- Safe Work Australia proposes reducing workplace exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica from 0.05 mg/m³ to 0.025 mg/m³
- CCAA warns new proposed limit cannot be reliably measured or enforced in real-world industrial environments
- Estimated compliance costs for mining and quarrying sector could exceed $18.5 billion over 10 years
- Current standards in Canada and New Zealand (0.025 mg/m³) are guidance values rather than enforceable regulatory limits
- CCAA recommends focusing on practical measures like engineering controls, dust monitoring, and respiratory protection instead of further reducing limits
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) says protecting workers from respirable crystalline silica exposure must remain a national priority but warns the latest proposal to again halve the workplace exposure standard risks introducing a limit that cannot currently be reliably measured or enforced in real-world workplaces.
The national exposure standard for respirable crystalline silica was reduced from 0.1 mg/m³ to 0.05 mg/m³ following a Safe Work Australia decision in 2019, with the revised limit implemented across most jurisdictions from 1 July 2020. Safe Work Australia is now considering a further reduction to 0.025 mg/m³ as part of its latest regulatory review.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the heavy construction materials industry has long recognised the risks associated with silica exposure and invested heavily in dust controls, monitoring and health surveillance.
“Our industry is absolutely committed to protecting workers and eliminating silica-related disease,” he said.
“But a workplace safety standard must be capable of being reliably measured and enforced if it is to deliver real protection.
“At the proposed level, exposure concentrations are beyond the limits of reliable laboratory measurement in mixed-dust industrial environments such as quarries and construction materials operations.
“When a regulatory limit sits at or below the limits of reliable laboratory measurement, compliance becomes uncertain and enforcement becomes legally and practically problematic, diverting resources from measures that directly protect workers.”
Mr Kilgariff said the proposal would also involve significant compliance costs across a range of sectors.
“Regulatory impact analysis for the review estimates compliance costs for the mining and quarrying sector alone could exceed $18.5 billion over 10 years, highlighting the importance of ensuring any regulatory changes deliver genuine safety and broader community improvements and benefits, particularly given the uncertainty about the incremental health benefits achievable at extremely low exposure levels,” he said.
Mr Kilgariff said international comparisons are also often misunderstood.
“References to Canada and New Zealand operating enforceable limits of 0.025 mg/m³ are often misunderstood, with these figures commonly cited as guidance values or advisory benchmarks rather than uniformly enforceable national regulatory standards,” he said.
CCAA said the focus should remain on measures that demonstrably reduce exposure and improve worker health outcomes, including stronger engineering controls, improved dust monitoring, respiratory protection and nationally consistent health surveillance.
“Eliminating silicosis is a goal we all share. The priority now should be ensuring the reforms already introduced are delivering real reductions in workplace exposure and lasting improvements in worker safety,” Mr Kilgariff said.
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About CCAA
CCAA is the voice of Australia’s heavy construction materials industry, an industry that generates over $15 billion annually and directly employs 30,000 Australians, with a further 80,000 employed indirectly. CCAA members produce most of Australia's cement, concrete, and aggregates, which are essential to the nation’s building and construction sectors.
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Contact: Mitch Itter, Manager Communications | 0431 542 660 | [email protected]