Bituminous Insurance Companies

PPE Standards Updated by OSHA

Release Date: September 22, 2009

Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) changed its personal protective guidance to require employers to pay for a workers' personal protective equipment (PPE). Now, OSHA is taking the following actions to revise its PPE standards to include the latest versions of national consensus and industry standards; OSHA is:

Updating or revoking national consensus and industry standards referenced in existing OSHA standards.
Updating regulatory text of standards adopted directly by OSHA from the language of outdated consensus standards.
When appropriate, replacing specific references to outdated national consensus and industry standards with performance-oriented requirements.

OSHA published their final ruling on how the above actions impact the PPE standards. OSHA issued this final rule to revise the PPE sections of its general industry (1910), shipyard employment (1915), marine terminals (1917), and longshoring (1918) standards regarding requirements for eye- and face-protective devices, head protection, and foot protection. The following highlights are from the Federal Register announcement:

OSHA is updating the references in its regulations to recognize more recent editions of the applicable national consensus standards, and is deleting editions of the national consensus standards that PPE must meet if purchased before a specified date.
In the future, OSHA plans to update the national consensus standards referenced in its PPE standards as new editions become available. Once OSHA determines that a new edition of a national consensus standard provides protection that is equal to or greater than the editions currently incorporated into its PPE standards, the agency will use appropriate rulemaking, including direct-final rulemaking, to incorporate the new editions, and to remove outdated editions, from the regulatory text.
OSHA is amending its provision that requires safety shoes to comply with a specific American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard.
OSHA is amending a provision that requires filter lenses and plates in eye-protective equipment to meet a test for transmission of radiant energy specified by another ANSI standard.
This final rule will become effective on October 9, 2009.

In amending these paragraphs, OSHA will require this safety equipment to comply with the applicable PPE design provisions. These revisions are a continuation of OSHA's effort to update or remove references to specific consensus and industry standards located throughout its standards.

The Federal Register Notice may be found at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-21360.htm.

The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.