A final rule requiring employers to monitor and substantially reduce worker exposures to breathable crystalline silica—otherwise known as silica dust—will save more than 600 lives annually and protect the health of thousands of others, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and a number of labor unions that support the rule.
Silica-dust exposure, common on construction and industrial sites, can cause life-threatening health problems such as asthma, lung cancer and silicosis.