Twenty-five questions for anyone who cuts, grinds, drills or chips concrete, masonry, stone or brick. They cover the two numbers that run the standard — the 50 microgram permissible exposure limit and the 25 microgram action level — what Table 1 actually offers and what you give up by not following it fully, the four-hour rule and why it is counted across the whole shift, the four elements of the written exposure control plan, the housekeeping prohibitions on dry sweeping and compressed air, when medical surveillance starts, and the six things every covered employee has to know. Every explanation quotes the paragraph it comes from so you can read the rule yourself, and the Table 1 lookup calculator gives the control text and the required APF for each task.
25 questions about 20 min
Question 1 of 25
Your score
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Not OSHA-authorized training. SteelToeTools is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by OSHA or the U.S. Department of Labor. This free educational content does not satisfy any OSHA or other regulatory training requirement, and no card, certificate, or credential is issued. Only OSHA-authorized trainers can deliver OSHA Outreach Training (10-Hour and 30-Hour) and issue DOL cards. Always follow your employer's training program and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
Frequently asked questions
No. Nothing is issued for taking this test — no card and no document of any kind. OSHA does not run a silica examination. The training required by 1926.1153(i)(2) is your employer's responsibility, and it has to be about the tasks and controls on your own site.
Both, and they do different jobs. 50 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA is the permissible exposure limit under 1926.1153(d)(1) — the level you may not exceed. 25 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA is the action level defined in paragraph (b); reaching it triggers exposure assessment obligations, and 1926.1153(a) excludes work from the standard only where exposure will remain below 25 µg/m³ under any foreseeable conditions.
For the tasks you run under it, yes — that is the deal. 1926.1153(c)(1) says an employer who fully and properly implements the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection specified for a task on Table 1 does not have to assess exposures under paragraph (d) for that task. Fall short of any part of the specified method and Table 1 stops covering it: paragraph (d) applies, with the PEL and an exposure assessment.
Yes. Nothing in paragraph (g) makes the written exposure control plan conditional on which compliance route you take. Table 1 users and paragraph (d) users both need the four elements of (g)(1), the annual review under (g)(2), the availability required by (g)(3) and the competent person of (g)(4). A free template is at /safety-forms/silica-exposure-control-plan.
No, and the difference matters. This test is written on 29 CFR 1926.1153, the construction standard. General industry and maritime work under 29 CFR 1910.1053, which sets the same 50 µg/m³ PEL and 25 µg/m³ action level but has no Table 1 of its own — there is no specified-control shortcut, and 1910.1053(e) requires a demarcated, signed regulated area wherever exposure is or can reasonably be expected to exceed the PEL. Where an answer would differ, the question says so.
One point per question and a percentage at the end, with the explanation shown for every question you missed. The 70% is a common classroom threshold, not an official pass mark — the value is in reading the explanations and going back to the paragraph they cite.