OSHA’s Fall Regulatory Agenda (2015)

Here is a listing of OSHA’s “Wish List” they hope to accomplish in the coming months/years.

1. Bloodborne Pathogens – OSHA will undertake a review of the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) in accordance with the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and section 5 of Executive Order 12866. The review will consider the continued need for the rule; whether the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal, State or local regulations; and the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors may have changed since the rule was evaluated.
2. Combustible Dust – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has commenced rulemaking to develop a combustible dust standard for general industry. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) completed a study of combustible dust hazards in late 2006, which identified 281 combustible dust incidents between 1980 and 2005 that killed 119 workers and injured another 718. Based on these findings, the CSB recommended the Agency pursue a rulemaking on this issue. OSHA has previously addressed aspects of this risk. For example, on July 31, 2005, OSHA published the Safety and Health Information Bulletin, “Combustible Dust in Industry: Preventing and Mitigating the Effects of Fire and Explosions.” Additionally, OSHA implemented a Combustible Dust National Emphasis Program (NEP) on March 11, 2008, launched a new webpage, and issued several other guidance documents. However, the Agency does not have a comprehensive standard that addresses combustible dust hazards. OSHA will use the information gathered from the NEP to assist in the development of this rule. OSHA published an ANPRM October 21, 2009. Additionally, stakeholder meetings were held in Washington, DC, on December 14, 2009, in Atlanta, GA, on February 17, 2010, and in Chicago, IL, on April 21, 2010. A webchat for combustible dust was also held on June 28, 2010, and an expert forum was convened on May 13, 2011.
3. Preventing Backover Injuries and Fatalities – OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) (77 FR 18973; March 29, 2012) that sought information on two subjects: 1) preventing backover injuries; and 2) the hazards and risks of reinforcing concrete operations in construction, including post-tensioning. Backing vehicles and equipment are common causes of struck-by injuries and can also cause caught-between injuries when backing vehicles and equipment pin a worker against an object. Struck-by injuries and caught-between injuries are two of the four leading causes of workplace fatalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2011, 75 workers were fatally backed over while working. While many backing incidents can prove to be fatal, workers can suffer severe, non-fatal injuries as well. A review of OSHA’s Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) database found that backing incidents can result in serious injury to the back and pelvis, fractured bones, concussions, amputations, and other injuries. Emerging technologies in the field of backing operations may prevent incidents. The technologies include cameras and proximity detection systems. The use of spotters and internal traffic control plans can also make backing operations safer. The Agency has held stakeholder meetings on backovers, and is conducting site visits to employers.
4. Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) – The majority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) were adopted in 1971, under section 6(a) of the OSH Act and only a few have been successfully updated since that time. There is widespread agreement among industry, labor, and professional occupational safety and health organizations that OSHA’s PELs are outdated and need revising in order to take into account newer scientific data that indicates that significant occupational health risks exist at levels below OSHA’s current PELs. In 1989, OSHA issued a final standard that lowered PELs for over 200 chemicals and added PELs for 164. However, the final rule was challenged and ultimately vacated by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991 citing deficiencies in OSHA’s analyses. Since that time OSHA has made attempts to examine its outdated PELs in light of the court’s 1991 decisions. On October 10, 2014, OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit comment from the public on approaches it may take to reduce the risk of developing illness caused by exposure to hazardous chemicals. This RFI does not address Process Safety Management issues being addressed under the Executive Order, but rather lower, longer-term exposures.
5. Process Safety Management and Prevention of Major Chemical Accidents – In accordance with the Executive Order 13650, Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on December 9, 2013 (78 FR 73756). The RFI anticipates to identify issues related to modernization of the Process Safety Management standard and related standards necessary to meet the goal of preventing major chemical accidents.
6. Shipyard Fall Protection–Scaffolds, Ladders and Other Working Surfaces – Existing 29 CFR part 1915, subpart E; Scaffolds Ladders and Other Working Surfaces includes scaffolds or staging, ladders, guarding of deck openings and edges, access to vessels, access to and guarding of dry docks and marine railways, access to cargo spaces and confined spaces, and working surfaces. These requirements are not comprehensive in their coverage of fall hazards in shipyards. In addition, provisions will be updated to reflect technological advances, while other provisions will be revised to be consistent with national consensus standards. Since this would result in a large, cumbersome subpart, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will request information in dividing this rulemaking into three subparts: subpart E, Stairways, Ladders and Other Access and Egress; subpart M, Fall Protection; and subpart N, Scaffolds. The estimated number of annualized fatalities associated with each subpart are: subpart E, Stairways, Ladders and Other Access and Egress – approximately 1 to 2 fatalities are occurring each year; subpart M, Fall Protection – approximately 3 to 4 fatalities in shipyards, associated with falls from elevations, are occurring each year; and subpart N, Scaffolds – approximately 1 fatality is occurring each year.
7. Communication Tower Safety – During the 1990s, the growing demand for wireless and broadcast communications spurred a dramatic increase in the number of communication towers being erected, maintained and serviced. While the number of employees engaged in the communication tower industry remains small, the fatality rate is very high. Over the past 20 years, this industry has experienced an average fatality rate that greatly exceeds that of the construction industry, for example. In 2013, the industry experienced a dramatic increase in the number of fatalities occurring during communication tower work, with 13 total fatalities. Falls are the leading cause of death in tower work. Fall protection is used either improperly or inconsistently. Several communication towers have recently collapsed while employees worked on structural modifications. Employees are often hoisted to working levels on small base-mounted drum hoists that have been mounted to a truck chassis, and these may not be rated to hoist personnel. Communication tower construction and maintenance activities are not adequately covered by current OSHA fall protection and personnel hoisting standards.
8. Emergency Response and Preparedness – Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) published a Request for Information (RFI) on Emergency Response and Preparedness (72 FR 51735) on September 11, 2007. The RFI addressed the way that OSHA currently regulates aspects of emergency response and preparedness under its existing standards, and that some of these standards were promulgated decades ago, and none were designed as comprehensive emergency response standards. Consequently, they do not address the full range of hazards or concerns currently facing emergency responders, nor do they reflect major changes in performance specifications for protective clothing and equipment. The Agency acknowledged that current OSHA standards also do not reflect all the major developments in safety and health practices that have already been accepted by the emergency response community and incorporated into industry consensus standards. The Agency received 84 comments, many favorable on the need for further action to protect emergency responders. In the tragedy that struck West, Texas, in April 2013, it was reaffirmed that emergency responder health and safety continues to be an area of ongoing need. President Obama issued Executive Order 13650 Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security (EO) on August 1, 2013, to improve chemical facility safety and security, including emergency responder safety. The Agency hosted a stakeholder meeting in July 2014 to address the lessons learned from West, Texas as well as how to integrate this information with the existing docket of information, as well as any other developments, since closing the RFI docket.
9. Mechanical Power Presses Update – The current OSHA standard on mechanical power presses does not address the use of hydraulic or pneumatic power presses. Additionally, the existing standard is approximately 40 years old and does not address technological changes. OSHA previously published an ANPRM on Mechanical Power Presses (June, 2007) in which it proposed several options for updating of this standard, but there were insufficient resources and no further action was taken. The Agency would like to update the public record to determine how best to proceed. This project is in accordance with Executive Order 13563, which is intended to facilitate the review of existing regulations that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them.
10. Powered Industrial Trucks – Powered Industrial Trucks (e.g., fork trucks, tractors, lift trucks, motorized hand trucks) are ubiquitous in industrial (and many retail) worksites. The agency’s standard still relies upon ANSI standards from 1969. The Industrial Truck Association has been encouraging OSHA to update and expand the OSHA standard to account for the substantial revisions to ANSI standards on powered industrial trucks over the last 45 years. The current standard covers 11 types of trucks, and there are now 19 types. In addition, the standard itself incorporates and out of date consensus standard. This project is in accordance with Executive Order 13563, which is intended to facilitate the review of existing regulations that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them.
11. Lock-out/Tag-out Update – Recent technological advancements that employ computer-based controls of hazardous energy (e.g., mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, chemical, radiation) conflict with OSHA’s existing lock-out / tag-out standard. The use of these computer-based controls has become more prevalent as equipment manufactures modernize their designs. Additionally, there are international standards harmonization concerns since this method of lockout/tag-out is more accepted in other nations. The Agency has recently seen an increase in requests for variances for these devices. An RFI would be useful in understanding the strengths and limitations of this new technology, as well as potential hazards to workers. Alternatively, the agency could simply hold a stakeholder meeting and open a public docket to explore the issue.
12. Revocation of Obsolete Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) – OSHA is initiating a new regulatory project to revoke a small number of obsolete permissible exposure limits (PELs) for chemicals contained in the 29 CFR 1910.1000 Table Z-1. This project is in accordance with Executive Order 13563, which is intended to facilitate the review of existing regulations that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them. As the agency has previously discussed in its Request for Information on Chemical Management and Permissible Exposure Limits (RIN: 1218-AC74), there is widespread agreement among industry, labor, and professional occupational safety and health organizations that OSHA’s PELs are outdated. In particular, the Agency will propose revocation of a small number of chemical PELs for which the OSHA PEL substantially exceeds other recommended occupational exposure limits and for which the agency has evidence that workers are not generally being exposed at a level approaching the OSHA PEL (e.g., employers have not been cited for violation of the PEL for some time). The agency is particularly concerned that the continued existence of these obsolete PELS imparts a false level sense of security to workers and employers who mistakenly believe that the PEL represents the level at which there are no adverse health effects. The agency expects that upon revocation of these outmoded and ineffective PELS that it may use other enforcement tools (e.g., the General Duty clause) in limited circumstances should worker health and safety be jeopardized.
13. Tree Care Standard – There is no OSHA standard for tree care operations; the agency currently applies a patchwork of standards to address the serious hazards in this industry. The tree care industry previously petitioned the agency for rulemaking and OSHA issued an ANPRM (September, 2008); but the issues was later removed from the Regulatory Agenda due to insufficient resources. Tree care continues to be a high-hazard industry. Stakeholder meetings will allow the agency to update the record and proceed to a future rulemaking.
14. 1-Bromopropane (1-BP) Standard – 1-bromopropane (1-BP, also known as n-propyl bromide) is an organic solvent used within adhesive formulations, metal surface cleaning operations, and as a solvent in the dry cleaning industry. Worker exposures to 1-BP were the subject of intense media scrutiny (NYT, NPR) in recent years because workers in the furniture industry with high exposures developed severe neurological effects including persistent leg weakness, numbness, headache, dizziness, eye irritation and difficulty concentrating. Animal studies have also shown effects on the male and female reproductive systems, liver, and hematopoietic systems. In October 2014, the National Toxicology Program classified 1-BP as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. There is no OSHA PEL for 1-BP. An RFI would allow the agency to explore the need for a new PEL or comprehensive rule.
15. Occupational Exposure to Beryllium – In 1999 and 2001, OSHA was petitioned to issue an emergency temporary standard for permissible exposure limit (PEL) to beryllium by the United Steel Workers (formerly the Paper Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers Union), Public Citizen Health Research Group, and others. The Agency denied the petitions but stated its intent to begin data gathering to collect needed information on beryllium’s toxicity, risks, and patterns of usage. On November 26, 2002, OSHA published a Request for Information (RFI) (67 FR 70707) to solicit information pertinent to occupational exposure to beryllium, including: current exposures to beryllium; the relationship between exposure to beryllium and the development of adverse health effects; exposure assessment and monitoring methods; exposure control methods; and medical surveillance. In addition, the Agency conducted field surveys of selected worksites to assess current exposures and control methods being used to reduce employee exposures to beryllium. OSHA convened a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) and completed the SBREFA Report in January 2008. OSHA also completed a scientific peer review of its draft risk assessment.
16. Standards Improvement Project IV – OSHA’s Standards Improvement Projects (SIPs) are intended to remove or revise duplicative, unnecessary, and inconsistent safety and health standards. The Agency has published three earlier final standards to remove unnecessary provisions, thus reducing costs or paperwork burden on affected employers. Standards Improvement Project Phase I was published in the Federal Register on June 18, 1998 (63 FR 33450); SIPs Phase 2 was published on January 5, 2005 (70 FR 1111); and SIPs Phase III was published June 8, 2011 (76 FR 33590). The Agency believes that these standards have reduced the compliance costs and eliminated or reduced the paperwork burden for a number of its standards. The Agency only considers such changes to its standards so long as they do not diminish employee protections. The Agency is initiating a fourth rulemaking effort to identify unnecessary or duplicative provisions or paperwork requirements that are focused primarily on its construction standards in 29 CFR 1926.
17. Amendments to the Cranes and Derricks in Construction Standard – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing corrections and amendments to the final standard for cranes and derricks published in August 2010. The standard has a large number of provisions designed to improve crane safety and reduce worker injury and fatality. The proposed amendments: correct references to power line voltage for direct current (DC) voltages as well as alternating current (AC) voltages; broadens the exclusion for forklifts carrying loads under the forks from “winch or hook” to with a “winch and boom”; clarifies an exclusion for work activities by articulating cranes; provides four definitions inadvertently omitted in the final standard; replaces “minimum approach distance” with “minimum clearance distance” throughout to remove ambiguity; clarifies the use of demarcated boundaries for work near power lines; corrects an error permitting body belts to be used as a personal fall arrest system rather than a personal fall restraint system; replaces the verb “must” with “may” used in error in several provisions; corrects an error in a caption on standard hand signals; and resolves an issue of “NRTL-approved” safety equipment (e.g., proximity alarms and insulating devices) that is required by the final standard, but is not yet available.
18. Clarification of Employer’s Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain Accurate Records of Each Recordable Injury and Illness – OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation. The duty to make and maintain an accurate record of an injury or illness continues for as long as the employer must keep and make available records for the year in which the injury or illness occurred. The duty does not expire if the employer fails to create the necessary records when first required to do so. OSHA is issuing this proposed rule because of the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in AKM LLC v. Secretary of Labor, 675 F.3d 752 (D.C. Cir. 2012).
19. Quantitative Fit Testing Protocol: Amendment to the Final Rule on Respiratory Protection – In January 1998, OSHA published the final Respiratory Protection standard (29 CFR 1910.134). In the final revised respirator standard, OSHA set up a mechanism for OSHA’s acceptance of new fit test protocols under Mandatory Appendix A. Any person may submit to OSHA an application for approval of a new fit test protocol, and if the application meets certain criteria, OSHA will initiate a rulemaking proceeding under 6(b)(7) of the OSH Act to determine whether to list the new protocol as an approved fit test protocol in Appendix A. OSHA has received a submission to consider three new quantitative fit test protocols that reduce the time required to complete the fit test while maintaining acceptable test sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value. Employers, employees, and safety and health professionals use fit testing to select respirators. Currently OSHA relies on fit testing methods specified in Appendix A of the final revised Respiratory Protection standard. When OSHA published the final Respiratory Protection standard in 1998, it allowed for later rulemaking on new fit test protocols. This rulemaking action will allow for the incorporation of new fit test protocols into 1910.134.
20. Crane Operator Qualification in Construction – The rulemaking will identify criteria for employers to follow to ensure their crane operators are completely qualified to operate cranes safely on construction work sites. In the 2010 final cranes standard, the Agency established crane operator certifications as the sole criterion for operator safety. Certification is virtually always provided by third party testing entities. Following publication of the final crane standard, stakeholders informed the Agency that certification did not by itself establish a safe enough level of experience and competence–employers must be responsible to ensure that crane operators are qualified. The Agency responded by publishing a final rule postponing the deadline for operator certification and extending the employer duty to permit the Agency to conduct rulemaking, if necessary, on operatory qualification. This rulemaking will also clarify issues surrounding operatory certification, including the “type and capacity” requirement from the 2010 final construction cranes standard. Establishing clear benchmarks for employers to follow to ensure crane operator competence is essential for construction work site safety.
21. Occupational Exposure to Crystalline Silica – Crystalline silica is a significant component of the earth’s crust, and many workers in a wide range of industries are exposed to it, usually in the form of respirable quartz or, less frequently, cristobalite. Chronic silicosis is a uniquely occupational disease resulting from exposure of employees over long periods of time (10 years or more). Exposure to high levels of respirable crystalline silica causes acute or accelerated forms of silicosis that are ultimately fatal. The current OSHA permissible exposure limit (PEL) for general industry is based on a formula proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) in 1968 (PEL=10mg/cubic meter/(% silica + 2), as respirable dust). The current PEL for construction and shipyards (derived from ACGIH’s 1970 Threshold Limit Value) is based on particle counting technology, which is considered obsolete. NIOSH and ACGIH recommend 50µg/m3 and 25µg/m3 exposure limits, respectively, for respirable crystalline silica. Both industry and worker groups have recognized that a comprehensive standard for crystalline silica is needed to provide for exposure monitoring, medical surveillance, and worker training. ASTM International has published recommended standards for addressing the hazards of crystalline silica. The Building Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has also developed a recommended comprehensive program standard. These standards include provisions for methods of compliance, exposure monitoring, training, and medical surveillance. The NPRM was published on September 12, 2013 (78 FR 56274). OSHA received over 1,700 comments from the public on the proposed rule, and over 200 stakeholders provided testimony during public hearings on the proposal. The agency is now reviewing and considering the evidence in the rulemaking record.
22. Walking Working Surfaces and Personal Fall Protection Systems (Slips, Trips, and Fall Prevention) – In 1990, OSHA published a proposed rule (55 FR 13360) addressing slip, trip, and fall hazards and establishing requirements for personal fall protection systems. Slips, trips, and falls are among the leading causes of work-related injuries and fatalities. Since that time, new technologies and procedures have become available to protect employees from these hazards. The Agency has been working to update these rules to reflect current technology. As a result of issues raised in comments to the 1990 NPRM, OSHA published a notice to reopen the rulemaking for comment on May 2, 2003. Based on comments received on the 2003 notice, OSHA determined that the rule proposed in 1990 was out of date and did not reflect current industry practice or technology. The Agency published a second proposed rule on May 24, 2010, which reflected current information and increased consistency with other OSHA standards. Hearings were held on January 18 through 21, 2011.
23. Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is making changes to its reporting system for occupational injuries and illnesses. An updated and modernized reporting system would enable a more efficient and timely collection of data, and would improve the accuracy and availability of the relevant records and statistics. This rulemaking involves modification to 29 CFR part 1904.41 to expand OSHA’s legal authority to collect and make available injury and illness information required under part 1904, and a modification to 29 CFR part 1904.35 to clarify an employee’s right to report injury and illnesses to their employer without fear of retaliation.
24. Streamlining of Provisions on State Plans for Occupational Safety and Health – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will propose a revision to each State’s subpart under 29 CFR 1952 and 29 CFR 1956 to scale back the detailed descriptions of OSHA-approved State plans, including the jurisdictional explanation, purely historical data, and other unnecessary information that may be subject to change. The revised 29 CFR 1952 will retain a brief description of each State plan and a more detailed explanation will be provided on OSHA’s website. The general provisions of 29 CFR 1952 will be moved into 29 CFR 1902. Accordingly, outdated references to 29 CFR 1952 will be cleaned up throughout various OSHA regulations. The purpose of the revision to 29 CFR 1952 is to eliminate the requirement to engage in the arduous rulemaking process in order to make changes to a State plan’s coverage or other descriptive language. OSHA will publish a Direct Final Rule (DFR) and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) with a 30-day comment period.
25. Updating OSHA Standards Based on National Consensus Standards Eye and Face Protection – Under section 6(a) of the OSH Act, during the first two years of the Act, the Agency was directed to adopt national consensus standards as Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Some of these standards were adopted as regulatory text, while others were incorporated by reference. In the more than 40 years since these standards were adopted by OSHA, the organizations responsible for these consensus standards have issued updated versions of these standards. However, in most cases, OSHA has not revised its regulations to reflect later editions of the consensus standards. OSHA standards also continue to incorporate by reference various consensus standards that are now outdated and, in some cases, out of print. The Agency is undertaking a multi-year project to update these standards. A notice describing the project was published in November 2004 (69 FR 68283). The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Final Rule, published September 2009, amended the general industry PPE standard and incorporated by reference a number of updated consensus standards governing the design and testing of certain types of PPE. The Final Rule did not update PPE standards for the construction industry; these standards currently refer to outdated consensus rules. In addition, while the Final Rule was undergoing final OMB review, ANSI published a 2010 edition of the Eye and Face Protection (ANSI Z-87.1) consensus standard. OSHA intends to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to incorporate the 2010 edition of the American National Standard, Z87.1 Eye and Face Protection for general industry, shipyard employment, long shoring, marine terminals, and construction industries.
26. Rules of Agency Practice and Procedure Concerning OSHA Access to Employee Medical Records – OSHA’s regulation at 29 CFR 1913.10 includes internal procedures to be followed by OSHA personnel when obtaining and using personally-identifiable employee medical information. After careful review, OSHA has identified several provisions in need of revision. The Agency plans to amend the regulation to improve its efficiency in implementing these internal procedures.