A new report by the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC) found that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed silica standards for U.S. construction industry will cost the industry $5 billion per year. That’s about $4.5 billion per year more than OSHA’s estimate.
The coalition says that OSHA’s flawed cost estimates point to flaws in the rule, and has urged the federal agency to reconsider its approach. The proposed rule aims to greatly reduce the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of crystalline silica for the construction industry.
The agency pegged the cost to the construction industry at about $511 million a year. “The OSHA analysis included major errors and omissions that account for the large discrepancies with the CISC report,” according to a statement from the industry group.
The CISC report estimates that about 80% of the cost ($3.9 billion/year) will be direct compliance expenditures by the industry such as additional equipment, labor and record-keeping costs.
The remaining 20% will come from increased prices that the industry will have to pay for construction materials and building products such as concrete block, glass, and roofing shingles. OSHA’s estimates failed to take into account these additional costs, CISC says. The added cost would be passed down to customers, the industry group says.
Related Stories
| Aug 21, 2012
Federal Safe Building Code Incentive Act’s bipartisan support, no notable objection, bodes well for passage
The Safe Building Code Incentive Act would give states a little extra post-disaster federal funding if they enacted and enforced nationally recognized building codes for businesses and residences before disaster strikes.
| Aug 16, 2012
New York’s Barclays Center project accused of ignoring noise, pollution regulations
Construction crews racing to finish the Brooklyn Barclays Center are ignoring strict regulations to reduce noise and pollution, a new report by critics has found.
| Aug 16, 2012
Harness saves life of worker cleaning Washington state Capitol
Fall-protection equipment helped save the life of a worker who was cleaning the Washington state Capitol building in Olympia, after the platform he was using gave way.
| Aug 16, 2012
CSI webinar on August 21 focuses on electronic energy control
The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) is sponsoring a free webinar on August 21 at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) on electronic energy control.
| Aug 16, 2012
Public sector pushes sustainable building forward
Not usually noted for its innovation, the public sector has done the most to advance sustainable building, according to a recent panel of green building professionals.
| Aug 16, 2012
Canada’s first net-positive building under construction in Milton, Ontario
The GreenLife Business Centre in Milton, Ontario near Toronto is set to become the first net-positive energy building in Canada.
| Aug 9, 2012
St. Paul cannot adopt overly restrictive egress windows policy, court rules
The Minnesota state Court of Appeals rejected St. Paul's attempt to adopt a policy on egress windows that was stricter than state law.
| Aug 9, 2012
Fire chief questions building code after St. Louis apartment building fire
A blaze that destroyed a 197-unit apartment building in St. Louis, Mo., displacing 250 residents, led the city’s fire chief to question the materials used in the construction of the four-story building.
| Aug 9, 2012
Ramps have strict criteria for ADA compliance
It is important for businesses to understand that an existing ramp at a building entrance may not mean that barrier removal obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act have been met.
| Aug 9, 2012
ClickSafety, AGC provide online training program for construction professionals
Construction professionals will be able to take a wide range of mandatory and optional safety training programs online through a new collaboration between the Associated General Contractors of America and ClickSafety.