Several state and national construction industry associations are asking a federal court to review a new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rule setting new limits on the amount of silica dust exposure on jobsites.

The new rule would reduce the amount of permissible silica dust by half over the course of an average eight-hour workday. OSHA estimated the change would save 700 lives and prevent 1,600 new cases of silicosis per year. http://1.usa.gov/1MQ2GMc

The groups that filed the lawsuit claim OSHA failed to address many of the issues they raised while promulgating the final rule. In particular, they say the agency largely ignored evidence the new air standards were both technologically and economically infeasible.

"This and other final rule provisions display a fundamental misunderstanding of the real world of construction," the groups said in a joint statement. "The construction industry petitioners continue to be active participants in the rulemaking process and are dedicated to promoting healthy and safe construction jobsites."

Eight state and local construction associations filed the suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. Their affiliated national groups plan to soon join the legal action. They are the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, American Subcontractors Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, the Associated General Contractors of America, Mason Contractors Association of America, Mechanical Contractors Association of America and National Association of Home Builders. http://bit.ly/1VtsAa0

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