OSHA Inspection: GRANITE DESIGN FOR YOU, INC.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $4,839 · Current $1,500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1): A written respiratory protection program that included the provisions in 29 CFR 1910.134(c)(1)(i) - (ix) with worksite specific procedures was not established and implemented for required respirator use:  a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not ensure that a written respiratory protection program was established for those employees required to wear respiratory protection, including 3M 8210 and 8210V N95 respirators, when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.    No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(e)(1): The employer did not provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee was fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace:  a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not provide a medical evaluation to determine an employee's ability to wear N95 respirators, including 3M 8210 and 8210V N95 respirators, before they were used when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.    No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(f)(2): Employee(s) using tight-fitting facepiece respirators were not fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator:  a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not ensure that employees were fit tested prior to requiring them to use N95 respirators, including 3M 8210 and 8210V N95 respirators, when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.    No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $3,457 · Current $2,500 Reduced

Hazardous substances S103

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1910.1053(c): The employer did not ensure that no employee was exposed to an airborne concentration of respirable crystalline silica in excess of 50 �g/m3, calculated as an 8-hour TWA:  a) On August 14, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not ensure that an employee was not exposed to an airborne concentration of respirable crystalline silica in excess of 50 �g/m3, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA). A Fabricator polishing the edges of a quartzite vanity top was exposed to concentrations of respirable crystalline silica of 70 �g/m3, calculated as an 8-hour TWA. This value exceeded the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) by approximately 1.4 times.   No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $3,457 · Current $3,000 Reduced

Hazardous substances S103

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(d)(1): The employer did not assess the exposure of each employee who was or may reasonably be expected to be exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level in accordance with either the performance option in paragraph (d)(2) or the scheduled monitoring option in paragraph (d)(3) of this section:   a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not assess the exposure of each employee who was or may reasonably be expected to be exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level. Employees were exposed to crystalline silica when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.   No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances S103

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(f)(2)(i): The employer did not establish and implement a written exposure control plan:  a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not establish and implement a written exposure control plan that outlined at least the following elements: description of the tasks that can expose employees to silica and a description of the work practices, respiratory protection, engineering controls and housekeeping measures used to limit employee exposure to silica. Employees were exposed to crystalline silica when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.   No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(c)(2)(i): Respirator users were not provided with the information contained in Appendix D to 29 CFR 1910.134 when the employer determined that any voluntary respirator use was permissible:   a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not provide the information contained in Appendix D to an employee that was permitted to voluntarily use a 3M CA 4115 half face respirator when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.   No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Oct 25, 2024

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.134(c)(2)(ii): The employer did not establish and implement those elements of a written program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily was medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator was cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user:   a) On July 29, 2024, Granite Design For You, Inc. did not establish and implement those elements of a written program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily was medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator was cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. An employee was permitted to voluntarily use a 3M CA 4115 half face respirator when cutting or polishing quartz, granite and/or quartzite.   No abatement certification or documentation is required for this item.

Issued

Sep 30, 2024

Abate by

Mar 31, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances S103

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(f)(1): The employer did not use engineering and work practice controls to reduce and maintain employee exposure to respirable crystalline silica to or below the PEL, unless the employer can demonstrate that such controls are not feasible:  Feasible engineering controls and work practices were not instituted to reduce and maintain employee exposures to crystalline silica at or below the permissible exposure limit:   a)	On August 14, 2024, an employee in the production area polishing the edges of a quartzite vanity top was exposed to airborne concentrations of respirable crystalline silica (quartz), a carcinogen, at 70 ?g/m3, approximately 1.4 times the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 ?g/m3 as an 8-hour time-weighted average. The exposure level was derived from a sample taken over a 363 minute period during one shift on August 14, 2024. Zero exposure was assumed for the unsampled period of 117 minutes.    General methods of control applicable in this circumstance include, but are not limited to the following:  1.	Seek the expertise of a competent individual such as an engineer or certified industrial hygienist to assess existing controls including water delivery system;  2.	Obtain recommendations to add local exhaust ventilation (LEV), and implementation of recommended equipment(s) or modifications of existing controls. Consider installing LEV systems at fixed locations to capture dust at its point of origin. Note: LEV systems need to be designed in accordance with the dimension of the operation area for providing sufficient dust capturing airflow velocity and to avoid interference with the water wetting methods; LEV systems should be prioritized for high exposure tasks, e.g., using hand-held grinders. 3.	Re-evaluate the current work practices for cutting, polishing and grinding, and ensure the use of water when performing all tasks, including drilling at the corners or cut outs for sinks/countertop, and internal angles.  4.	Perform periodic maintenance checks/inspections of the local exhaust ventilation system and water delivery system to ensure that the capture velocity is effective, and that the system is functioning as designed.  STEP 1: Submit to the area director a written, detail plan of abatement outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering and/or administrative measure to control employee exposure to hazardous substances as referenced in this citation. This plan shall include, at a minimum, target dates for the following action which must be consistent with the abatement dates required by this citation. Abatement due by December 31, 2024.   1) Evaluation of engineering/administrative control options;  2) Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design;  3) Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures; and  4) Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of controls. STEP 3: Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible engineering and/or administrative controls upon verification of their effectiveness in achieving compliance. Abatement due by March 31, 2024.  In accordance with 29 CFR 1903.19 (d), abatement certification is required for this violation (using the CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstration that abatement is complete must be included with your certification. This documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of purchase or repair of equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement or other written records.

Issued

Sep 30, 2024

Abate by

Mar 31, 2025

Penalty

Initial $0 · Current $0

Hazardous substances S103

General-duty citation text

29 CFR  1910.1053(i)(1)(i): The employer did not make medical surveillance available at no cost to each employee, and at a reasonable time and place, for each employee who has been occupationally exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level for 30 or more days per year:   a)	On or about August 14, 2024, the employer did not conduct medical surveillance for employees who work in the countertop fabrication area and had been exposed to respirable crystalline silica at or above the action level for 30 or more days per year. These employees perform polishing on countertops containing quartz silica. An employee in the production area conducting quartzite countertop polishing operations was exposed to respirable crystalline silica dust approximately 1.4 times the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 50 ?g/m3.  In accordance with 29 CFR 1903.19 (d), abatement certification is required for this violation (using the CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstration that abatement is complete must be included with your certification. This documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of purchase or repair of equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement or other written records.