[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 135 (Thursday, July 15, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42379-42381]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16084]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1926

RIN 1218-AC14
[Docket No. S-775 A]


Steel Erection; Slip Resistance of Skeletal Structural Steel

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

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; limited reopening of rulemaking 
record.

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SUMMARY: OSHA is reopening the rulemaking record of Docket S-775, Steel 
Erection, to obtain comments and information on a provision that 
addresses the slip resistance of walking surfaces of coated structural 
steel members, 29 CFR 1926.754(c)(3), and Appendix B to that standard. 
This provision is scheduled to take effect on July 18, 2006. OSHA is 
considering whether to retain, amend, or revoke this provision, based 
on whether suitable and appropriate test methods for testing structural 
steel coatings, and whether slip-resistant coatings meeting the slip 
resistance criteria in the standard, can reasonably be expected to be 
available by the effective date. OSHA invites the public to submit 
additional comments and information relating to the appropriateness of 
Sec.  1926.754(c)(3).

DATES: Submit written hearing requests and comments regarding this 
notice, by the following dates:
    Hard Copy: Your hearing requests and comments must be submitted 
[postmarked or sent] by October 13, 2004.
    Facsimile and electronic transmission: Your hearing requests and 
comments must be sent by October 13, 2004.
    Please see the section entitled ``Supplementary Information'' for 
additional information on submitting written comments and hearing 
requests.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments and hearing requests, identified by 
Docket number (S-775 A) and RIN number (1218-AC14), by any of the 
following methods:
    Regular mail, express delivery, hand-delivery, and messenger 
service: Submit three copies of comments, attachments, and hearing 
requests to the OSHA Docket Office, Docket No. S-775 A, Room N-2625, 
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210; telephone (202) 693-2350. OSHA Docket Office and Department of 
Labor hours of operation are 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., e.s.t.
    Please note that there may be delays in receiving comments and 
other materials by regular mail. Telephone the OSHA Docket Office at 
(202) 693-2350 for information regarding security procedures concerning 
delivery of materials by express delivery, hand delivery, and messenger 
service.
    Facsimile: Transmit hearing requests and comments (including 
attachments) consisting of 10 or fewer pages by facsimile to the OSHA 
Docket Office at (202) 693-1648.
    Agency Web site: Submit comments and hearing requests 
electronically through OSHA's Web site at http://ecomments.osha.gov.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: Submit comments and hearing requests 
electronically at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments.
    For detailed instructions on submitting comments and hearing 
requests, and for additional information on the rulemaking process, see 
the ``Public Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.
    All submissions will be available for inspection and copying in the 
OSHA Docket Office at the address above. Most comments and submissions 
will be posted on OSHA's Web page (http://www.osha.gov). Contact the 
OSHA Docket Office for information about materials not available on 
OSHA's Web page and for assistance in using the Web page to locate 
docket submissions. Because comments sent to the docket are available 
for public inspection, the Agency cautions interested parties against 
including personal information such as Social Security numbers and 
birthdates with their submissions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information and press 
inquiries, contact OSHA's Office of Information and Consumer Affairs, 
Room N-3647, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-1999. For technical 
inquiries, contact Tressi Cordaro, Office of Construction Standards and 
Guidance, Directorate of Construction, Room N-3468, OSHA, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200

[[Page 42380]]

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-
2020.
    For additional copies of this notice, contact OSHA's Office of 
Publications, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3101, 200 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone (202) 693-1888. Electronic 
copies of this notice, as well as news releases and other relevant 
documents, are available on OSHA's Web page at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On January 18, 2001, (volume 66 of the Federal Register, page 
5196), OSHA published a new construction standard for steel erection 
work, 29 CFR subpart R (Sections 1926.750 through 1926.761 and 
Appendices A through H). The new standard was developed through 
negotiated rulemaking, together with notice and comment under section 
6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) and section 
107 of the Construction Safety Act. In the course of that rulemaking, 
OSHA received evidence that workers were slipping and falling when 
working on painted or coated structural steel surfaces. The Agency 
decided that requiring the use of slip-resistant coatings on these 
surfaces would help to address the slipping and falling hazard. During 
the rulemaking, OSHA received evidence both in support of and in 
opposition to the technical feasibility of such a requirement.
    The relevant provisions of the final rule are 29 CFR 1926.754(c)(3) 
and Appendix B of subpart R of part 1926. Paragraph (c)(3) of Section 
1926.754 establishes a slip-resistance requirement for the painted and 
coated top surface of any structural steel member installed after July 
18, 2006, on which employees are to walk. That paragraph reads as 
follows:

    Slip resistance of skeletal structural steel. Workers shall not 
be permitted to walk the top surface of any structural steel member 
installed after July 18, 2006 that has been coated with paint or 
similar material unless documentation or certification that the 
coating has achieved a minimum average slip resistance of .50 when 
measured with an English XL tribometer or equivalent tester on a 
wetted surface at a testing laboratory is provided. Such 
documentation or certification shall be based on the appropriate 
ASTM standard test method conducted by a laboratory capable of 
performing the test. The results shall be available at the site and 
to the steel erector. (Appendix B to this subpart references 
appropriate ASTM standard test methods that may be used to comply 
with this paragraph (c)(3)).

Appendix B to Subpart R is entitled ``Acceptable Test Methods for 
Testing Slip-Resistance of Walking/Working Surfaces (Sec.  
1926.754(c)(3)). Non-Mandatory Guidelines for Complying with Sec.  
1926.754(c)(3).'' The Appendix lists two acceptable test methods: 
Standard Test Method for Using a Portable Inclineable Articulated Strut 
Slip Tester (PIAST) (ASTM F1677-96); and Standard Test Method for Using 
a Variable Incidence Tribometer (VIT) (ASTM F1679-96).
    The crux of the slip resistance requirement in Sec.  1926.754(c)(3) 
is that the coating used on the structural steel walking surface must 
have achieved a minimum average slip resistance of 0.50 when measured 
by an English XL tribometer or equivalent tester on a wetted surface 
using an appropriate ASTM standard test method. In the preamble to the 
final rule, OSHA noted that the two ASTM standard test methods listed 
in Appendix B (ASTM F1677-96 and ASTM F1679-96) had not yet been 
validated through statements of precision and bias. In addition, 
representatives of the coatings industry indicated that it would take 
time to develop new coatings to meet the requirement. For these 
reasons, the Agency included the slip resistance requirement and 
delayed its effective date until July 18, 2006, because the evidence in 
the record indicated that it was reasonable to expect these technical 
developments to be completed by that date.
    The slip-resistance requirements of the final steel erection 
standard were challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. 
Circuit by the Steel Coalition and the Resilient Floor Covering 
Institute. On April 3, 2003, OSHA entered into a settlement agreement 
with petitioners. In that agreement, OSHA agreed to provide the 
petitioners and other interested parties with a further opportunity to 
present evidence on the progress that has been made on slip resistant 
coatings and test methods. OSHA agreed to then evaluate the evidence in 
the expanded record on these topics and issue a final rule, not later 
than January 18, 2006, reaffirming, amending, or revoking the 
requirements in Sec.  1926.754(c)(3). This notice is the first step in 
that process.

II. Reopening the Rulemaking Record

    By this notice OSHA is reopening the rulemaking record for Docket 
S-775, Steel Erection, beginning July 18, 2004, to invite the public to 
submit additional comments and information relating to the 
appropriateness of Sec.  1926.754(c)(3), and to request an informal 
public hearing.
    As discussed earlier, OSHA determined, based on the evidence in the 
record at the time it issued the final rule in 2001, that slip-
resistant coatings could be developed, and the testing methods for such 
coatings could be validated, within five years. The Agency recognizes 
that if this determination were to be in error, it would need to revise 
the slip-resistance provision in some respects, or possibly even to 
revoke it. While we can broadly indicate the range of options that 
could be considered, such as further extension of the effective date, 
recognition of other or additional test methods, or revocation of the 
requirement, for example, we cannot be more specific at this time in 
the absence of up-to-date information on what is currently being done 
to develop coating materials and to validate testing methods for those 
materials. Accordingly, in this notice, we are asking for information 
on the following:
    (1) Whether the test methods identified in Sec.  1926.754(c)(3) and 
Appendix B to Subpart R--or any other test methods that are available, 
or reasonably can be expected to be available by July 18, 2006--are 
suitable and appropriate to evaluate the slip resistance of wetted 
coated skeletal structural steel surfaces on which workers may be 
expected to walk in connection with steel erection activities; and
    (2) Whether skeletal structural steel coatings that comply with the 
slip resistance criterion of the Standard when tested under the 
identified method(s) are commercially available--or reasonably can be 
expected to be commercially available--by July 18, 2006, and whether 
the use of such coatings will be economically feasible.

III. Public Participation

    The Agency requests members of the public to submit written 
comments and other information on the issues raised in this proposal. 
These comments may include objections and a request for an informal 
public hearing. See the sections above titled DATES and ADDRESSES for 
information on submitting these comments and hearing requests. 
Submissions received within the specified comment period will become 
part of the record, and will be available for public inspection and 
copying in the OSHA Docket Office.
    Under section 6(b)(3) of the OSH Act and 29 CFR part 1911.11, 
members of the public may request an informal hearing by submitting 
such requests in accordance with the requirements set forth under the 
DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this notice. Because the scope of this 
proposal is so limited, we

[[Page 42381]]

are not requiring hearing requesters to file formal ``objections'' to 
the proposal. If you are requesting a hearing, you must:
     Include your name and address;
     Ensure that the request is sent or postmarked no later 
than October 13, 2004; and
     Provide a detailed summary of the evidence that you would 
intend to offer at the hearing.

IV. Regulatory Analyses

    The regulatory impact analysis for the final rule on steel erection 
contained detailed information on the entire final rule, including 
costs and benefits attributable to the slip-resistance provisions of 
Sec.  1926.754(c)(3). As discussed earlier, those provisions are based 
on the Agency's determination, based on the record at the time, that 
slip-resistant coatings and testing methods would be developed and 
validated in time to meet the July 18, 2006 compliance date. The 
present notice does not propose to make specific changes to those 
provisions, but rather, is intended to solicit information that will 
either support the earlier determinations or indicate that they need to 
be revised. Accordingly, the findings of the 2001 regulatory analysis 
do not need to be revised at this time. OSHA believes that the 
reopening of the record on this limited issue is not a significant 
regulatory action for the purposes of EO 12866. OSHA also certifies 
that this reopening of the record will not have a significant impact on 
a substantial number of small entities, for the purposes of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    For the reasons stated above, OSHA has also determined that this 
proposal presents no issues involving Unfunded Mandates (UMRA) (2 
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) or Federalism (EO 13132).

V. Authority

    This document was prepared under the Direction of John L. Henshaw, 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20210. It is issued under sections 4, 6, and 8 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 (Construction Safety 
Act) (40 U.S.C. 333), Secretary of Labor's Order 5-2002 (67 FR 65008), 
and 29 CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of July, 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-16084 Filed 7-14-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P