iQ Power Tools Will Present on the Hazards of Silica at Coverings 2018

Coverings 2018 is approaching (May 8-11th in Atlanta), and iQ Power Tools President, Joel Guth, will be making a presentation on the hazards of silica and how to understand the OSHA Silica PEL.

Entitled “What the Tile Industry Needs to Know about the New OSHA Silica Standard,” the presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 9th, 2018, 3:00pm – 4:00pm in Location: B314. Guth will be joined by fellow panelists, Martin Howard, executive vice president – operations tile, stone and pre-construction at David Allen Co. (Raleigh, N.C.) and Jim Olson, assistant executive director of the National Tile Contractors Association (Jackson, Miss.).

Learning objectives for this one hour presentation:

• Know the Hazard: Learn and understand the hazard and risks associated with silica exposure.
• Know the Standard: Learn and understand the OSHA PEL and what it means to you and your business.
• Know your Exposure: Learn and understand how to use air monitoring to measure silica exposure levels and understand the results.
• Know your Options: Learn and understand your options, including tools, work practices and educational resources for controlling silica exposure on your job sites.

“As a third generation mason by trade and a contractor for over 30 years,” states Guth. “I’ve dealt with and breathed silica dust for most of that time. Being so close, I’ve been studying silica for over 15 years. Silica presents a problem, but a problem that can be solved. As president of iQ Power Tools, my focus is knowing about silica and building tools that eliminate the hazards associated with it.

“Silica is a topic in the tile industry,” continues Guth. “Especially with the ruling passed by OSHA, which reduced the permissible exposure limit (PEL) to 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air, averaged over an eight hour day. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and we want to educate and train our colleagues so they can provide a safer work environment for themselves and their employees.”

iQ Power Tools encourages attendees of all facets of the tile industry to take advantage of this presentation. Installers, builders, remodelers, contractors and distributors will walk away with awareness and knowledge.

Attendees may register for this presentation online and search for “What the Tile Industry Needs to Know about the New OSHA Silica Standard.”