[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 235 (Thursday, December 6, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72781-72783]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-29514]
[[Page 72781]]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Parts 1910 and 1926
[Docket No. OSHA-2012-0007]
RIN 1218-AC67
Standards Improvement Project--Phase IV
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: OSHA is initiating a regulatory review of its existing safety
and health standards in response to the President's Executive Order
13563, ``Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review'' (76 FR 38210).
The Agency conducted similar regulatory reviews of its existing
standards previously as ``standards improvement projects.'' OSHA is
issuing this request for information to initiate another of these
regulatory reviews, and naming this review the Standards Improvement
Project--Phase IV (SIP-IV). The purpose of SIP-IV is to improve and
streamline OSHA standards by removing or revising requirements that are
confusing or outdated, or that duplicate, or are inconsistent with,
other standards. The purpose of the regulatory review is to reduce
regulatory burden while maintaining or enhancing employees' safety and
health. SIP-IV will focus primarily on OSHA's construction standards.
The purpose of this notice is to invite the public, including
employers, employees, and employee representatives involved in the
construction industry, to submit recommendations for revisions to
existing construction standards, including the rationale for these
recommendations. OSHA will review this information to determine the
need for, and the content of, any subsequent SIP-IV rulemaking.
DATES: Submit comments and additional material by February 4, 2013. All
submissions must bear a postmark or provide other evidence of the
submission date.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments and additional material using any of the
following methods:
Electronically: Submit comments and attachments electronically via
the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the instructions online for making electronic submissions.
Facsimile (FAX): Commenters may fax submissions, including any
attachments, that are no longer than 10 pages in length to the OSHA
Docket Office at (202) 693-1648; OSHA does not require hard copies of
these documents. Commenters must submit lengthy attachments that
supplement these documents (e.g., studies, journal articles) to the
OSHA Docket Office, Technical Data Center, Room N-2625, U.S. Department
of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20210. These
attachments must clearly identify the commenter's name, date, subject,
and docket number (i.e., OSHA-2012-0007) so the Agency can attach them
to the appropriate comments.
Regular mail, express mail, hand (courier) delivery, or messenger
service. Submit a copy of comments and any additional material (e.g.,
studies, journal articles) to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. OSHA-
2012-0007, Technical Data Center, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone:
(202) 693-2350 (TDY number: (877) 889-5627). Note that security
procedures may result in significant delays in receiving comments and
other written materials by regular mail. Contact the OSHA Docket Office
for information about security procedures concerning delivery of
materials by express mail, hand delivery, or messenger service. The
hours of operation for the OSHA Docket Office are 8:15 a.m.-4:45 p.m.,
e.t.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Agency name
and the docket number for this rulemaking (i.e., OSHA-2012-0007). OSHA
places all submissions, including any personal information provided, in
the public docket without change; this information will be available
online at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, the Agency cautions
commenters about submitting information they do not want made available
to the public, or submitting comments that contain personal information
(either about themselves or others) such as Social Security numbers,
birth dates, and medical data.
Docket: To read or download submissions or other material in the
docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov, or contact the OSHA Docket
Office at the address listed above. While the Agency lists all
documents in the docket in the http://www.regulations.gov index, some
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to
read or download through this Web site. All submissions, including
copyrighted material, are accessible at the OSHA Docket Office. Contact
the OSHA Docket Office for assistance in locating docket submissions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, OSHA Office of
Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email:
[email protected].
General and technical information: Contact Dayton Eckerson, Office
of Construction Standards and Guidance, OSHA Directorate of
Construction, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Room N-3468, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1731; fax:
(202) 693-1689; email: [email protected].
Copies of this Federal Register notice. Electronic copies are
available at http://www.regulations.gov. This Federal Register notice,
as well as news releases and other relevant information, also are
available at OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Request for Information, Data, and Comments
A. Eliminate Unnecessary Paperwork
B. Clarify Employer Duties and Eliminate Unnecessary Employer
Duties
C. Update Standards and Eliminate Inconsistencies or Duplication
Between Standards
D. Miscellaneous Revisions
E. Submitting Recommendations
III. Authority and Signature
I. Background
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to identify
provisions in OSHA standards that are confusing or outdated, or that
duplicate, or are inconsistent with, the provisions of other standards,
either OSHA standards or the standards of other agencies. Improving
OSHA standards will increase employers' understanding of their
obligations, which will lead to increased compliance, improve employee
safety and health, and reduce compliance costs.
In 1995, in response to a Presidential memorandum to improve
government regulation,\1\ OSHA began a series of rulemakings designed
to revise or remove standards that were confusing, outdated,
duplicative, or inconsistent. In the first rulemaking, known as
``Standards Improvement Project, Phase I'' (SIP-I), OSHA focused on
revising standards that were out of date,
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duplicative, or inconsistent. OSHA published the final SIP-I rule on
June 18, 1998 (63 FR 33450).\2\ Two additional rounds of SIP rulemaking
followed, with final SIP rules published in 2005 (SIP-II) and 2011
(SIP-III).\3\
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\1\ Clinton, W.J. Memorandum for Heads of Departments and
Agencies. Subject: Regulatory Reinvention Initiative. March 4, 1995.
\2\ Revisions made by the SIP-I rulemaking included adjustments
to the medical-surveillance and emergency-response provisions of the
Coke Oven Emissions, Inorganic Arsenic, and Vinyl Chloride
standards, and removal of unnecessary provisions from the Temporary
Labor Camps standard and the textile industry standards.
\3\ In the final SIP-II rulemaking published in 2005 (70 FR
1111), OSHA revised a number of provisions in its health and safety
standards identified as needing improvement either by the Agency or
by commenters during the SIP-I rulemaking. The final SIP-III rule,
published in 2011 (76 FR 33590), updated consensus standards
incorporated by reference in several OSHA rules, deleted provisions
in a number of OSHA standards that required employers to prepare and
maintain written training-certification records for personal
protective equipment, revised several sanitation standards to permit
hand drying by high-velocity dryers, and modified OSHA's sling
standards to require that employers use only appropriately marked or
tagged slings for lifting capacities.
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As stated above, the President's Executive Order 13563, ``Improving
Regulations and Regulatory Review,'' sets out the goals and criteria
for regulatory review, and requires agencies to review existing
standards and regulations to ensure that these standards and
regulations continue to protect public health, welfare, and safety
effectively, while promoting economic growth and job creation. The EO
encourages agencies to use the best, least burdensome means to achieve
regulatory objectives, to perform periodic reviews of existing
standards to identify outmoded, ineffective, or burdensome standards,
and to modify, streamline, or repeal such standards when appropriate.
The Agency believes that the SIP rulemaking process is an effective
means to improve its standards. In addition, the Advisory Committee for
Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) recommended that the Agency
review its construction standards as part of the SIP rulemaking process
at a public meeting held on December 16, 2011. (A transcription of
these proceedings is available at Docket No. OSHA-2011-0124-0025
(``ACCSH Transcript'')). At this meeting, OSHA discussed examples of
existing regulations currently under review for possible inclusion in
the SIP-IV rulemaking (see Section II, ``Request for Information, Data,
and Comments,'' of this notice for a discussion of these examples)
(ACCSH Transcript, pp. 133-154). The ACCSH recommended that OSHA also
consider revising the standards related to fit testing personal
protective equipment, notably Sec. Sec. 1926.103 and 1910.134, with
emphasis on fit testing for female workers (ACCSH Transcript, pp. 142-
144). In addition, the ACCSH recommended that OSHA consider revisions
to the fall-protection requirements applicable to chimney construction
under Sec. 1926.552 to obviate the need for variances to address the
specialized fall hazards common to chimney construction (ACCSH
Transcript, pp. 142-149).
Recognizing the importance of public participation in the SIP
process, the Agency in this RFI is asking the public to identify
standards that are in need of revision or removal, and to explain how
such action will reduce regulatory burden while maintaining or
increasing the protection afforded to employees. While commenters may
recommend extensive revisions to, or major reorganizations of, OSHA
standards, recommendations that require large-scale revisions to
standards are not appropriate for this rulemaking. The Agency will
determine whether such large-scale revisions are appropriate for a
separate, future rulemaking. In addition, while SIP-IV will focus
primarily on construction standards, the Agency will consider
recommendations for improvements to non-construction standards.
II. Request for Information, Data, and Comments
OSHA requests assistance from the public in identifying standards
that are potential candidates for SIP-IV rulemaking. As stated above,
the Agency is targeting primarily construction standards that are
confusing or outdated, or that duplicate, or are inconsistent with,
other OSHA standards or the standards issued by other agencies. The
Agency is seeking recommendations on how to revise or remove those
standards while maintaining or enhancing employee protection. To assist
in the identification process, listed below under different objectives
of the SIP-IV rulemaking (e.g., ``Eliminate Unnecessary Paperwork'')
are specific examples from prior rulemakings, along with candidate
standards currently under consideration for this rulemaking.
A. Eliminate Unnecessary Paperwork
1. Examples from prior SIP rulemakings. SIP-III removed the duty of
employers to transfer employee exposure and medical records to the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) when an
employer ceased doing business and left no successor, when the required
period for retaining the records expired, or when the employer
terminated a worker's employment. While the original purpose of this
requirement was to provide NIOSH with useful research information,
NIOSH determined that it could not use these records for that purpose.
SIP-III also removed the requirement to certify personal protective
equipment (PPE) training. OSHA concluded that it could obtain the PPE
training information using other means, thereby making this requirement
unnecessary; removing the requirement reduced substantially the
paperwork burden on employers.
2. Example of an existing standard currently under review for
possible inclusion in the SIP-IV rulemaking. To eliminate unnecessary
paperwork among construction employers, OSHA is considering eliminating
the requirement for a written certification of employee training in
Sec. 1926.503(b) of the construction Fall Protection standard (29 CFR
part 1926, subpart M). The underlying training requirement would still
apply, but employers would no longer have to prepare written
certifications of the training.
B. Clarify Employer Duties and Eliminate Unnecessary Employer Duties
1. Examples from prior SIP rulemakings. In SIP-III, OSHA clarified
employer duties by redefining the meaning of the term ``potable
water,'' and revised the title of 29 CFR part 1910, subpart E, from
``Means of Egress'' to ``Exit Routes and Emergency Planning'' for
greater clarity and ease of comprehension by affected employers and
employees. To eliminate unnecessary employer duties, SIP-I reduced the
frequency of medical examinations and tests required in OSHA's
Inorganic Arsenic and Coke Oven Emissions standards at 29 CFR 1910.1018
and .1029, respectively.
2. Example of an existing standard currently under review for
possible inclusion in the SIP-IV rulemaking. To clarify employer
duties, OSHA is considering a revision to the Motor Vehicle, Mechanized
Equipment, and Marine Operations standard for construction (29 CFR part
1926, subpart O) that would explain that Sec. 1926.601 (and not Sec.
1926.602) covers vehicles that operate within an off-highway jobsite,
while Sec. 1926.602 (and not Sec. 1926.601) covers ``off-highway
trucks.'' \4\ A number of construction employers have complained to
OSHA that the existing
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language of these standards is confusing.
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\4\ The term ``off-highway trucks'' refers to trucks designed
for moving materials in areas other than public roads, e.g., very
large dump trucks that are too large to operate on most roads.
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C. Update Standards and Eliminate Inconsistencies or Duplication
Between Standards
1. Examples from prior SIP rulemakings. The SIP-II rulemaking
updated and harmonized a number of OSHA's early substance-specific
standards (e.g., Vinyl Chloride, Acrylonitrile, Coke Oven Emissions,
Inorganic Arsenic, and DBCP) by revising the exposure-monitoring,
medical-surveillance, and compliance-plan-update provisions of these
early standards consistent with recently promulgated OSHA substance-
specific standards. In the SIP-III rulemaking, OSHA revised
inconsistent provisions of the Respiratory Protection standard to
clarify which appendices contain mandatory provisions.
2. Example of existing standards currently under review for
possible inclusion in the SIP-IV rulemaking. OSHA is considering
revising the construction Signals, Signs, and Barricades standards (29
CFR part 1926, subpart G), notably Sec. Sec. 1926.201 and 1926.202, to
reference the most current version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices (MUTCD-2009) from the Department of Transportation's
Federal Highway Administration. The current standard references the
1988 and 2000 versions of the MUTCD, which are no longer used in many
jurisdictions.
D. Miscellaneous Revisions \5\
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\5\ These revisions include eliminating obsolete, unclear, or
inconsistent standards; permitting the use of new technologies or
new and effective employee-protection measures that provide
equivalent or superior performance to existing OSHA standards; and
correcting grammatical or typographical errors.
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1. Examples from prior SIP rulemakings. SIP-III removed the word
``hot'' modifying ``air hand dryers'' in its Bloodborne Pathogens
standard to allow the use of new high-velocity-air hand-drying
machines. OSHA acknowledged in the SIP-III rulemaking that the new
hand-drying technology was as effective as the requirements in the
existing standard, but the existing standard limited hand drying to a
decades-old technology that delivered only hot air.
2. Examples of existing standards currently under review for
possible inclusion in the SIP-IV rulemaking. With regard to the
Underground Construction, Caissons, Cofferdams and Compressed Air
standards (29 CFR part 1926, subpart S), OSHA is considering updating
the decompression tables in Appendix A.\6\ This action would permit
employers to use decompression procedures that take advantage of new
hyperbaric technologies used widely by private-sector and public-sector
employers in the U.S. engaged in extreme hyperbaric exposures.
Currently, to use updated decompression procedures, employers engaged
in tunneling projects, for example, must apply for a variance from the
decompression tables currently specified by Appendix A. However, the
variance process is not an efficient means of addressing health and
safety issues that may affect multiple employers.
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\6\ Updated decompression procedures typically use oxygen-
enriched breathing mixtures during decompression, as well as
decompression schedules that differ substantially from the schedules
specified by the existing Appendix A tables.
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Another possible miscellaneous revision would involve revising the
definitions of ``stable rock'' in Sec. 1926.650(b) and ``layered
system'' in paragraph (b) of Appendix A of OSHA's Excavation standard
by clarifying the meaning of those terms so that employers will
classify soil correctly at excavation sites. Incorrect classifications
of soil types can endanger employees because, based on faulty soil
classification, employers may use inappropriate safeguards to prevent
cave-ins.
E. Submitting Recommendations
When submitting a recommended revision to an existing OSHA standard
in response to this RFI, OSHA requests that members of the public
explain their rationale and provide, if possible, data and information
to support their comments. Specifically, OSHA is requesting commenters
to provide: (1) The reasons why they believe a candidate standard is
confusing or outdated, or duplicates, or is inconsistent with, other
OSHA standards or the standards issued by other agencies, and mention
specifically what the other standard is, and (2) the action, including
revised language when appropriate, that they believe will improve the
standard.
III. Authority and Signature
David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, authorized
the preparation of this notice pursuant to Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657),
29 CFR part 1911, and Secretary's Order 1-2012 (77 FR 3912).
Signed at Washington, DC, on November 29, 2012.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2012-29514 Filed 12-5-12; 8:45 am]
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