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Silica Written Exposure Control Plan Generator

Every construction employer whose workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica needs a written exposure control plan. This generator builds one around the four elements 29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(1) actually lists: the tasks, the engineering controls and respirators used for each, the housekeeping measures and the procedures that restrict access. The task menu and the control text come from Table 1 of the standard itself.

The plan is reviewed and its effectiveness evaluated at least annually, and updated as necessary.
Designated to make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to implement this plan. Every covered employee has to know who this is — (i)(2)(i)(E).
Readily available for examination and copying by employees, their designated representatives, the Assistant Secretary and the Director.

Nothing you type is sent to our servers. A draft is kept in this browser until you clear it.

Template for informational purposes only. This document must be reviewed and adapted by a competent or qualified person for your specific jobsite, equipment, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements. It does not constitute legal, engineering, or safety advice and does not by itself establish compliance with OSHA or any other standard. SteelToeTools assumes no liability for its use. Nothing you type is sent to our servers.

How to use this plan

  1. 1
    List the tasks first, not the controls. (g)(1)(i) asks for the tasks in your workplace that involve exposure. Walk the schedule and name them: cutting the slab, tuckpointing the north elevation, coring for the risers.
  2. 2
    Take the control text from Table 1, not from memory. Each task on Table 1 has a specified method, and the method is the deal: implement it fully and properly and you are covered. The Table 1 lookup gives the exact wording and the required APF.
  3. 3
    Watch the four-hour rule. Under (c)(3), the four hours is the total of all Table 1 tasks combined in the shift. Two hours of sawing and three hours of chipping is a five-hour shift for this purpose, and both tasks move to the “more than four hours” column.
  4. 4
    Do not tick a measure you do not use. A written plan that describes controls the crew has never seen is the document an inspector reads back to you. Short and true beats long and aspirational.
  5. 5
    Name the competent person and give them authority. (g)(4) requires frequent and regular inspections to implement the plan; (b) requires the authorization to take prompt corrective measures. Write down what they are allowed to stop. Then put the task into a JHA and the PPE choice into a PPE hazard assessment.

What OSHA requires

29 CFR 1926.1153 applies to all occupational exposures to respirable crystalline silica in construction work, except where employee exposure will remain below 25 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA under any foreseeable conditions. That figure is also the action level. The permissible exposure limit under paragraph (d)(1) is 50 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA.

The standard then offers two routes. Table 1, in paragraph (c), lists eighteen construction tasks with a specified engineering control, work practice and respirator for each; implement the specified method fully and properly and you do not have to assess exposures for that task, and (e)(3) treats you as complying with the respirator selection rules of 1910.134(d)(1)(iii) and (d)(3). Paragraph (d) is everything else: tasks not on Table 1, or Table 1 tasks where the specified method is not fully implemented. There you assess exposures — performance option or scheduled monitoring option — and control them to the PEL.

The written exposure control plan is required either way. Paragraph (g)(1) lists exactly four elements:

The four required elements of the written exposure control plan — 29 CFR 1926.1153(g)(1)
What the plan must containOn this form
(g)(1)(i)A description of the tasks in the workplace that involve exposure to respirable crystalline silicaSection 1, task column
(g)(1)(ii)A description of the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection used to limit employee exposure for each taskSection 1, controls and respirator columns
(g)(1)(iii)A description of the housekeeping measures used to limit employee exposureSection 2
(g)(1)(iv)A description of the procedures used to restrict access to work areas, when necessary, to minimize the number of employees exposed and their level of exposure — including exposures generated by other employers or sole proprietorsSection 3

Three more obligations sit around the plan. (g)(2): review and evaluate its effectiveness at least annually, and update it as necessary. (g)(3): keep it readily available for examination and copying by each covered employee, their designated representatives, the Assistant Secretary and the Director. (g)(4): designate a competent person to make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to implement it.

Housekeeping: two prohibitions

  • (f)(1) — no dry sweeping or dry brushing where it could contribute to employee exposure, unless wet sweeping, HEPA-filtered vacuuming or other methods that minimize the likelihood of exposure are not feasible.
  • (f)(2) — no compressed air to clean clothing or surfaces where it could contribute to exposure, unless it is used with a ventilation system that effectively captures the dust cloud, or no alternative method is feasible.

Medical surveillance is made available at no cost to each employee required to use a respirator 30 or more days per year ((h)(1)(i)). Hazard communication must address cancer, lung effects, immune system effects and kidney effects ((i)(1)), and every covered employee must be able to demonstrate knowledge of the six items in (i)(2)(i)(A) through (F) — including the identity of the competent person. This generator produces a template: the employer remains responsible for the accuracy of the plan and for its implementation.

Frequently asked questions

Any construction employer covered by 29 CFR 1926.1153, which is every employer with occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica in construction work — except where employee exposure will remain below 25 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA under any foreseeable conditions (1926.1153(a)). Nothing in the standard makes the plan optional for employers who follow Table 1: paragraph (g) applies either way.

Four elements, listed in 1926.1153(g)(1): a description of the tasks in the workplace that involve exposure to respirable crystalline silica; a description of the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection used to limit exposure for each task; a description of the housekeeping measures used to limit exposure; and a description of the procedures used to restrict access to work areas, when necessary, to minimize the number of employees exposed and their level of exposure — including exposures generated by other employers or sole proprietors. That last clause is the one that reaches other trades on your site.

At least annually. 1926.1153(g)(2) requires the employer to review and evaluate the effectiveness of the written plan at least annually and update it as necessary. That is a review of whether the plan is working, not a date stamp on the cover page.

1926.1153(g)(4) requires the employer to designate a competent person to make frequent and regular inspections of job sites, materials and equipment to implement the written exposure control plan. Paragraph (b) defines the role: an individual capable of identifying existing and foreseeable respirable crystalline silica hazards in the workplace, with authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate or minimize them, and with the knowledge and ability necessary to fulfil the responsibilities in paragraph (g). Under (i)(2)(i)(E), every covered employee has to know who that person is.

That is the deal Table 1 offers. Under 1926.1153(c)(1), 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, and (e)(3) treats that employer as complying with the respirator selection requirements of 1910.134(d)(1)(iii) and (d)(3) for silica. Fall short of any part of the specified method and Table 1 stops covering you: paragraph (d) applies, with the 50 µg/m³ PEL and an exposure assessment.

Two prohibitions, both with narrow exceptions. 1926.1153(f)(1): no dry sweeping or dry brushing where it could contribute to employee exposure, unless wet sweeping, HEPA-filtered vacuuming or other methods that minimize the likelihood of exposure are not feasible. 1926.1153(f)(2): no compressed air to clean clothing or surfaces where it could contribute to exposure, unless the compressed air is used with a ventilation system that effectively captures the dust cloud it creates, or no alternative method is feasible.

1926.1153(h)(1)(i): the employer must make medical surveillance available at no cost, and at a reasonable time and place, for each employee who will be required under the section to use a respirator for 30 or more days per year. The initial examination is made available within 30 days after initial assignment unless the employee has had a qualifying examination in the last three years, and it includes a work and medical history, a physical exam focused on the respiratory system, a chest X-ray read by a NIOSH-certified B Reader, a pulmonary function test and a TB test.

1926.1153(i)(2)(i) requires each covered employee to be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of six things: the health hazards of respirable crystalline silica; the specific tasks in the workplace that could result in exposure; the specific measures the employer has implemented, including engineering controls, work practices and respirators; the contents of the section; the identity of the competent person designated under (g)(4); and the purpose and a description of the medical surveillance programme. Under (i)(1), the hazard communication programme must address cancer, lung effects, immune system effects and kidney effects.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated v1