Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-840 - Respirable crystalline silica › Section 296-840-095 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
For the purposes of this chapter the following
				definitions apply:
Action level.
A concentration of
				airborne respirable crystalline silica of 25 [MU]g/m3, calculated as
				an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA).
Competent person.
An individual who is
				capable of identifying existing and foreseeable respirable
				crystalline silica hazards in the workplace and who has authorization
				to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate or minimize them. The
				competent person must have the knowledge and ability necessary to
				fulfill the responsibilities set forth in WAC 296-840-140.
Construction work.
All or any part of
				excavation, construction, erection, alteration, repair, demolition,
				and dismantling, of buildings and other structures and all operations
				in connection therewith; the excavation, construction, alteration and
				repair of sewers, trenches, caissons, conduits, pipe lines, roads and
				all operations pertaining thereto; the moving of buildings and other
				structures, and to the construction, alteration, repair, or removal
				of wharfs, docks, bridges, culverts, trestles, piers, abutments or
				any other construction, alteration, repair or removal work related
				thereto.
Director.
The director of the department
				of labor and industries or his/her authorized representative.
DOSH.
The division of occupational
				safety and health, Washington state department of labor and
				industries.
Employee exposure.
The exposure to
				airborne respira-ble crystalline silica that would occur if the
				employee were not using a respirator.
High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)
				filter.
A filter that is at least 99.97 percent efficient in
				removing mono-dispersed particles of 0.3 micrometers in
				diameter.
Objective data.
Information, such as air
				monitoring data from industry-wide surveys or calculations based on
				the composition of a substance, demonstrating employee exposure to
				respirable crystalline silica associated with a particular product or
				material or a specific process, task, or activity. The data must
				reflect workplace conditions closely resembling or with a higher
				exposure potential than the processes, types of material, control
				methods, work practices, and environmental conditions in the
				employer's current operations.
Permissible exposure limit (PEL).
A
				concentration of airborne respirable crystalline silica of 50
				[MU]g/m3, calculated as an 8-hour TWA.
Physician or other licensed health care
				professional (PLHCP).
An individual whose legally permitted
				scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification)
				allows him or her to independently provide or be delegated the
				responsibility to provide some or all of the particular health care
				services required by WAC 296-840-145.
Regulated area.
An area, demarcated by
				the employer, where an employee's exposure to airborne concentrations
				of respirable crystalline silica exceeds, or can reasonably be
				expected to exceed, the PEL.
Respirable crystalline silica.
Quartz,
				cristobalite, and/or tridymite contained in airborne particles that
				are determined to be respirable by a sampling device designed to meet
				the characteristics for respirable-particle-size-selective samplers
				specified in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
				7708:1995: Air quality - Particle size fraction definitions for
				health-related sampling.
Specialist.
An American Board Certified
				Specialist in Pulmonary Disease or an American Board Certified
				Specialist in Occupational Medicine.