Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS)
DR ELIZABETH GIBSON, CMPA General Manager.
CMPA is actively involved since inception in 2000 in reducing RCS exposure, which is critical to protecting families and employees. CMPA is totally supportive of all initiatives to improve standards.
The CMPA has provided Members’ with a comprehensive guidance and tools to;
• Provide members with appropriate management practices required to minimise potential health risks associated with RCS arising from extractive industry and concrete recycling operations;
• Provide members with a template they can populate so as to establish a site- specific RCS Hazard Control Plan.
It is noted within the Overview of CMPA Guidance material:
• Without effective training of managers and workers the control of exposure to RCS will be a continual challenge and likely unattainable;
• The standard of housekeeping applied on site is paramount to the control of exposure to RCS.
Safe Work Australia is currently seeking stakeholder feedback on the Consultation Paper “Impact analysis of the proposed workplace exposure limits (WEL) for 9 chemicals”. This includes RCS.
Note that Work, Health and Safety (WHS) ministers (State and Federal) have agreed Workplace Exposure Standards (WES) will be known as workplace exposure limits (WEL) going forward. Submissions to this consultation will be used to inform the final regulatory impact analysis for WHS ministers, who will decide on the WEL and the timeframe for implementation of any agreed changes.
The proposed WEL for RCS is halved to 0.025 mg/m3.
The Consultation Paper provides an analysis of 2 options:
- to retain the current exposure standards, and
- the proposed change to the WES to a health-based exposure limit, as outlined in Table 1 of the report.
The analysis includes an estimation of the costs and benefits of the proposed changes to the WES, based on publicly available information and preliminary stakeholder consultation, which indicate that for:
• respirable crystalline silica (excluding in the mining industry) the quantified benefits are greater than the costs, and
• all other chemicals and respirable crystalline silica in the mining industry, the costs of implementing the proposed changes to the WES are greater than the quantified benefits.
The CMPA Secretariat, on the advice of an Occupational Physician, has sought deidentified RCS monitoring data to be used to support a case to Safe Work Australia for no change to the current WES (currently 0.05 mg/m3).
Thank you to all that supplied data. CMPA’s submission to Safe Work Australia will be published in the next Sand and Stone Issue (138).
At the State level, WorkSafe Victoria recently commenced a review of Victoria’s existing crystalline silica framework to determine if any amendments would improve the position of RCS exposure in Victoria. This may involve improving on the Victorian Regulations, adopting parts of the Model Regulations, or considering other alternative positions such as implementation of a silica compliance code.
CMPA is working closely with WorkSafe on the review and will keep you updated of any developments or changes proposed.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login