[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 4132-4133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-1518]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926

[Docket No. H-049]
RIN 1218-0099


Respiratory Protection; Proposed Rule

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period and Rescheduling of Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: By this document the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) is extending the comment period and dates for 
submitting notices of intention to appear, as well as hearing testimony 
and evidence, and is postponing the public hearing on the proposed rule 
on respiratory protection which was published on November 15, 1994 (59 
FR 58884). The comment period was to end on February 13, 1995; public 
hearings were scheduled to begin on March 7, 1995. Following 
publication of the proposal, four written requests to extend the 
comment period were received. In response to these requests, OSHA is 
extending the comment period to April 14, 1995. Public hearings will 
begin on June 6, 1995.

DATES: Comments must be postmarked on or before April 14, 1995. Notices 
of intention to appear at the public hearing must be postmarked on or 
before March 31, 1995. Testimony and evidence to be submitted at the 
hearings must be postmarked by April 14, 1995. The hearing will begin 
at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 6, 1995 in Washington, DC.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted in quadruplicate or 1 
original (hardcopy) and 1 disk (5 1/4 or 3 1/2) in WordPerfect 5.0, 
5.1, 6.0 or ASCII to: Docket Office, Docket H-049, U.S. Department of 
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Room N2625, 200 
Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210; (202) 219-7894. Any 
information not contained on disk, e.g., studies, articles, etc., must 
be submitted in quadruplicate.
    Notices of intention to appear at the informal rulemaking hearing, 
testimony, and documentary evidence are to be submitted in 
quadruplicate to: Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA Division of Consumer Affairs, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
N.W., Room N3649, Washington, D.C. 20210; (202) 219-8615. Written 
comments received, notices of intention to appear, and all other 
material in the public record will be available for inspection and 
copying in the Docket Office, Room N2439, at the above address.
    The hearing will be held in the auditorium of the U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Proposal: Ms. Anne Cyr, Office of 
Information and Consumer Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N3647, Washington, 
D.C. 20210; (202) 219-8151.
    Hearings: Mr. Thomas Hall, Division of Consumer Affairs, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
N.W., Room N3649, Washington, D.C. 20210; (202) 219-8615.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 15, 1994, OSHA published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking on it's respiratory protection standard (59 FR 58884 et 
seq.). The proposal is intended to update the current respirator 
standard to reflect changes in methodology, technology, and approach 
related to respiratory protection that have occurred since the existing 
respiratory protection standard was adopted in 1971.

Extension of the Comment Period and Re-scheduling of the Public 
Hearings

    OSHA has received four written requests to extend the comment 
period for an additional 60 days from: Organization Resources 
Counselors, Inc. (Ex. 54-13); the American Petroleum Institute (Ex. 54-
4); the Dow Chemical Company (Ex. 54-12); and TSI Incorporated (Ex. 54-
15). The requesters state that because of the holidays and the press of 
other year-end business, the opportunity for interested persons to 
submit extensive comments, and for trade associations to coordinate 
among their members requires an extension of the time for comment. 
Based on these requests, the Agency has agreed to extend the comment 
period. It also has re-scheduled the public hearings.
    OSHA's procedures for participating in its rulemaking were printed 
in the proposal notice (59 FR 58935). All persons interested in 
participating are requested to review these procedures in their 
entirety. For convenience these procedures are summarized below. 
[[Page 4133]] 

Notice of Intention to Appear at the Informal Hearing

    Pursuant to section 6(b)(3) of the OSH Act, an opportunity to 
submit oral testimony concerning all issues raised by the proposed 
standard will be provided at an informal public hearing to be held in 
Washington, DC from June 6, 1995 and continuing until Friday, June 23.
    The hearing will commence at 9:30 a.m. on June 6, 1995, in the 
auditorium of the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 
3rd Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20210.
    All persons desiring to participate at the hearing must file in 
quadruplicate a notice of intention to appear, postmarked on or before 
March 31, 1995. The notice of intention to appear, which will be 
available for inspection and copying at the OSHA Technical Data Center 
Docket Office (Room N2625), telephone (202) 219-7894, must contain the 
following information:
    1. The name, address, and telephone number of each person to 
appear;
    2. The capacity in which the person will appear;
    3. The approximate amount of time required for the presentation;
    4. The issues that will be addressed;
    5. A brief statement of the position that will be taken with 
respect to each issue; and
    6. Whether the party intends to submit documentary evidence and, if 
so, a brief summary of it.
    The notice of intention to appear shall be mailed to Mr. Thomas 
Hall, OSHA Division of Consumer Affairs, Docket H-049, Room N3649, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 
20210; telephone (202) 219-8617.
    A notice of intention to appear also may be transmitted by 
facsimile to (202) 219-5986, by the same date, provided the original 
and 3 copies are sent to the same address and postmarked no more than 3 
days later.
    Any party who has not filed a notice of intention to appear may be 
allowed to testify for no more than 10 minutes as time permits, at the 
discretion of the Administrative Law Judge, but will not be allowed to 
question witnesses.

Filing of Testimony and Evidence Before the Hearing

    In addition to a notice of intention to appear, any party 
requesting more than ten (10) minutes for a presentation, or who will 
submit documentary evidence, must provide in quadruplicate the complete 
text of the testimony, including any documentary evidence to be 
presented. One copy shall not be stapled or bound and be suitable for 
copying. These materials must be provided to Mr. Thomas Hall, OSHA 
Division of Consumer Affairs at the address above and be postmarked no 
later than April 14, 1995.
    Each such submission will be reviewed in light of the amount of 
time requested. In those instances where the information submitted does 
not justify the amount of time requested, a more appropriate amount of 
time will be allocated and the participant will be notified of that 
fact prior to the hearing.
    Any party who has not substantially complied with this requirement 
may be limited to a ten-minute presentation, and may be requested to 
return for questioning at a later time during the hearing.
    Notices of intention to appear, testimony and evidence will be 
available for inspection and copying at the Docket Office at the 
address above.

Conduct and Nature of Hearing

    The hearing will commence at 9:30 a.m. on the first day. At that 
time, any procedural matters relating to the proceeding will be 
resolved.
    The nature of an informal rulemaking hearing is established in the 
legislative history of section 6 of the OSH Act and is reflected by 
OSHA's rules of procedure for hearings (29 CFR 1911.15(a)). Although 
the presiding officer is an Administrative Law Judge and limited 
questioning by persons who have filed notices of intention to appear is 
allowed on crucial issues, the proceeding is informal and legislative 
in type. The Agency's intent, in essence, is to provide interested 
persons with an opportunity to make effective oral presentations which 
can proceed expeditiously.
    Since the hearing is primarily for information gathering and 
clarification, it is an informal administrative proceeding rather than 
an adjudicative one. The technical rules of evidence, for example, do 
not apply. The regulations that govern hearings and the pre-hearing 
guidelines to be issued for this hearing will ensure fairness and due 
process and also facilitate the development of a clear, accurate and 
complete record. Those rules and guidelines will be interpreted in a 
manner that furthers that development.
    The hearing will be conducted in accordance with 29 CFR Part 1911. 
It should be noted that Sec. 1911.4 specifies the Assistant Secretary 
may upon reasonable notice issue alternative procedures to expedite 
proceedings or for other good cause.
    The hearing will be presided over by an Administrative Law Judge 
who makes no decision or recommendation on the merits of OSHA's 
proposal. The responsibility of the Administrative Law Judge is to 
ensure that the hearing proceeds at a reasonable pace and in an orderly 
manner. The Administrative Law Judge, therefore, will have all the 
powers necessary and appropriate to conduct a full and fair informal 
hearing as provided in 29 CFR Part 1911 including the powers:
    1. To regulate the course of the proceedings;
    2. To dispose of procedural requests, objections and comparable 
matters;
    3. To confine the presentations to the matters pertinent to the 
issues raised;
    4. To regulate the conduct of those present at the hearing by 
appropriate means;
    5. In the Judge's discretion, to question and permit the 
questioning of any witness and to limit the time for questioning; and
    6. In the Judge's discretion, to keep the record open for a 
reasonable, stated time (known as the post-hearing comment period) to 
receive written information and additional data, views and arguments 
from any person who has participated in the oral proceedings.
    OSHA recognizes that there may be interested persons or 
organizations who, through their knowledge of the subject matter or 
their experience in the field, would wish to endorse or support the 
whole proposal or certain provisions of the proposal. OSHA welcomes 
such supportive comments, including any pertinent data and cost 
information which may be available, in order that the record of this 
rulemaking will present a balanced picture of the public response on 
the issues involved.

Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of Joseph A. Dear, 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210. It is issued pursuant to section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1593, 29 U.S.C. 655).

    Signed at Washington, DC., this 17th day of January, 1995.
Joseph A. Dear,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 95-1518 Filed 1-19-95; 8:45 am]
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