OSHA announced in the Sept 9 Federal Register that they are issuing a final rule revising the personal protective equipment sections of its general industry, shipyard employment, longshoring and marine terminals standard regarding requirements for eye- and face-protective devices, and head and foot protection.

“Workers exposed to occupational hazards requiring head, foot, or eye and face protection will now be provided protection based on a standard that reflects state-of-the-art technology and materials,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab.  ”This final rule is another step in OSHA’s efforts to update or remove references to outdated national consensus and industry standards.”

One of the provisions that have been amended requires safety shoes to comply with a specific American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard.  Another provision requires filter lenses and plates in eye-protective equipment to pass a test for transmission of radiant energy specified by another ANSI standard.

The amendments were revised to update references in OSHA regulations by recognizing more recent editions of the applicable national consensus standards that incorporate technological advances.

The incorporated ANSI standards are over a decade old and, in some instances, are two decades old.  Over this period, ANSI updated all of the standards, and in one instance (i.e., the ANSI Z41 standard for protective footwear), withdrew its standard when ASTM adopted national consensus standard for protective footwear.  In response, manufacturers began producing PPE that conforms to the updated ANSI and ASTM standards.  As a result, employers and employees have difficulty obtaining PPE manufactured in accordance with the national consensus standards incorporated earlier in OSHA standards.

In the past, OSHA updated its PPE standards by revising them to incorporate recent versions of the national consensus standards, while leaving the earlier versions of these national consensus standards in the regulatory text. (See 59 FR 16360 (April 6, 1994).)  This action temporarily alleviated the problem of trying to obtain PPE manufactured in accordance with an earlier version of a national consensus standard, but it ensured that the problem would arise again as the later versions of the standards superseded the newly incorporated versions.  To alleviate this problem, OSHA proposed replacing the references to specific national consensus standards with a performance-oriented “good-design” requirement. (72 FR 27771.)  The proposed rule provided guidance on how employers could meet the good-design requirement.  It also included non-mandatory appendices listing those national consensus standards that OSHA had determined were good-design standards that would meet the good-design requirement.

To ensure that the appendices remained useful in the future, OSHA promised in the proposal to use direct-final rulemaking to incorporate future editions of consensus standards into the non-mandatory appendices.  The proposed rule also deleted older, out-of-date consensus standards that OSHA incorporated into its standards to allow employers to continue using PPE they had purchased before a specified date.  OSHA noted that the proposed rule did not alter the duties of employers because it only provided employers with additional options for meeting their duty under the design-criteria provisions of OSHA’s existing PPE standards.

The final rule will become effective on Oct. 9. For technical inquiries, contact Ted Twardowski, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, at 202-693-2070.

Source: www.osha.gov