Jurisdiction.OSHA

Most employees in the nation come under OSHA s jurisdiction. OSHA covers private sector employers and employees in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions either directly through federal OSHA or through an OSHA-approved state program. State run health and safety programs must be at least as effective as the federal OSHA program, but can also be more stringent. 

Also keep in mind that most asbestos abatement is closely monitored by state and local governments. Although OSHA has jurisdiction, the states and local regulators typically keep a watchful eye over ACM activities. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) was enacted by Congress in 1970 and established tlie Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which addressed safety in tlie workplace. At tlie same time tlie USEPA was created. Both USEPA and OSHA are mandated to reduce tlie exposure of Itazardous substances over Umd, sea, and air. Tlie OSH Act is limited to conditions that exist in the workplace, where its jurisdiction covers both safety and health. Frequently, both agencies regulate tlie same substances but in a different manner as they are overlapping environmental organizations. 

Off-site. This is an area beyond the property boundary of the stationary source or an area within the property boundary to which the public has routine and unrestricted access during or outside business hours. Note OSHA s jurisdiction includes visitors that may be on the property or facility who are conducting business as employees of other companies but does not necessarily extend to casual visitors or to areas within a facility boundary to which the public has routine and unrestricted access at any time. 

Plant workers are exposed to the raw materials, intermediates, products, byproducts, and waste discharge. Regulations for the protection of plant workers are under the jurisdiction of the OSHA, and supported by the research arm of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). They issue a number of enforceable guidelines for safety, and they also issue advisories that are suggested but not required. We concentrate here on hazards that are specific to chemicals flammability, and toxicity through breathing the air and by skin exposure. 

A few other comments Ethanol is listed by OSHA as a suspect but unproved carcinogen, but OSHA does not have jurisdiction over beverage alcohol, nor, since it is a natural product, does the Delaney Amendment apply. This could lead to paradoxical situations. Ethanol will continue to grow explosively in volume in the next few years as a motor fuel indeed, this has happened in Brazil. The field is extremely volatile, and new developments occur every week, particularly with respect to fermentation and gasohol. Things should be clearer in about five years, and we should remind ourselves to take a similar look at ethanol then. 

Workplace exposure to chemical substances and the potential for pulmonary toxicity are subject to regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), including the requirement that potential hazards be disclosed on material safety data sheets (MSDS). (An interesting question arises as to whether carbon nanotubes, chemically carbon but with different properties because of their small size and structure, are indeed to be considered the same as or different from carbon black for MSDS pur-oses.) Both government and private agencies can be expected to evelop the requisite threshold limit values (TLVs) for workplace exposure. Also, EPA may once again utilize TSCA to assert its own jurisdiction, appropriate or not, to minimize exposure in the workplace. 

In 1974, NIOSH (which is responsible for recommending health and safety standards) joined OSHA (whose jurisdictions include promulgation and enforcement activities) in developing a series of occupational health standards for substances with existing PELs. 

Finally, it is apparent that requirements of federal regulatory agencies (OSHA, FDA) not primarily concerned with emergency response to low-frequency events like chemical or biological terrorism nevertheless have a substantial influence on response capabilities. The characteristics and rules for use of personal protective equipment, for example, fall under the jurisdiction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The investigational (IND) status of some very specific treatments, present and future, will hamper their use in mass-casualty situations. Furthermore, in the case of many treatments, collection of the data on efficacy necessary for full FDA approval will not be possible for ethical reasons or economically attractive to a potential manufacturer because of limited market potential. 

If a hazard is not being corrected, an employee should contact the OSHA area office (or state program office) having jurisdiction. If the employee submits a written complaint and the OSHA area or state office determines that there are reasonable grounds for believing that a violation or danger exists, the office conducts an inspection. 

OSHA was formed in the year 1971 under the Nixon administration to provide and administer standards for safety and health in the workplace. Its jurisdiction covers the United States, Puerto Rico, and federally administered territories. OSHA s mandate is restricted to the workplace. Public safety and health is the responsibility of the EPA. 

Once a regulation is in force, it is constantly being tested, interpreted, and challenged by specific cases that are borderline in some manner, and that were not anticipated when the regulation was written. Typically, there are two principal sources of information regarding updates OSHA Letters of Interpretation and the findings of Courts who have jurisdiction over process safety. 

In general, the OSHA Act covers employers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and all other territories that fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government. Exempted employers are ... 

While the term process safety management (PSM) is used in the United States by OSHA, the elements of process safety and the concept of managing those elements (hence proeess safety management) are universal and not limited to one legal jurisdiction. In this text, the term process safety management and the acronym PSM are understood to be generic and not specific references to U.S. OSHA regulations unless specifically indicated as such. 

Finally, the MMS-CG collaboration on workplace safety inspection had failed to become a coordinated and effective program because of jurisdictional confusion. As previously discussed, OCSLA assigned workplace safety to the CG despite its lack of qualification for this role, caused withdrawal of OSHA, which is more highly qualified, and assigned overall rig safety to MMS. Sorting out responsibilities between the agencies has been difficult and led to a series of interagency memoranda. More difficulty was created by maritime law and issues such as whether a semi-submersible rig is a vessel and thereby requires CG safely certification and a subordinate role for the MMS. 

The OSHA regulations regarding container sizes are based on sections of the 1969 version of the NFPA Standard 30. Before returning to the topic of flammable material storage cabinets. Table 3.5 defines the various classes of flammable and combustible liquids and the maximum container sizes permitted by OSHA for each class. Table 3.5 is equivalent to Table H-12 from the OSHA General Industry Standards. Table 3.5 A provides similar data from NFPA 30-1996. Recall, however, that unless adopted by a local jurisdiction, the NFPA standards are only recommendations, not regulations. 

Rules of procedure designed to secure uniformity and protection of life and property having the force of law in certain jurisdictions. Examples include Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards (29 CFR 1910) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes. See also General Industry Safety Standards. 

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