Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces the grant of a permanent variance to Avalotis Corp., Bowen Engineering Corporation, Commonwealth Dynamics, Inc., Gibraltar Chimney International, LLC, Hamon Custodis, Inc., Hoffmann, Inc., International Chimney Corporation, Karrena International Chimney, Kiewit Power Constructors Co., Matrix SME, Inc., NAES Power Contractors, Pullman Power, LLC, R and P Industrial Chimney Co., Inc., T. E. Ibberson Company, TICThe Industrial Company (``the employers''). From 1973 to the present, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA or the Agency) granted permanent variances to a number of chimney-construction companies from the provisions of the OSHA standards that regulate boatswain's chairs and hoist towers, specifically paragraph (o)(3) of 29 CFR 1926.452 and paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16) of 29 CFR 1926.552. These variances use temporary personnel hoist systems to transport workers to and from worksites in a personnel cage while constructing chimneys of various configurations using jump-form construction techniques and procedures. The Agency received applications from 15 employers for a variance addressing chimney and chimney-related construction that, like the previous variances, propose to use temporary personnel hoist systems to transport workers to and from worksites in a personnel cage. These variance applications, however, included conditions that address construction of chimneys and chimney-related structures using temporary hoist systems and procedures in association with two different methods of construction (i.e., jump- form and slip-form construction), regardless of the structures' configurations (i.e., tapered or straight-barreled of any diameter). OSHA consolidated these variance applications into a single application and published the application and request for comments in the Federal Register on March 21, 2013 (78 FR 17432). After considering the record as a whole, OSHA finds that these alternative conditions protect workers at least as well as the requirements specified by 29 CFR 1926.452(o)(3) and 29 CFR 1926.552(c)(1) through (c)(4), (c)(8), (c)(13), (c)(14)(i), and (c)(16). This permanent variance applies in Federal OSHA enforcement jurisdictions and in those states and territories with OSHA-approved State-Plans covering private-sector employers that have identical standards and agree to the terms of the variance.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extended its approval for a number of information collection requirements found in sections of 29 CFR parts 1910, 1915, and 1926. OSHA sought approval of these requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA-95), and, as required by that Act, is announcing the approval numbers and expiration dates for these requirements.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposes to amend its existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. The basis for issuance of this proposal is a preliminary determination by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health that employees exposed to respirable crystalline silica face a significant risk to their health at the current permissible exposure limits and that promulgating these proposed standards will substantially reduce that risk. This document proposes a new permissible exposure limit, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average, of 50 micrograms of respirable crystalline silica per cubic meter of air (50 [mu]g/m\3\). OSHA also proposes other ancillary provisions for employee protection such as preferred methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping. OSHA is proposing two separate regulatory textsone for general industry and maritime, and the other for constructionin order to tailor requirements to the circumstances found in these sectors.

The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health invites interested individuals to submit nominations for membership on FACOSH.

In this notice, OSHA is issuing a notification deleting three test standards from the scope of recognition of the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) TUV SUD America, Inc., based on that NRTL's voluntary request that OSHA reduce its scope of recognition.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the standard on Formaldehyde (29 CFR 1910.1048).

This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final decision expanding the scope of recognition and the removal of a special condition of recognition that involves testing and evaluating hazardous-location equipment for Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.7.

OSHA solicits comments concerning its proposal to obtain OMB approval of the information collection requirements contained in the OSHA Training Institute Education Centers Program and the OSHA Outreach Training Program.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Occupational Exposure to Noise Standard (29 CFR 1910.95). The information collection requirements specified in the Noise Standard protect workers from suffering material hearing impairment.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in the proposed Conflict of Interest (COI) and Disclosure Form which will be used to determine whether or not a conflict of interest exists for a potential peer review panel member.

In this notice, OSHA proposes to delete several test standards from the scopes of recognition of several nationally recognized testing laboratories (NRTLs), and to incorporate into the scopes of recognition of several NRTLs test standards to replace some of the deleted test standards.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (``OSHA'' or ``the Agency'') is issuing this direct final rule to update its general industry and construction signage standards by adding references to the latest versions of the American National Standards Institute (``ANSI'') standards on specifications for accident prevention signs and tags, ANSI Z535.1-2006(R2011), Z535.2-2011 and Z535.5-2011. In this rulemaking, OSHA is retaining the existing references to the earlier ANSI standards, ANSI Z53.1-1967, Z35.1-1968 and Z35.2-1968, in its signage standards, thereby providing employers an option to comply with the updated or earlier standards. OSHA also is incorporating by reference Part VI of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (``MUTCD''), 1988 Edition, Revision 3, into the incorporation-by- reference section of the construction standards having inadvertently omitted this edition of the MUTCD from this section during an earlier rulemaking, and amending citations in two provisions of the construction standards to show the correct incorporation-by-reference section. In addition, OSHA is publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking in today's Federal Register adding the same references.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in the General Industry Standard on Crawler, Locomotive, and Truck cranes (29 CFR 1910.180).

In this notice, OSHA is issuing a determination deleting a test standard from the scope of recognition of a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), Southwest Research Institute, based on that NRTL's voluntary request that OSHA reduce its scope of recognition.

NACOSH will meet June 11, 2013 in Washington, DC.

This notice is to advise interested persons that PHMSA and OSHA will conduct a joint public meeting in preparation for United Nations meetings being held in Geneva, Switzerland, this summer. PHMSA is hosting the morning portion of the meeting to discuss proposals in preparation for the 43rd session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UNSCOE TDG) to be held June 24 to 28, 2013, in Geneva. During this meeting, PHMSA is also soliciting comments relative to potential new work items which may be considered for inclusion in its international agenda. OSHA is hosting the afternoon portion of the meeting to discuss proposals in preparation for the 25th session of the United Nations Sub-Committee of Experts on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (UNSCEGHS) to be held July 1 to 3, 2013, in Geneva. OSHA, along with the U.S. Interagency GHS Coordinating Group, plans to consider the comments and information gathered at this public meeting when developing the U.S. Government positions for the UNSCEGHS meeting.

ACCSH will meet May 23-24, 2013, in Washington, DC.

In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C., App. 2), and after consultation with the General Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor is reestablishing the charter for the Maritime Advisory Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. The Committee will better enable OSHA to perform its duties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the OSH Act) of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655, 656). Authority to establish this Committee is at Sections 6(b)(1) and 7(b) of the OSH Act, Section 41 of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941), Secretary of Labor's Order 1-2012 (77 FR 3912, Jan. 25, 2012), and 29 CFR Part 1912. The Committee is diverse and balanced, both in terms of segments of the maritime industry represented (e.g., shipyard employment, longshoring, and marine terminal industries), and in the views and interests represented by the members.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirement specified in its Standard on Dipping and Coating Operations (Dip Tanks) (29 CFR 1910.126(g)(4)).

This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final decision expanding the recognition of TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory under 29 CFR 1910.7.

With this notice, OSHA is revoking twenty-four (24) obsolete variances. Between 1975 and 1977, OSHA granted permanent variances to 24 companies engaged in the construction of cylindrical steel tanks. The variances specified several conditions that served as an alternative means of compliance to the falling-object-protection and fall-protection requirements of the standard governing general requirements for scaffolds in effect during this period. In 1996, OSHA revised its scaffolds standards for construction to include provisions that essentially duplicated the conditions specified by these variances. Therefore, OSHA believes the alternative means of compliance granted by the variances is no longer necessary and is revoking the variances. Based on comments received in response to a December 19, 2011, notice proposing to revoke these variances (76 FR 78698), on August 7, 2012, OSHA published a notice in the Federal Register correcting several cross references in OSHA's scaffolds standards for construction (77 FR 46948). Today's notice revoking the variances takes into consideration these newly corrected cross references.

The ACCSH will hold a special meeting March 18, 2013, in Washington, DC, to consider a proposed rule to update OSHA's standard on Accident Prevention Signs and Tags in construction and proposed technical amendments and corrections to the Cranes and Derricks standards.

OSHA is correcting its regulations that were amended by the Hazard Communication Standard final rule, published in the Federal Register on March 26, 2012. The majority of the corrections are to references inadvertently missed in the original publication of the final rule. Other corrections include correcting values or notations in tables, and updating references to terms.

OSHA invites interested parties to attend an informal stakeholder meeting concerning Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) Program policies. The meeting will focus on the following topics: NRTL independence; the NRTL initial application process and timeline; the NRTL renewal process; and, at OSHA's discretion and as time permits, other topics raised by participants or OSHA staff. OSHA plans to use the information gathered at this meeting to explore development of new or revised policies, procedures, or guidelines for the NRTL Program.