Reducing exposure to silica on the job site BY KEN GIBSON
ACA executive director
O
ccupational exposure to silica potentially affects every worker on every job site. Alberta’s construction industry has a statutory obligation to minimize harm to their workers from occupational exposure to crystalline silica and related products, with a statutory occupational exposure limit of 0.025 grams per cubic metre of air in an eight-hour working day. Silica and related products are found in numerous construction materials, and testing of Alberta commercial construction sites has found that the dust and debris created through numerous construction tasks (such as concrete coring or drywall sanding) has the potential to expose all trades on site to the hazard. The Alberta Construction Association (ACA) has developed best practices for your use at albertaconstruction.net. While these practices are not mandatory, they provide guidance to members in assessing and minimizing exp osure to site-specific silica hazards. The association strongly urges your firm to make use of these documents and work to achieve
Alberta Construction Association
best practices to safeguard your employees and achieve regulatory compliance. The ACA thanks the industry volunteers that created these documents. The practices are living documents and will improve with continued member input. The association is also working with the Alberta Construction Safety Association (ACSA) to develop awareness and supervisor training for 2017. Once these practices are well established on Alberta job sites, the ACA plans to test with Occupational Health and Safety to obtain hard evidence confirming whether the current statutory limit is technically and economically feasible. ACA silica volunteers: • D enis Poitras (Graham Construction)— committee chair • Cheyenne Bathy (CANA Construction) • J aidhir Singh Bhatti (Cemrock Concrete & Construction) • Jamie Bordeleau (Alpine Drywall) • Gordon Christensen (Professional Excavators) • Ryan Davis (ACSA) • Stacey Dziwenko (BRXTON)
• Jennifer Foster (BRXTON) • Rachel Fraser (Winwood Construction) • Gord French (Clark Builders) • Derek Hodgson (B&B Demolition) • Gary Horne (CANA Construction) • Kevin House (Chandos Construction) • Scott Izon (PCL) • Randy Januszewski (Clark Builders) • Jodi Lindsay (Waymark Group) • David Mead (Baytek Drywall & Stucco) • D ave Moodie (CanWest Concrete Cutting & Coring) • Rachelle Paley (Clark Builders) • Peter Ridder (Scorpio Masonry) • Bob Robinson (Westcor Construction) • Kevin Rome (Flesher Marble & Tile) • Chris Ruthven (EllisDon) • Frank Sharpe (K. Hansen Masonry) • J aeme Skolly (A-1 Concrete Cutting and Coring) • Blaine Tchir (Park Derochie) • Max Welz (G.R. Byer & Assoc.) • Craig Wiltse (EllisDon) • Kevin Wolff (PCL) • Ryan Younker (Waymark Group)
SERVICE TO MEMBERS THROUGH: • Government Advocacy • Industry Practices & Partnerships
• Promotion of Careers in Construction • Public Relations
18004 - 107 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5S 2J5 • PHONE: 780.455.1122 • FAX: 780.451.2152 E-MAIL: info@albertaconstruction.net • WEB SITE: www.albertaconstruction.net CALGARY • EDMONTON • FORT MCMURRAY • GRANDE PRAIRIE • LETHBRIDGE • LLOYDMINSTER • MEDICINE HAT • RED DEER
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