The US OSHA has circulated a draft comprehensive health regulation to control exposures to inhalable crystalline silica. The draft is part of the small business impact review being conducted by OSHA prior to actually proposing the standard in the Federal Register. The document contains all the provisions generally found in an OSHA health regulation, including requirements for sampling, medical monitoring, training, etc. The agency has left open, for the time being, the question of the permissible exposure limit (PEL). It has not made a determination whether to maintain the current limit of 0.1 mg/m3 or to reduce it, perhaps by as much as half, to 0.05 mg/m3. For a copy of the draft please contact The Refractories Institute, email: RCROLIUS@AOL.com
