Sant says he would prefer to see OSHA enforce the existing standard for construction more effectively, through better training of OSHA compliance officers. “I don’t think we’ve seen many citations for exposure to silica,” he says.

Union groups have been working for 17 years to develop a more stringent standard, says Chris Trahan, speaking on behalf of the BCTD. She says the BCTD is “very pleased” that the proposed rule is moving forward.

Trahan says that OSHA used current, available data to determine that certain tasks can be controlled in a straightforward way, and if employers implement the recommended controls, OSHA is “going to assume that you’re controlling these exposures, and in many cases, controlling the exposure below the proposed permissible exposure limit.”

Trahan says that the three different approaches to reducing exposures give construction-industry firms significant flexibility in meeting the requirements, which is particularly useful for small contractors.

Both business and labor groups would like to see more types of construction tasks added to the proposal's Table 1. “One of the things BCTD is very interested in is working with the agency to determine how the table can be updated [and tasks added] as more information comes to light,” Trahan says.

OSHA will begin holding public hearings on the rule in March.