[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 175 (Wednesday, September 10, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53311]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23078]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926

[Docket No. H049C]
RIN 1218-AA05


Assigned Protection Factors

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: OSHA is extending the deadline for receipt of public comments 
on its proposed rule ``Assigned Protection Factors'' to October 2, 
2003. This action is in response to interested parties who have 
requested the additional time.

DATES: Comments and data must be submitted by October 2, 2003. Comments 
submitted by mail must be postmarked no later than October 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments. You may submit three copies of written 
comments to the Docket Office, Docket No. H-049C, Technical Data 
Center, Room N-2625, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2350. If your 
written comments are 10 pages or fewer, you may fax them to the OSHA 
Docket Office, telephone number (202) 693-1648. You do not have to send 
OSHA a hard copy of your faxed comments. You may submit comments 
electronically through OSHA's Homepage at http://ecomments.osha.gov/. 
You may not attach materials such as studies or journal articles to 
your electronic comments. If you wish to include such materials, you 
must submit three copies of them to the OSHA Docket Office at the 
address above. These materials must clearly identify your electronic 
comments by name, date, subject, and docket number so we can attach 
them to your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical inquiries, contact Mr. 
John E. Steelnack, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, Room N-3718, 
OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, 
DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-2289 or fax (202) 693-1678. For 
additional copies of this Federal Register notice, contact the Office 
of Publications, Room N-3103, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20210 (telephone (202) 693-
1888). Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as 
news releases and other relevant documents, are available at OSHA's 
website on the Internet at http://www.osha.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA published the final, revised 
Respiratory Protection Standard, 29 CFR 1910.134, on January 8, 1998 
(63 FR 1152). The standard contains worksite-specific requirements for 
program administration, procedures for respirator selection, employee 
training, fit testing, medical evaluation, respirator use, and other 
provisions. However, OSHA reserved the sections of the final standard 
related to assigned protection factors (APFs) and maximum use 
concentration (MUC) pending further rulemaking (see 63 FR 1182 and 
1203). On June 6, 2003, (68 FR 34036), OSHA published a proposal to 
revise its existing Respiratory Protection Standard to add definitions 
and specific requirements for APFs and MUCs. The proposed revisions 
also would supersede the respirator selection provisions of existing 
substance-specific standards with these new APFs (except the APFs for 
the 1,3-Butadiene Standard). The period for filing public comment on 
the proposal was to end on September 4, 2003. Several interested 
parties, including the Building and Construction Trades Department of 
the AFL-CIO, have requested an extension of the deadline for submitting 
comments based on the need for additional time to address assigned 
protection factors, as well as the changes to several substance-
specific standards, proposed for revision in the notice. OSHA is 
granting the request and extending the deadline for submitting comments 
to October 2, 2003.

Authority

    John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., 
NW., Washington, DC 20210, directed the preparation of this notice. It 
is issued under Sections 4, 6(b), 8(c), and 8(g) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); section 107 of 
the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (the Construction 
Safety Act) (40 U.S.C. 333); section 41, the Longshore and Harbor 
Worker's Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941); Secretary of Labor's Order 
No. 5-2002 (67 FR 65008); and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on September 4, 2003.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 03-23078 Filed 9-9-03; 8:45 am]
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