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Silica exposure control plan template

A silica exposure control plan is the written plan that OSHA's silica standard for general industry requires covered employers to put in place and follow. The standard is 29 CFR 1910.1053 (Code of Federal Regulations), on respirable crystalline silica. Paragraph (f)(2) sets its minimum contents: a description of the tasks that involve exposure, the engineering controls, work practices and respirators used for each task, and the housekeeping measures. The plan has to be reviewed at least once a year and be available to employees. This template is written for foundries, glass plants and other general industry sites, not construction, which has its own rule. It covers the tasks that usually expose people, such as shakeout, sand handling, casting cleaning and grinding, furnace and ladle relining and the glass batch house, and adds the rest of the program around the plan, each part with its paragraph named: exposure assessment against the action level of 25 µg/m³ and the permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 µg/m³, both 8-hour time-weighted averages (TWA), regulated areas, respirators, medical surveillance, training and records. It is a starting point, not legal advice: check the standard and any state plan rules where you operate.

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Page 1 of the silica exposure control plan templateFields for the site, plan owner and review dates, the action level and PEL, and a table of tasks with columns for people, days a year, latest result, engineering controls, work practices and respirator.
Tasks and controlsHousekeepingExposure assessmentAction level and PELRegulated areasRespiratorsMedical surveillanceTrainingRecords31-check plan auditTWA calculator
Filled-in Silica exposure control plan template: six tasks at a gray iron foundry
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 4 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a silica exposure control plan template

  • When you first write the plan, or when the plan on file was written for construction and does not fit a plant.
  • For the yearly review the standard requires, using the 31-check audit to see what has changed.
  • After a change in production, process, controls, people or work practices that could raise exposure.
  • When new monitoring results come back, to set regulated areas, repeat monitoring dates and who is offered medical surveillance.
  • As the silica part of a foundry or glass plant safety checklist, alongside the crane, hot work and lockout sheets.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    List every task

    Walk the plant with the people who do the work. List each task that disturbs sand, refractory, batch or settled dust, with the area, shift, number of people and days a year.

  2. 2

    Assess exposure

    Use air monitoring or objective data for each job. An 8-hour TWA is the sum of each sample's concentration times its hours, divided by 8. Compare it with 25 and 50 µg/m³.

  3. 3

    Describe the controls for each task

    Write the engineering controls, work practices and respirators for each task, in the order of the hierarchy of controls. Respirators supplement feasible controls; they do not replace them.

  4. 4

    Set regulated areas, monitoring and surveillance

    Mark a regulated area wherever exposure is over the PEL. Book repeat monitoring within 3 months for results over the PEL and within 6 months for results from the action level up to the PEL. Offer medical surveillance to everyone at or above the action level on 30 or more days a year.

  5. 5

    Write the housekeeping rules

    No dry sweeping or brushing and no compressed air where they raise silica dust, unless the standard's exceptions apply. Name the HEPA vacuums, wet methods and the cleaning schedule.

  6. 6

    Train, share and review

    Train every covered employee, make the plan available, tell people their results within 15 working days, and review the plan's effectiveness at least once a year with the 31-check audit.

Reading a result

What an 8-hour TWA result means under 1910.1053

Under the scheduled monitoring option in paragraph (d)(3). The performance option assesses exposure from any mix of air monitoring and objective data instead of a fixed schedule.

  • Below 25 µg/m³ on initial monitoring

    Where it sits
    Below the action level
    Monitor again
    Monitoring may stop for the employees it represents
    What else follows
    Assess again after a change in production, process, controls, people or work practices
  • Below 25 µg/m³ on later monitoring

    Where it sits
    Below the action level
    Monitor again
    Within 6 months, until two results taken 7 or more days apart are below it
    What else follows
    As above
  • 25 to 50 µg/m³

    Where it sits
    At or above the action level, not over the PEL
    Monitor again
    Within 6 months
    What else follows
    Medical surveillance for those at this level for 30 or more days a year, and training
  • Over 50 µg/m³

    Where it sits
    Over the PEL
    Monitor again
    Within 3 months
    What else follows
    A regulated area, better controls, respirators until the controls work, and the corrective action in the written notice

The yearly plan audit

The 31 checks for a silica exposure control plan

Seven groups, each tied to a paragraph of 29 CFR 1910.1053. Use them for the yearly review of the plan's effectiveness; on the sheet each check is Yes, No or N/A, with the evidence and an action for every No.

Exposure assessment

1910.1053(d)

  1. 1Every task and job that may involve silica exposure is listed by area and shift
  2. 2Exposure was assessed by air monitoring or objective data for each job that may reach the action level
  3. 3Repeat monitoring is booked on the schedule the last results call for
  4. 4Exposure was assessed again after a change in production, process, controls, people or work practices
  5. 5Employees were told their results within 15 working days, with the corrective action when a result was over the PEL

Written plan and controls

1910.1053(f)

  1. 6The written plan describes each task that involves exposure
  2. 7For each task it describes the engineering controls, work practices and respirators used
  3. 8It describes the housekeeping measures
  4. 9Local exhaust, enclosures and dust collectors work as designed and are checked on a schedule
  5. 10Water sprays and wet methods work where the plan relies on them
  6. 11The plan was reviewed for effectiveness within the last 12 months and updated where needed
  7. 12The plan is available to employees and their representatives when they ask

Regulated areas and respirators

1910.1053(e) and (g)

  1. 13A regulated area is set up wherever exposure is, or could be, over the PEL
  2. 14Regulated areas are marked off, with the warning sign at every entrance
  3. 15Only authorized people go in, and each wears the respirator the plan names
  4. 16Respirator use is covered by a written respiratory protection program under 1910.134
  5. 17Fit tests and medical clearance for respirator wearers are current

Housekeeping

1910.1053(h)

  1. 18No dry sweeping or dry brushing where it could raise silica dust, unless wet methods and HEPA vacuums are not feasible
  2. 19No compressed air for cleaning clothes or surfaces, unless ventilation captures the dust or there is no feasible alternative
  3. 20HEPA vacuums are on hand and working
  4. 21Spills from sand systems and dust collectors are cleaned up on the schedule in the plan

Medical surveillance

1910.1053(i)

  1. 22Everyone exposed at or above the action level on 30 or more days a year is offered surveillance at no cost
  2. 23New starters in those jobs are offered an initial exam within 30 days of assignment
  3. 24Periodic exams are offered at least every three years
  4. 25Each employee gets the written medical opinion within 30 days of the exam

Training and hazard communication

1910.1053(j)

  1. 26Silica is in the hazard communication program, with labels and safety data sheets available
  2. 27Each covered employee can explain the health hazards, the tasks that expose them and the controls in place
  3. 28Training covers the purpose of medical surveillance and what the standard contains
  4. 29A copy of the standard is available to covered employees at no cost

Records

1910.1053(k)

  1. 30Each air monitoring record shows the date, task, methods, number, length and results of samples, the lab, respirators worn and the employees it represents
  2. 31Objective data and medical records are kept and made available as 29 CFR 1910.1020 requires

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): a made-up gray iron foundry with a green sand molding line, monitored on 15 September 2026 under the scheduled monitoring option. The same example is page 4 of the PDF and the Example sheet of the Excel file.

8-hour TWA by task against the action level and the PEL

  1. Ladle and furnace relining (4 people, 12 days a year)95over the PEL
  2. Shakeout (4 people, 240 days a year)60over the PEL
  3. Sand system and muller (3 people, 240 days a year)41action level to PEL
  4. Casting cleaning and grinding (6 people, 240 days a year)38action level to PEL
  5. Molding line (6 people, 240 days a year)22below action level
  6. Core room (5 people, 240 days a year)18below action level

TWA = Σ (hours × concentration) ÷ 8

Shakeout operator, three samples over the shift

  1. (3 × 110 + 2 × 45 + 3 × 20) ÷ 8= 60
Shakeout 8-hour TWA60 µg/m³

Respirable crystalline silica, 8-hour TWA in micrograms per cubic meter: Shakeout 60, Casting cleaning and grinding 38, Sand system and muller 41, Core room 18, Molding line 22, Ladle and furnace relining 95. Action level 25, PEL 50.

Illustrative. The mark on each bar is the PEL, 50 µg/m³; the action level is 25. Over the PEL: monitor again within 3 months. From the action level to the PEL: within 6 months.
  • Shakeout operator, three samples over the shift: 3 hours at 110, 2 hours at 45 and 3 hours at 20 µg/m³. TWA = (330 + 90 + 60) ÷ 8 = 60 µg/m³, over the PEL.
  • Over the PEL: shakeout (60) and ladle and furnace relining (95). Both become regulated areas with respirators, the shakeout exhaust is reviewed, and both are monitored again by 15 December 2026.
  • From the action level up to the PEL: casting cleaning and grinding (38) and the sand system (41). Monitored again by 15 March 2027.
  • Below the action level: core room (18) and molding line (22). Assessed again if the process or controls change.
  • Medical surveillance: shakeout 4 + grinding 6 + sand system 3 = 13 people at or above the action level for 240 days a year. The 4 relining crew are over the PEL but only 12 days a year, under the 30-day trigger, unless they also work other exposed jobs.

Two tasks over the PEL, 13 people offered medical surveillance and two monitoring dates in the calendar. Each employee gets the results in writing within 15 working days, with the corrective action for shakeout and relining.

Common mistakes

  • Using a construction plan

    Construction plans are built around the task table in the construction rule. A foundry or glass plant is general industry, so its plan follows 1910.1053 and its own exposure assessment.

  • Respirators instead of controls

    The standard puts engineering and work practice controls first. Respirators cover the gap while controls are installed, on tasks where controls are not feasible, and in regulated areas.

  • Forgetting short, dusty jobs

    Relining, dust collector changes and sand system cleanouts happen a few days a year but can give the highest results. List them as tasks.

  • Dry sweeping out of habit

    A broom or an air hose at the end of the shift can undo the controls. Put HEPA vacuums where people need them and say so in the plan.

  • A plan nobody reviews

    The plan has to be reviewed at least once a year for effectiveness. Use the 31-check audit and change the plan when results or tasks change.

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FAQ

Silica exposure control plan template: common questions

  1. Under 29 CFR 1910.1053(f)(2), at least a description of the tasks that involve exposure to respirable crystalline silica, the engineering controls, work practices and respiratory protection for each task, and the housekeeping measures. The plan must be reviewed at least once a year and be available to employees and their representatives.

  2. In general industry the action level is 25 µg/m³ and the permissible exposure limit is 50 µg/m³, both as 8-hour time-weighted averages. The action level triggers exposure assessment and, at 30 or more days a year, medical surveillance; over the PEL you need regulated areas and respirators while controls are improved.

  3. Yes, where workers are exposed to respirable crystalline silica, unless an exception applies, such as objective data showing exposure will stay below 25 µg/m³ as an 8-hour TWA under any foreseeable conditions. Construction work is covered by the construction rule, 29 CFR 1926.1153, instead.

  4. Under the scheduled monitoring option: again within 6 months when results are at or above the action level but not over the PEL, within 3 months when over the PEL, and within 6 months when a later result is below the action level, until two results taken 7 or more days apart are below it. The performance option uses air monitoring or objective data instead of a fixed schedule.

  5. Molten metal and moisture, cranes moving ladles, hot work, lockout on sand systems and machines, noise and heat. Use the overhead crane inspection checklist, the hot work permit and the lockout procedure template alongside this plan.

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