OSHA launches program to prevent injuries in New England cut stone products industries

OSHA has launched a new outreach and enforcement effort aimed at preventing and reducing injuries, illnesses and fatalities among workers in New England's cut stone products industries.

The program will focus on workplaces that cut, shape, finish, handle or distribute granite, marble and other natural or engineered stone products. The industry, primarily made up of smaller employers, has grown rapidly in the past few years, prompted by increased demand for countertops and other stone products. At the same time, fatality and injury rates have increased, with six New England fatalities since August 2004, five of them crushed by stone slabs.

Hazards to which industry workers can be exposed are crushing by improperly stored or handled stone slabs; silicosis and other lung diseases from exposure to airborne concentrations of silica caused by grinding and cutting; amputation hazards from unguarded machinery; musculoskeletal injuries from using pneumatic tools; and hearing loss from noise overexposures.

Over the next two months, OSHA offices in New England will conduct outreach activities to inform industry employers and employees of the program, promote their awareness of the hazards common to their workplaces and provide information on possible abatement methods. Employers will be encouraged to schedule free safety and health audits.

Those employers who take no action will be placed on a primary list for random, unannounced OSHA enforcement inspections. Those who use the safety consultation service and take steps to correct any hazards found will be put on a secondary inspection list.