Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 004B Hazard:

29 CFR 1910.1053(g)(1): Where respiratory protection was required by this section, the employer did not provide each employee an appropriate respirator that complied with the requirements of this paragraph and 29 CFR 1910.134: (a) On or about January 13, 2022, and times prior thereto; the employer did not select a respirator for an employee performing material pouring in hoppers that maintained the employee exposure at or below the maximum usage concentration (MUC). The employer required the employee to wear a half mask negative pressure respirators. Personal air monitoring indicated that the employee was exposed to airborne respirable crystalline silica concentrations of 570.6 micrograms per cubic meter of air which exceeded the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air by approximately 11.4 times. This limit is established to prevent silicosis and lung cancer. Half mask negative pressure respirators are assigned a protection factor of 10. The airborne concentration of respirable crystalline silica exceeded the maximum use concentration for the respirator 1.14 times.