Department of Labor June 6, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting a review of the lead in construction standard under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and section 5 of Executive Order 12866 on Regulatory Planning and Review. In 1993, in response to a statutory mandate to adopt a standard to protect construction workers from lead exposures, OSHA promulgated a standard that requires testing of construction sites for lead exposures, provisions to protect workers from exposure where lead is present, and medical monitoring of exposed workers. The purpose of this review is to determine whether there are ways to modify this standard to make implementation more practical, to reduce regulatory burden on small business, and to improve its effectiveness, while still protecting worker health. OSHA solicits comments from the public on these and other relevant issues.

This final rule revises MSHA's existing standards addressing diesel particulate matter (DPM) exposure in underground metal and nonmetal (M/NM) mines. In this final rule, MSHA changes the interim concentration limit measured by total carbon (TC) to a comparable permissible exposure limit (PEL) measured by elemental carbon (EC), which renders a more accurate DPM exposure measurement. Also, this final rule increases flexibility of compliance for mine operators by requiring MSHA's longstanding hierarchy of controls for its other exposure-based health standards at M/NM mines, but retains the prohibition on rotation of miners for compliance. Furthermore, this final rule: Requires MSHA to consider economic as well as technological feasibility in determining if operators qualify for an extension of time in which to meet the final DPM limit; deletes the requirement for a control plan; and makes conforming changes to existing provisions concerning compliance determinations, environmental monitoring and recordkeeping.