# OSHA silica standard



## madmax718 (Dec 7, 2012)

OSHA's silica standard in effect June 23 2016, compliance by June 23 2017.

https://www.osha.gov/silica/index.html

Interestingly enough, they dropped the HEPA requirement and is now just requiring 99 percent. (except for dowel drilling).

Some of the rules are a little tricky. For example, they want certain functions to be hepa (dowel hole cleaning), and others have a auto cleaning function (impact and roto hammer drills), but tuck pointing can have a cyclonic pre seperator or an auto clean function.

or... you can slap a respirator on everyone.

Concrete grinding really clogs filters fast. There are some companies that try to be in compliance, but they use the smallest vac, which is usually clogged so that it doesn't suck anything.


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## Windycity (Oct 3, 2015)

madmax718 said:


> OSHA's silica standard in effect June 23 2016, compliance by June 23 2017.
> 
> https://www.osha.gov/silica/index.html
> 
> ...


Glad to see the hepa requirement was dropped. Thoes filters are crazy expensive and as a mason that does alot of cutting and pointing i would go through alot of filters


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## madmax718 (Dec 7, 2012)

I found bagged works way better than filters- The movement of the bag when the vac is off actually decakes the sides. For years I used the standard 'shop vac' filters that would always clog up, then you take it out, beat it, etc etc.. swapping to bags has changed my life! 

From what I understand, they realized that hepa meant nothing- if the vac wasn't sucking anymore because it was clogged.

This however, doesn't change the rules for RRP.


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