October 26, 2026
This week’s photo is courtesy of- Western Hydro Engineering- Cochise, AZ, USA .
Safety Focus
Part 1 of 4: Respiratory Protection Program
Respiratory protection is one of the standards OSHA cites most, year after year. In fiscal year 2025, OSHA recorded 2,294 violations of 29 CFR 1910.134, fifth on its Top 10 list, according to the National Safety Council's Safety+Health magazine. OSHA's own posted list for fiscal year 2024 ranked it fourth.
Here is the point behind those numbers: a respirator is not the protection. The program around it is. OSHA's standard sets the order. Its primary objective is to keep contaminants out of the air, using feasible engineering controls first. Respirators come in when those controls are not feasible or while they are being put in place.
When respirators are necessary, the employer must provide them, and must run a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures. That covers construction work too. OSHA states that the standard applies to general industry and construction, and the construction silica standard (29 CFR 1926.1153), our Week 2 topic, points straight to it: where silica rules require a respirator, it must meet 1910.134 and sit inside a program.
Why this matters on a rig: the wrong cartridge, a facepiece that does not seal, or a mask nobody has inspected can look like protection and deliver much less. The paperwork is not busywork. It is how a crew knows the respirator will do its job.
This week we walk the program in the order you would build it: Tuesday, when a respirator is required; Wednesday, fit testing, cartridges, and care; Thursday, the written program and training. Friday and Saturday, the Health Focus turns to your body: what breathing through a respirator asks of you, and why medical clearance comes first.
Key Takeaways:
• Respiratory protection (1910.134) is a perennial OSHA Top 10 citation: 2,294 violations in fiscal year 2025.
• Engineering controls come first; respirators cover what controls cannot, or while controls are being installed.
• When a respirator is required, the employer needs a written, worksite-specific program.
• On construction work the same standard applies, and the silica rule points directly to it.
Sources:
• National Safety Council, Safety+Health: OSHA Reveals Final Top 10 Data for FY 2025
Knowledge Share
Part 1 of 4: Formation Sieve Analysis
Before anyone picks a screen slot or a filter pack, we need to understand what the formation actually looks like. ANSI/AWWA A100-20, the general guideline for water well construction, is built in that order: investigation of geologic and hydrologic conditions comes in Section 4.2, ahead of well screens in Section 4.5 and filter pack in Section 4.6. A100 is a voluntary consensus standard. It carries weight where a specification or agency adopts it.
The U.S. Geological Survey made the same point in a 1963 report on filter-pack and well-screen design: "optimum well design should start with an analysis and interpretation of the aquifer properties," and it names the particle-size distribution of the aquifer materials among them.
That distribution comes from a sieve analysis. A dried formation sample is shaken through a stack of sieves, coarsest on top, and what stays on each sieve is weighed. Plot the cumulative percentages against grain size on a log scale and you have the grain-size curve. Screen and pack decisions for a well in sand and gravel are built on that curve.
Why it matters: the curve is where efficiency and longevity start. A design built on a good curve can let the formation give up water freely and keep the sand where it belongs. A design built on a bad curve is a guess, and the well will tell you about it later.
Here is the week. Tuesday, the Formula Spotlight: reading D10 and D60 off the curve and calculating the uniformity coefficient, Cu. Wednesday, running a sieve and plotting the curve yourself. Thursday, the sampling errors that ruin a curve before it reaches the lab. Next week builds on all of it: slot selection.
What this means for your next design:
• Get formation samples and a sieve analysis in hand before a screen or pack is ordered.
• If the job specification cites A100-20, read Section 4.2 for what it asks of investigation and sampling.
• Keep the grain-size curves in the well file. They are the record of why the well was built the way it was.
Sources:
• AWWA: ANSI/AWWA A100-20, Water Wells
Recommended Print References:
• Hydraulics of Wells: American Society of Civil Engineers
• Handbook of Ground Water Development- Roscoe Moss Company
• Groundwater & Wells, Third Edition- Edited by Robert J. Sterrett, Johnson Screens
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