The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the NJSOAR Alliance partners recognize
the value of establishing a collaborative relationship to foster safer and more healthful American
workplaces OSHA and the NJSOAR Alliance partners hereby form an Alliance to provide NJSOAR members
and others with information, guidance, and access to training resources that will help them protect
employees’ health and safety, particularly in reducing and preventing excessive exposure to
respirable crystalline silica while performing tasks in general industry and the construction
industry that are known to result in overexposures. In developing this Alliance, OSHA and the NJSOAR
Alliance Partners recognize that OSHA’s State Plan and Consultation Project partners are an integral
part of the OSHA national effort.
NJSOAR Alliance Partners will work together to achieve the following training and education goals:
- Work with OSHA to provide expertise to develop training and education programs for employers and
employees regarding the hazards of crystalline silica exposure and protective measures that can be
taken to minimize or eliminate exposure, and to provide expertise in communicating such information
to employers and employees in industries where this exposure is prevalent. These training and
education programs will be delivered in other languages, where necessary and feasible, for employers
and employees.
- Provide expertise to develop a training and education program designed to educate employers and
employees in all aspects of effective engineering controls that have been identified or developed by
the NJ Silica Partnership and NJSOAR Alliance for crystalline silica and other particulates.
NJSOAR Alliance Partners will work together to achieve the following outreach and communication
goals:
- Promote and encourage the development and use, by controlling organizations (contracting entities)
such as county governments, municipal governments, and engineering firms, of contract language,
similar to that which was developed by the NJ Silica Partnership for the NJDOT, that provides
specific protection of employees from exposure to crystalline silica.
- Provide outreach to private organizations, such as trade and contractor associations, that
represent private contracting entities, to promote and encourage the use of contract language
mentioned above for contracts that require activities that can create excessive crystalline silica
exposure.
- Develop and disseminate information, such as sample tool box talks and the training program
developed by the Laborers’ Union on Road Construction Hazards Awareness, through print and
electronic media, including electronic tools and links from OSHA’s and other NJSOAR Alliance
partners’ Web sites.
- Speak, exhibit, or appear at NJSOAR Alliance partners’ conferences and local meetings regarding
NJSOAR activities and the hazards of crystalline silica exposure.
- Cross-train OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals in NJSOAR Alliance
identified best practices or effective approaches to controlling exposure to crystalline silica, as
jointly determined by OSHA and the NJSOAR Alliance partners.
- Share information on best practices, as jointly determined by NJSOAR Alliance partners, with
others in the industry and publicize the results through outreach, such as early morning
mini-seminars for contractors, delivered by NJSOAR Alliance partners using OSHA and/or NJSOAR
Alliance Partner developed training programs and materials.
- Encourage employers to build relationships with NJSOAR Alliance participants and OSHA’s Regional
and Area Offices to address health and safety issues, including crystalline silica exposure.
- Participate in research with the goal of identifying existing engineering controls and development
of new engineering controls for hazardous tasks that have been identified as creating excessive
crystalline silica exposure in all industries including the heavy highway construction industry and
sharing the information gleaned from such activities with the affected industries.
OSHA and the NJSOAR will work together to achieve the following goals related to
promoting the national dialogue on workplace safety and health:
- NJSOAR Alliance partners will, as a united front, endeavor to raise others’ awareness of, and
demonstrate their own commitment to, workplace safety and health whenever NJSOAR Alliance leaders
address appropriate groups.
- Develop effective ways to increase dialogue relating to engineering controls for the reduction of
exposure to crystalline silica as well as other safety and health issues. An example would include,
but not be limited to, enlisting the assistance of equipment and material suppliers and
municipal/county governments to engage road and highway contractors, especially small and mid-sized
contractors in discussions regarding the hazards and controls for crystalline silica exposure.
- Develop means to bring national attention to the need for engineering controls for high-risk tasks
in street and highway construction and other industries through dialogue with governmental and
private entities at the national level such as national associations, OSHA, NIOSH, and the Federal
Highway Administration.
- Develop and disseminate case studies illustrating the efficacy of engineering controls that are
found to be effective in controlling crystalline silica exposure through local and national
publications such as NJ Association newsletters, OSHA’s and NIOSH’s Web sites and national safety
and health publications.
- Convene or participate in forums, round table discussions, stakeholder meetings and other
activities on silica-related issues including the development and/or identification of effective
engineering controls, silicosis prevention programs and personal protective equipment to enhance the
development of innovative silica hazard control solutions.
- Engage construction equipment manufacturers and suppliers to encourage increased development and
availability of engineering controls for the equipment they manufacture, distribute or lease, that
has been associated with crystalline silica exposure, including but not limited to, pneumatic
hammers, concrete saws, demo saws, concrete drilling equipment, etc.
OSHA’s Alliances provide parties an opportunity to participate in a voluntary cooperative
relationship with OSHA for purposes such as training and education, outreach and communication and
promoting a national dialogue on workplace safety and health. These Alliances have proved to be
valuable tools for both OSHA and its Alliance participants. By entering into an Alliance with a
party, OSHA is not endorsing any of that party’s products or services; nor does the Agency enter
into an Alliance with the purpose of promoting a particular party’s products or services.
An implementation team made up of representatives of all NJSOAR Alliance signatory member
organizations will meet to develop a plan of action, determine working procedures, and identify the
roles and responsibilities of the participants. In addition, they will meet or conference at least
quarterly to track and share information on activities and results in achieving the goals of the
Alliance. The National Institutes for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is also invited to
participate as a key member of the implementation team as resources permit.
This agreement will remain in effect for two years from the date of signing. Any signatory may
terminate it for any reason at any time, provided they give 30 days written notice. This agreement
may be modified at any time with the concurrence of all signatories.
Signed on this 13th day of April, 2006.
Patricia K. Clark
Regional Administrator
U.S. Department of Labor |
|
Brian Tobin
Executive Director
Associated General Contractors of
New Jersey |
|
Robert D. Kulick
Area Director
Avenel Area Office |
|
Eric Larkin
Director of Safety
Utility and Transportation Contractors Association of New Jersey |
|
Gary W. Roskoski
Area Director
Marlton Area Office |
|
Louis Giammarino
President
Heavy and General Construction Laborers Local 472 |
|
Lisa Levy
Area Director
Hasbrouck Heights Area Office |
|
E. Frank DiAntonio
President and Business Manager
Construction and General Laborers
Local 172 |
|
Philip M. Peist
Are
Director
Parsippany Area Office |
|
Eddy A. Bresnitz, MD, MS
Deputy Commissioner/State
Epidemiologist
New Jersey Department of Health &
Senior Services |
|
Leonard Katz
Assistant Commissioner
Labor Standards and Safety
Enforcement
New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development |
|
Joseph A. McNamara
Director
New Jersey Laborers’ Health & Safety Fund |
|
| |
|
Anker Winther
Supervising Engineer
New Jersey Department of Transportation Office of Capital Project Safety |
|
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