OSHA's regulation on hexavalent chromium is expected to be forwarded to the Office of Management & Budget for final review in Sept/05. That will free a lot of resources in OSHA's standards office to work on the regulation for occupational exposure to crystalline silica. In a recent meeting with the TRI Regulatory Committee, Jennifer Silk, deputy director of the Directorate of Standards & Guidance, indicated that the agency has essentially completed its risk assessment, & that a peer review will be completed by the end of Dec/05. A proposed regulation is expected to be published in April 2006. Silk specifically expressed concerns about the existing OSHA limit for silica exposure in the construction industry which is higher than for general industry. She also affirmed that OSHA is aware that the current permissible exposure limit is being exceeded ~ 30% of the time.
