February 2017

Today, the American Thoracic Society and the American College of Environmental and Occupational Medicine submitted an amicus brief in support of the Occupational Safety Health Administration rules to reduce exposure to silica dust. The ATS court filing supported OSHA's silica rule and shared with the court scientific and clinical information on why silica-related disease is still an important occupational health issue.

The OSHA silica standard was issued in the final months of the Obama Administration and marked the first time the silica exposure standard had been revised since the 1970s. For several years, the ATS has urged OSHA to update the silica standard and submitted comments in support of a more protective standard during the rule-making process.

Once OSHA issued the final standard, it was immediately challenged by industry in federal court. Industry is essentially claiming that a new silica standard is not needed because 1) OSHA did not base its decision on sound science 2) silica disease is a disease of the past and 3) enforcing the previous standards is sufficient to protect worker health.