He adds, "And it’s just a little too early to tell if this is that right way. And if not, we want to sit down with OSHA and roll up our sleeves and figure out a way to get there.”

The National Asphalt Pavement Association said in a statement that its segment of the construction industry "is positioned to meet the new standard" because of work done by the Silica/Milling Machine Partnership, which includes representatives from industry, equipment manufacturers, labor, academia and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The partnership has worked on milling-machine retrofits that trim potential silica exposure below the 50-microgram level as well as studying other systems, NAPA said.

The association added, “While the proposed PEL is achievable, as part of the federal rule-making process NAPA will file comments offering suggestions to help better calibrate the rule to the industry’s exposure potential.”

Officials from the construction industry, organized labor and other interested groups will have a chance to weigh in on the OSHA proposal. The agency will take written comments for 90 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

OSHA also plans public hearings, starting on March 4 in Washington, D.C. Michaels says that another comment period will follow the hearings.

He adds, "We strongly encourage various stakeholders from the construction industry to participate in this because that's the only way we'll know if what we're doing makes sense."