (or an equally protective alternative) and an organic vapor cartridge for artificial stonework (with certain exceptions). The ETS also requires the use of a supplied-air respirator under certain conditions.
The ETS’s communication requirements include ensuring information and training are appropriate for employees’ language and literacy. Employers must also include text on signs posted in regulated areas describing the risks of permanent lung damage and death in English and Spanish.
Employers must train employees on the symptoms of respirable crystalline silica exposure and how to prevent exposures, as well as encourage the reporting of symptoms of respirable crystalline silica exposure without fear of retaliation.
Earlier this month, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited a Chicago countertop manufacturer after learning a worker suffering accelerated silicosis needed a double lung transplant. The agency cited the employer with eight egregious-willful, four willful, and 20 serious safety and health violations, seeking over $1 million in fines.