Concrete insurance that sets right.

Silica: what Table 1 asks of your crew

In California, Title 8 section 1532.3 governs respirable crystalline silica in construction work. It applies unless exposure will stay below the action level of 25 µg/m³ (8-hour average) under any foreseeable conditions. Follow Table 1 fully for a task and you use its listed controls. Otherwise you must assess exposure and keep it at or below the 50 µg/m³ permissible exposure limit. In other states, federal OSHA's construction rule, 29 CFR 1926.1153, uses the same two figures and its own Table 1.

Table 1 lines concrete crews use daily:

• Handheld power saws: integrated water feed to the blade. Outdoors, no respirator up to 4 hours a shift and APF 10 beyond. Indoors or enclosed, APF 10.
• Walk-behind saws: integrated water feed. Outdoors, no respirator. Indoors or enclosed, APF 10.
• Dowel drilling rigs (outdoors only): shroud with dust collection, HEPA vacuum to clean holes, and APF 10 at any duration.
• Jackhammers and chipping tools: continuous water at the point of impact, or a shroud with dust collection. Respirators follow the handheld saw pattern.
• Handheld grinders (not mortar removal): water feed outdoors only, or a shroud with dust collection, which needs APF 10 indoors past 4 hours.
• Walk-behind floor grinders: water feed or the manufacturer's dust collection, with HEPA vacuuming between passes indoors.

When Table 1 tasks total more than 4 hours in a shift, use the over-4-hours respirator column for each. You also need a written exposure control plan naming the silica tasks, the controls and respirators for each, your housekeeping and how you restrict access. Review it at least annually, and designate a competent person to make frequent and regular inspections. Dry sweeping and compressed-air cleanup are allowed only where safer methods are not feasible.

Medical surveillance applies to anyone required to wear a respirator 30 or more days a year: a baseline exam within 30 days of assignment, then at least every three years. Cal/OSHA posted a September 2026 discussion draft that would change 1532.3 alongside an engineered stone ban, so check DIR for the current text.

Ready-mix delivery on public works

California Labor Code section 1720.9 makes hauling and delivering ready-mixed concrete to carry out a public works contract count as public works for prevailing wage, on contracts with any state agency, including CSU and UC, or any political subdivision. It defines ready-mixed concrete as concrete made in a factory or batching plant to a set recipe and delivered liquid by mixer truck for immediate use on a project. If you run mixer trucks:

• The rate follows the plant. Drivers earn the prevailing wage for the area where the factory or batching plant is located.
• The whole trip counts. Covered duties include receiving the concrete at the plant and the return trip.
• Written subcontract. The hauler signs one with the party that engaged it, requiring compliance. DIR says haulers are subcontractors that must register under section 1725.5.
• Payroll in five working days. Certified payroll goes to the engaging party and the general contractor within five working days after the employee is paid, with a time record certified by each driver.

The section does not apply to contracts advertised or awarded before July 1, 2016. List every mixer truck on the auto policy, and report prevailing-wage payroll at its actual amount at the workers' comp audit.