The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently promulgated a new rule for respirable crystalline silica, with compliance obligations for the general industry beginning on June 23, 2018. Some industries particularly impacted by the rule include foundries, concrete manufacturers, and support activities for oil and gas operations. The rule imposes significant and potentially expensive requirements for engineering and work practice controls to reduce exposure to respirable crystalline silica.

Industry groups challenged the rule via lawsuits in six federal Courts of Appeal, which were consolidated into one case that was decided by the Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on December 22, 2017. Industry groups argued that OSHA’s alleged connections between silica exposure and health risks were unsupported by substantial evidence and that the requirements of the new rule were not technologically or economically feasible for the foundry, hydraulic fracturing, and construction industries. For example, the American Foundry Society estimates costs to the foundry industry of more than $2.2 billion dollars annually, representing 9.9% of the industry’s revenue and 276% of its profits. The D.C. Circuit, however, upheld the rule, rejecting both of these challenges.