[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 5, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1112-1144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28221]



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Part V





Department of Labor





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Occupational Safety and Health Administration



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29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926



Standards Improvement Project-Phase II; Final Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 3 / Wednesday, January 5, 2005 / 
Rules and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926

[Docket No. S-778-A]
RIN 1218-AB 81


Standards Improvement Project-Phase II

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 
through this final rule is continuing to remove and revise provisions 
of its standards that are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or 
inconsistent, or can be clarified or simplified by being written in 
plain language. The Agency completed Phase I of the Standards 
Improvement Project in June 1998. In this Phase II of the Standards 
Improvement Project, OSHA is again revising or removing a number of 
health provisions in its standards for general industry, shipyard 
employment, and construction. The Agency believes that the changes 
streamline and make more consistent the regulatory requirements in OSHA 
health and safety standards. In some cases, OSHA has made substantive 
revisions to requirements because they are outdated, duplicative, 
unnecessary, or inconsistent with more recently promulgated health 
standards. The Agency believes these revisions will reduce regulatory 
requirements for employers without reducing employee protection.

DATES: The final rule becomes effective March 7, 2005.

ADDRESSES: In accordance with 28 U.S.C. 2112(a), the Agency designates 
the Associate Solicitor of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Office of the Solicitor of Labor, Room S-4004, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210, to receive 
petitions for review of the final rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Seymour, Director, Office of 
Physical Hazards (202) 693-1950. For additional copies of this Federal 
Register document: OSHA, Office of Publications, Room N-3101, U. S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210 
(telephone: (202) 693-1888). Electronic copies of this Federal Register 
document, as well as news releases and other relevant documents, are 
available at OSHA's homepage at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: References to comments and testimony in the 
rulemaking record are found throughout the text of the preamble. 
Comments are identified by an assigned exhibit number as follows: ``Ex. 
5-1'' means Exhibit 5-1 in Docket S-778-A. For quoted material in the 
preamble, the page number where the quote can be located is included if 
other than page one. The transcript of the public hearing is cited by 
the page number as follows: Tr. 59. A list of the exhibits, copies of 
the exhibits and transcripts of the hearing are available in the OSHA 
Docket Office under Docket S-778-A and at OSHA's homepage.

I. Background

    OSHA has made a continuing effort to eliminate confusing, outdated, 
and duplicative standards and regulations. In 1978, 1984, and again in 
1996, the Agency conducted revocation and revision projects that 
resulted in the elimination of hundreds of unnecessary provisions.
    In 1996, OSHA proposed Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project 
which set forth changes to a number of provisions in regulations and 
standards that were outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, inconsistent, 
or could be clarified or simplified by being rewritten in plain 
language (61 FR 37849, July 22, 1996). In 1998, OSHA published the 
final rule, Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project (63 FR 33450, 
June 19, 1998). Substantive changes were made under section 6(b) 
generally and under 6(b)(7) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 
of 1970 which provides that:

    The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health, 
Education, and Welfare, may by rule promulgated pursuant to section 
553 of title 5, United States Code, make appropriate modifications 
in the requirements relating to the use of labels or other forms of 
warning, monitoring or measuring, and medical examinations, as may 
be warranted by experience, information, or medical or technological 
developments acquired subsequent to the promulgation of the relevant 
standard.

    The Agency believed that the revisions to its health and safety 
standards in that final rule reduce the regulatory burden of employers 
enhancing compliance while maintaining the safety and health protection 
afforded to employees.
    In a related effort in 1996, OSHA published a proposal to revise 
Means of Egress, subpart E of part 1910 (61 FR 47712, September 10, 
1996). OSHA proposed to rewrite the existing requirements in plain 
language so that the requirements would be easier to understand by 
employers, employees and others who use them. The proposal did not 
intend to change the regulatory obligations of employers or the safety 
and health protection provided to employees, only to simplify the 
standard. The final rule was published on November 7, 2002 (67 FR 
67949). OSHA believed it accomplished the goals of maintaining the 
safety and health protections provided to employees without increasing 
the regulatory burden on employers, creating a regulation that is 
easily understood, and stating employers' obligations in performance-
oriented language to the extent possible. As a consequence of these 
changes, the Agency believes it has made subpart E more user-friendly 
to employees and employers. Compliance is generally improved when 
employers and employees fully understand a regulation.
    As a result of the Phase I Standards Improvement Project 
rulemaking, the Agency identified itself or through public comment 
other regulatory provisions that could be removed or revised to reduce 
regulatory burdens without diminishing employee safety and health. 
Those included amending provisions addressing notification of use, 
frequency of exposure monitoring and medical surveillance, and others 
that it believed were outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, inconsistent 
or could be clarified or simplified by being rewritten into plain 
language.
    On October 31, 2002, OSHA published the proposed Phase II of the 
Standards Improvement Project which would remove or revise a number of 
health and safety standard provisions (67 FR 66494). Also, OSHA 
requested comment from the public on any other similar provisions to 
those in the proposal that interested parties believed to be outdated, 
duplicative or unnecessary that could be included in a subsequent Phase 
III Standards Improvement Project.
    The Agency made a preliminary finding in the Phase II proposal that 
the proposed revision to the health standards would reduce the 
regulatory burden of employers without reducing the health protections 
the standards currently provide to employees and that some revisions 
would simplify and clarify requirements. These revisions would 
facilitate employer compliance and improve employee protection. OSHA 
also expressed its belief that the removal or revision of standards 
would in some cases reduce unnecessary

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collection of information burdens (e.g., paperwork burdens) on 
employers.
    In addition to affecting part 1910 standards in general industry, 
the Phase II proposed rule also affected a number of standards included 
in parts 1915, shipyard employment, and 1926, construction. In 
accordance with Agency procedures and requirements, the Advisory 
Committee on Maritime Safety and Health and the Advisory Committee on 
Construction Safety and Health were advised of the revised standards 
that affected their industries prior to the publication of the proposed 
standard. This information was presented to the Advisory Committee on 
Construction on September 2, 2000, and the Advisory Committee on 
Maritime on December 6, 2000.
    The comment period for the Phase II Standards Improvement Project 
proposal was to end on December 30, 2002. However, on January 6, 2003, 
in response to several requests the comment period was extended until 
January 30, 2003 (68 FR 1023). OSHA received 35 comments in response to 
the notice of proposed rulemaking. Also, in response to several 
requests to hold a public hearing to discuss the proposal, OSHA 
announced a public hearing on April 21, 2003 (68 FR 19472). OSHA held 
the public hearing on July 8 in Washington, D.C. OSHA staff testified 
and responded to questions and several members of the public testified. 
The administrative law judge scheduled the receipt of post hearing 
evidence on August 8, 2003, and post hearing briefs for September 10, 
2003. The judge received the post hearing documents and closed the 
hearing record on February 26, 2004. The hearing resulted in 59 pages 
of testimony. No post-hearing comments or briefs were received. 
However, OSHA inserted some post-hearing material in response to 
questions asked at the hearing (Ex. 9).

II. Summary and Explanation of the Final Rule

    This section contains an analysis of the record evidence and policy 
decisions pertaining to the various provisions of the final rule.
    In the proposed rule, changes to provisions included: Methods of 
communicating illness outbreaks in the temporary labor camps standard 
(29 CFR 1910.142); first aid kits for general industry in the medical 
services and first aid standard (29 CFR 1910.151) and the 
telecommunications standard (29 CFR 1910.268); laboratory licensing in 
the vinyl chloride standard (29 CFR 1910.1017); periodic exposure 
monitoring in the vinyl chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017), 1,2-dibromo-3-
chloropropane (DBCP) (29 CFR 1910.1044), and acrylonitrile (29 CFR 
1910.1045) standards; reporting the use of alternative control methods 
in the asbestos standards for shipyards (29 CFR 1915.1001) and 
construction (1926.1101); evaluating chest x-rays for inorganic arsenic 
(29 CFR 1910.1018) and coke oven emissions (29 CFR 1910.1029) 
standards; signing medical opinions in the asbestos standard for 
general industry (29 CFR 1910.1001) and the cadmium standards for 
general industry (29 CFR 1910.1027) and construction (1926.1127); and 
semiannual medical examinations in the vinyl chloride, inorganic 
arsenic, and coke oven emissions standards.
    Also included were proposed changes to the requirements to notify 
OSHA of certain events (e.g., a substance specific release or 
emergency) in the standard for 13 carcinogens (29 CFR 1910.1003), the 
vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, DBCP, and acrylonitrile standards; 
semiannual updating of compliance plans in the standards for vinyl 
chloride, inorganic arsenic, lead for general industry (29 CFR 
1910.1025) and construction (29 CFR 1926.62), DBCP, and acrylonitrile; 
and employee notification requirements in general industry standards 
for asbestos, vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, benzene 
(29 CFR 1910.1028), coke oven emissions, cotton dust (29 CFR 
1910.1043), DBCP, acrylonitrile, ethylene oxide (29 CFR 1910.1047), 
formaldehyde (29 CFR 1910.1048), methylenedianiline (29 CFR 1910.1050), 
butadiene (29 CFR 1910.1051), and methylene chloride (29 CFR 
1910.1052), and construction standards for methylenedianiline (29 CFR 
1926.60), lead, asbestos, and cadmium.
    Finally, although OSHA did not propose to delete the requirement to 
use social security numbers in a number of its exposure-monitoring and 
medical surveillance records, it requested comment on whether there was 
a need to continue to include an employee's social security number in 
these records.
    In the proposal, OSHA emphasized that the scope of the rulemaking 
was limited to removing or revising provisions that were outdated, 
duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent with similar provisions in 
other standards. In regard to ``inconsistent,'' the Agency specifically 
proposed to revise a number of OSHA's older standards (vinyl chloride, 
acrylonitrile, coke oven emissions, arsenic, and DBCP) to be consistent 
with the frequencies of exposure monitoring, medical surveillance, and 
compliance plan updates established in the majority of more recently 
promulgated standards. Comment was solicited on whether it would be 
appropriate to revise these older standards to be consistent with the 
newer standards.
    OSHA also noted that certain sections in part 1910 that were being 
addressed in the proposal are incorporated by reference in parts 1915, 
shipyard employment, and 1926, construction. Therefore, any changes to 
referenced sections in part 1910 would also apply to parts 1915 and 
1926.
    Many commenters expressed their views on the approach taken by OSHA 
in its Phase II Standards Improvement Project. Most commenters 
supported OSHA's approach and its efforts to remove or revise standards 
because they are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent 
(Exs. 3-5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29; 
4-11, 12). For example, Phelps Dodge Corporation (Ex. 3-7) remarked 
that ``We support OSHA's continuing effort to remove or revise 
provisions of its standards that are outdated, duplicative, 
unnecessary, or inconsistent, and we welcome the opportunity to share 
our comments and suggestions.'' The National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health (NIOSH) (Ex. 3-9) noted its support for OSHA's 
efforts to ``reduce regulatory requirements for employers while 
maintaining worker safety and health by removing or revising provisions 
of standards that may be outdated, duplicative, or unnecessary.'' 
Another commenter, Organization Resources Counselors (Ex. 3-22), stated 
in its discussion regarding OSHA's elimination of collection of 
information (in this case, paperwork) requirements that:

    If OSHA no longer has need to collect the type of information 
required to be reported, or finds that the information provides no 
useful benefits for either enforcement of the standard or protection 
of employee health, the requirements should be deleted.

    On the other hand, some commenters expressed their concern with the 
manner in which OSHA was streamlining standards and in some cases on 
the use of its resources for this type of project (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 
18; 4-13; Tr. 38, 39, 46). The AFL-CIO (Tr. 29) observed that 
``Throughout this proposal, the Agency has consistently sought to 
streamline [standards] by reducing [them] to the lowest common 
denominator.'' The United Steelworkers of America (Ex. 3-16) stated 
that while ``this may reduce some administrative burdens on OSHA and 
industry, it is hard to see how worker protection has been improved by 
any of the changes.'' The Union of Needletrades, Industrial

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and Textile Employees (UNITE) (Ex. 3-18) remarked that it ``strongly 
opposes expenditures of agency staff time and other resources on so-
called `improvements' to OSHA's standards when urgent action on clear 
regulatory gaps remain unattended.''
    However, based on the rulemaking record and experience from the 
Phase I Standards Improvement Project, OSHA continues to believe that 
the removal or revision of outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or 
inconsistent requirements and rewriting requirements into plain 
language will simplify and clarify regulatory requirements, facilitate 
compliance, and will lead to improved safety and health. In finalizing 
the proposal, OSHA has been careful to ensure that the protections 
afforded employees are not weakened. With respect to these goals, the 
American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) (Ex. 3-6) stated:

    AIHA applauds OSHA's latest decision to move forward with Phase 
II of the project through this proposed rulemaking. As was the case 
with the first phase of this process, completed in 1998, we are 
confident that the latest proposed health standard revisions will 
meet with success in terms of reducing the regulatory burden of 
employers without reducing the health protection that these 
standards currently provide to employees.
    AIHA wishes to publicly go on record as supportive of OSHA's 
efforts to modernize these standards using a common sense approach. 
Not only will the proposed revisions simplify and clarify the 
requirements of the current health standards, but they will also 
facilitate employer compliance, improved employee protection and 
reduced regulatory burden--a ``win-win'' situation for health and 
safety advocates, employers and employees.

Additionally, Dow Chemical Company (Ex. 3-13) observed:

    Dow supports OSHA's efforts to streamline its existing standards 
and to remove unnecessary or inconsistent provisions. Improvements 
in consistency and practicality not only assist the regulated 
community in its compliance efforts but also benefit OSHA and all 
employees as the rules are easier to enforce and because employers 
can better identify what they need to do to comply. Thus, Dow 
applauds OSHA's continuing efforts to improve their standards. Dow 
believes that this same philosophy of improvement for consistency 
and practicality without compromising safety or health protections 
can also be made in other areas of standards addressed in the 
proposed rule.

    OSHA appreciates the time and effort expended by commenters in this 
rulemaking. The following is a provision by provision discussion of the 
changes OSHA has made in Phase II of the Standards Improvement Project.

A. Temporary Labor Camps, 29 CFR 1910.142

    Paragraph 1910.142(l)(2) of the temporary labor camp standard 
requires camp superintendents to report immediately to local health 
authorities ``by telegram or telephone'' the outbreak of specific 
illnesses and medical conditions among employees. With respect to this 
requirement, OSHA viewed the limitation to use a telegram or telephone 
to notify health authorities as too restrictive in this age of 
computers and the internet, and that other forms of communication 
should be permitted. In the notice of proposed rulemaking, OSHA 
proposed to delete the requirement to use a telegram or telephone for 
notification, but retain the requirement that camp superintendents 
immediately notify local health authorities of the outbreak any of the 
illnesses or medical conditions specified by the provision.
    OSHA received six comments regarding this proposal. All of the 
commenters (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 22, 27; 4-11) agreed that telegrams and 
telephones unnecessarily limit the method of reporting. A few 
commenters (Exs. 3-17, 27) expressed concern, however, that if there 
was no specification of the means of communication, slower means of 
notification such as by mail might be used. For example, the United 
Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America 
(UAW) (Ex. 3-17) opposed the removal for fear that employers would use 
fourth class mail for reporting. The AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) expressed a 
similar concern that the proposed change leaves the provision entirely 
too vague and that employers could even use mail.
    In response to this concern, OSHA has decided rather than deleting 
the means of communication in the final rule, it would instead add 
additional language that would eliminate the possibility of using a 
slower means but permit equally fast means. OSHA concludes that any 
``fast method'' is appropriate. The final rule now states ``by 
telegram, telephone, electronic mail or any method that is equally 
fast.''

B. Reference to First Aid Supplies in Appendix A to the Standard on 
Medical Services and First Aid, 29 CFR 1910.151

    In the 1998 Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project (63 FR 
33450), OSHA revised paragraph 1910.151(b) of OSHA's standard for 
medical services and first aid to require that adequate first aid 
supplies be readily available at the workplace. To assist employers in 
meeting this requirement for what would be adequate first aid supplies, 
OSHA added a nonmandatory Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.151, entitled First 
Aid Kits, that references a national consensus standard, the American 
National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z308.1-1978 standard, ``Minimum 
Requirements for Industrial Unit-Type First-aid Kits.'' The Agency 
believed that the information and reference to the ANSI standard in 
Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.151 would provide employers with helpful 
information in selecting first aid supplies and containers appropriate 
to the medical emergencies and environmental conditions encountered in 
their workplaces.
    OSHA pointed out in the Phase I Standards Improvement Project 
preamble that ANSI was developing a revision of the Z308.1-1978 
consensus standard (63 FR 33461) and that OSHA planned to propose to 
revise Appendix A in Phase II to include the 1998 edition as long as 
the revision was as effective in protecting employees. In Phase II of 
the Standards Improvement Project, OSHA solicited comment and 
information on whether the revised ANSI Z308.1-1998, Minimum 
Requirements for Workplace First-aid Kits, consensus standard would 
provide equivalent or better protection to employees than the 1978 
edition. OSHA also inquired whether there were any other consensus 
standards or guidelines available for first aid kits that might be 
included in Appendix A.
    At the time of the Phase II of the Standards Improvement Project 
proposal, OSHA preliminarily found that the 1998 edition increased 
compliance flexibility by emphasizing performance-based requirements. 
OSHA also found that the 1998 edition provided employers with the 
information they needed to select first aid containers and fill items 
appropriate to the unique hazards in particular workplaces. OSHA 
believed that the ANSI 308.1-1998 edition would protect employees at 
least as well as the requirements of the 1978 edition.
    OSHA received 13 comments regarding this proposed change (Exs. 3-3, 
16, 17, 22, 24, 26, 27, 29; 4-6, 7, 8, 11, 13). Most commenters 
supported the Agency's updating of the ANSI 308.1-1978 edition to the 
1998 edition in the nonmandatory Appendix A. For example, Verizon 
Communications, Inc. (Ex. 3-24) supported the revision to the 1998 
edition because employers would have more flexibility and, therefore, 
would improve protection to employees. The Pinnacle West Capital Corp. 
(Ex. 4-7) observed that there have been changes in the medical 
profession since

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1978, and agreed that the 1998 edition provides equivalent to better 
protection to employees. One commenter, the AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27), even 
suggested that OSHA update the reference but make Appendix A mandatory 
or enforce the ANSI standard under the general duty clause.
    In the final rule, the Agency has changed nonmandatory Appendix A 
to reference the ANSI 308.1-1998 standard. After reviewing the record 
evidence and based on OSHA's review of both the 1978 and 1998 editions, 
the Agency feels that the update to the 1998 edition will provide more 
compliance flexibility to employers while being as effective, or more 
effective, in the protection of employees. In its review of the 1998 
edition, the Agency found that:
     Regarding container requirements, the 1998 edition permits 
more compliance flexibility than the 1978 edition. For example, the 
1998 edition identifies three types of first-aid containers, types I, 
II, and III, designed for stationary indoor use, mobile indoor use, and 
mobile outdoor use, respectively, while the 1978 edition includes only 
two types of containers, (standard and special purpose, with special-
purpose containers designed for use under extreme conditions such as 
example, corrosive, nonsparking, nonmagnetic, or dielectric conditions.
     Requirements for the three types of containers identified 
in the 1998 edition are performance based, while the 1978 edition 
provides extensive specifications for each type of container.
     Unlike the 1978 edition, the conditioning and drop-test 
procedures described in the 1998 edition for types II and III 
containers, and the procedures for testing type III containers for 
corrosion and moisture resistance, specify the minimum number of 
containers required for testing.
     The 1998 edition specifies that each type III container 
subjected to drop testing must also undergo corrosion and moisture-
resistance testing to ensure the structural integrity of the container 
under severe moisture conditions. The 1978 edition appears to allow 
testing of different special-purpose containers under the drop- and 
moisture-testing conditions.
     Corrosion and moisture-resistance testing of type III 
containers under the 1998 edition requires exposure of the containers 
to simulated salt spray for 20 days in accordance with the provisions 
of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) consensus standard 
B117 (``Operating salt spray (fog) operations''). The 1978 edition only 
requires exposure of a special-purpose container to fresh water for 15 
minutes.
     Regarding the content (fill items) of the containers, the 
1998 edition provides a short list of basic items needed to disinfect 
and cover wounds, including special items for treating burns. However, 
the 1998 edition lists optional fill items for use if an employer 
identifies workplace hazards that may inflict injuries not covered by 
the basic fill items. The 1978 edition has a single list of fill items, 
some of which are unnecessary for many emergencies (for example, 
forceps, metal splints, tourniquets). Additionally, the 1978 edition is 
missing several important fill items (for example, medical-examination 
gloves, cold packs).
     The 1998 edition requires color coding of unit packages 
that contain specific types of fill items (for example, yellow for 
bandages, blue for antiseptics), while the 1978 edition has no such 
requirement.
     The 1998 edition, more often than the 1978 edition, 
identifies fill items according to standardized testing and quality-
control methods. For example, the 1998 edition requires that absorbent 
compresses meet the water-absorbency criteria of ASTM consensus 
standard D117 (``Nonwoven fabrics''), and that antiseptics conform to 
the requirements specified by the Food and Drug Administration in 21 
CFR 333 (``Topical antimicrobial drug products for over-the-counter 
human use''). The 1978 edition provides no absorbency criteria for 
absorbent gauze compresses, while the antiseptic solution used for 
antiseptic swabs is required only to be ``acceptable to the consulting 
physician.''
    The Agency's review of the two editions demonstrated that, compared 
with the 1978 edition, the 1998 edition: Increases compliance 
flexibility by emphasizing performance-based requirements, including a 
choice of three containers and a list of basic and optional fill items; 
improves the procedures for conditioning and testing first-aid 
containers; and ensures the reliability and efficacy of the fill items 
by basing the selection of these items on standardized testing and 
quality-control methods. Based on this review, OSHA preliminarily found 
that the provisions of the 1998 edition would provide employers with 
the information they needed to select first-aid containers and fill 
items appropriate to the hazards in their workplaces that could injure 
employees. Consequently, the 1998 edition would protect employees at 
least as well as the requirements of the 1978 edition.
    The Agency believes that the 1998 edition of the ANSI standard is 
as protective to employees but increases compliance flexibility and, 
accordingly, has replaced the reference to the 1978 edition in Appendix 
A of Sec.  1910.151 with a reference to the 1998 edition. OSHA believes 
that appropriate guidance is contained in the 1998 edition for a 
variety of workplaces with different needs.
    Finally, although OSHA solicited information about other available 
consensus standards, no suggestions were received.

C. First Aid Supplies in the Telecommunications Standard, 29 CFR 
1910.268

    Paragraph 1910.268(b)(3) of OSHA's telecommunication standard 
requires an employer to: Provide first aid supplies (fill items) 
recommended by a consulting physician; ensure that the fill items are 
readily accessible and housed in weatherproof containers if used 
outdoors; and inspect the fill items at least once a month and replace 
expended items. In the proposal, OSHA proposed to revise paragraph 
1910.268(b)(3) to read, ``Employers must provide employees with readily 
accessible, and appropriate first aid supplies. An example of 
appropriate supplies is listed in non-mandatory Appendix A to Sec.  
1910.151.''
    In Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project, OSHA removed from 
paragraph 1910.151(b) of the medical services and first aid standard, 
the requirement that a consulting physician approve first aid supplies 
because it determined that commercial first aid kits are readily 
available and would meet the needs of most employers (61 FR 37850). 
OSHA noted that employers may have to enhance their first aid kits if 
unique or changing first aid needs exist in their workplaces. OSHA 
advised employers in Appendix A that if they had unique needs to 
consult with the local fire/rescue departments, appropriate medical 
professionals, or a local emergency room for help. Also, OSHA advised 
employers that they should assess the specific needs of their worksite 
periodically and augment the first aid kit accordingly.
    In this proposal, the Agency preliminarily concluded that revising 
the telecommunication standard to reflect the general industry first 
aid requirements would be appropriate. The Agency received ten comments 
(Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 22, 24, 27, 29; 4-6, 8, 11) concerning this proposed 
revision to the telecommunications standard. A few commenters (Exs. 3-
4, 16, 17, 27) indicated that they believed the revision would reduce 
employee protection. For example, commenters believed that

[[Page 1116]]

deleting the requirement to inspect kits monthly to replace used items 
would increase the likelihood of deficient kits. Another commenter was 
concerned that there would no longer be a requirement for weatherproof 
kits.
    However, other commenters supported the proposed changes (Exs. 3-
22, 24, 29; 4-6, 8, 11). For example, the American Chemistry Council 
(Ex. 3-29) indicated that it supported the change to reflect present-
day realities in the first aid supplies market and also supported the 
removal of the requirement for a physician's approval for supplies.
    The Agency has concluded that substituting the guidance of 
nonmandatory Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.151 for the requirements 
specified in paragraph 1910.268(b)(3) will reduce the regulatory burden 
on employers in the telecommunication industry by increasing their 
flexibility in meeting OSHA's requirements for first aid kits, allow 
employers to purchase off-the-shelf first aid kits, and will facilitate 
compliance by making the requirements to provide first aid kits 
consistent across the general industry standards. The Agency believes 
that the revision affords telecommunication employees at least the same 
level of protection they currently receive because Appendix A to 29 CFR 
1910.151 provides more extensive guidelines for selecting appropriate 
medical first aid supplies than paragraph 1910.268(b)(3) and further, 
provides the recommendation that these supplies include personal 
protective equipment to prevent employee exposure to bloodborne 
pathogens. Finally, OSHA believes that deleting the requirement for a 
monthly inspection and weatherproof first aid kits does not reduce 
employee protection. First aid kits must be complete and contain the 
supplies necessary for the worksite. If upon inspection by an OSHA 
compliance officer, a first aid kit was found to be deficient because 
the supplies were depleted or water damaged, a citation could be issued 
because the first aid supplies would not be considered adequate or 
``appropriate.'' OSHA has concluded that the mandatory requirement to 
have appropriate and accessible first aid kits maintains employee 
protection.

D. 13 Carcinogens, 29 CFR 1910.1003

    In the 13 Carcinogens standard, paragraph 1910.1003(f)(2) requires 
employers to provide the nearest OSHA Area Director with two separate 
reports on the occurrence of any incident that results in a release of 
any of the 13 carcinogens into any area where employees may be 
potentially exposed. The reports consist of (1) an abbreviated 
preliminary report submitted within 24 hours of the carcinogen release 
and (2) a detailed report submitted within 15 calendar days of the 
incident. In the proposal, OSHA expressed its belief that these reports 
were of little or no value to OSHA and were therefore creating an 
unnecessary burden on employers. More recent substance-specific 
standards including carcinogenic chemicals such as methylene chloride 
developed by the Agency do not contain any such reporting requirements. 
Because of these reasons, OSHA proposed to delete the requirement from 
the standard to reduce reporting requirements because the reports were 
unnecessary. OSHA requested comment on the extent to which the revision 
would reduce the reporting burden on employers and the effect the 
deletion would have on employee health.
    OSHA received nine comments in response to the proposal to 
eliminate the carcinogen standard reporting requirements (Exs. 3-4, 16, 
17, 18, 22, 27, 29; 4-11, 13). Three commenters agreed with the removal 
of the requirement (Exs. 3-22, 29; 4-11). The other commenters (Exs. 3-
4, 16, 17, 18, 27; 4-13) objected to the removal of the reporting 
requirement. These commenters opposed the removal because: (1) The 
deletion would reduce worker protection because reporting gives useful 
information to OSHA by alerting it to workplace deficiencies; (2) the 
information helps management avoid future spills, and; (3) the 
information induces managers to take spills more seriously.
    At the hearing OSHA was asked by a representative from the AFL-CIO 
(Tr. 16) about how many reports on spills OSHA had received under the 
current regulations. Responses from the OSHA regional offices indicated 
that few reports are received and those that are received are not used 
for inspection purposes (Ex. 9). Although a few OSHA staff believed 
that incidence reports might be useful, that has not been the case. 
Further, OSHA has a general requirement to report incidents that cause 
death or serious injury (29 CFR 1904.39). That provision is used by 
employers and OSHA and it does trigger compliance inspections.
    The purpose for collecting these reports was to assist OSHA in 
identifying workplaces for inspection. OSHA has not used these reports 
over the years for this purpose and relies on other means to identify 
establishments to inspect. Further, the commenters provided no evidence 
that the reporting requirements serve to help management avoid future 
spills or to entice managers to take spills more seriously. In 
addition, the substances covered by this requirement are primarily 
chronic toxins and a single spill does not necessarily indicate a 
severe hazard requiring notification. Therefore, OSHA continues to 
believe that the reports have not proven to be useful and are an 
unnecessary employer burden since OSHA does not use them for 
identifying workplaces for inspection. In addition, under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, agencies need to review their requirements to identify 
those that serve no purpose and if they do not serve any purpose, then 
consider removing them. Therefore, OSHA has eliminated the reporting 
requirements. OSHA is not aware of any reason that the elimination of 
the reports will reduce employee safety since OSHA does not use the 
reports.

E. Vinyl Chloride, 29 CFR 1910.1017

    Paragraph 1910.1017(k)(6) of the vinyl chloride standard specifies 
that clinical laboratories licensed by the U.S. Public Health Service 
under 42 CFR part 74, must analyze biological samples collected during 
medical examinations. However, 42 CFR part 74 is outdated, and the 
Public Health Service now addresses laboratory-licensing requirements 
under 42 CFR part 493, laboratory requirements. Therefore, the Agency 
proposed to delete the reference to 42 CFR part 74 from the vinyl 
chloride standard. In the proposal, OSHA asked for comment on: (1) The 
need to specify a licensing or quality-control requirement; (2) the 
extent to which the requirements specified by 42 CFR part 493 would be 
a substitute for the outdated requirements; and (3) whether any other 
reference or criteria were available that could serve this purpose.
    OSHA received eight comments on the proposed deletion of the 
requirement for a Public Health Service licensed laboratory to analyze 
biological samples collected during medical exams relative to vinyl 
chloride exposure (Exs. 3-4, 8, 16, 17, 27, 29; 4-11, 13). The Vinyl 
Institute (Ex. 3-8) supported the deletion of the provision entirely 
because they saw no current need for specifying licensing or quality-
control of laboratories. The other seven commenters expressed their 
belief that paragraph 1910.1017(k)(6) should not be changed without 
either adding language offering equal or greater protection to workers 
or updating the reference to the new Public Health Service laboratory 
requirements (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 27, 29; 4-11, 13).

[[Page 1117]]

    One commenter (Ex. 3-16) observed that this type of requirement, 
laboratory licensing, was an example of the kind of requirement that 
would be best dealt with by a generic medical monitoring standard which 
could address laboratory certification for all standards.
    Based on the comments OSHA does not believe in this case that it is 
appropriate to reference outdated regulations, or that it would be 
appropriate to reference the new PHS standards. However, it is 
appropriate for OSHA to require employers use qualified laboratories 
for required medical tests. Other OSHA health standards have assured 
that qualified laboratories are used by requiring that employers use 
accredited laboratories. For example, the Bloodborne Pathogens standard 
[1910.1030(f)(iii)], the Benzene standard [1910.1028(i)(1)(ii)], the 
Cadmium standard [1910.1027(l)(1)(iv)] and the Lead standard for 
General Industry [1910.1025(j)(2)(iii)] require that medical tests be 
performed by accredited laboratories. There are several organizations 
that accredit laboratories. Each requires that laboratories implement 
quality control procedures to maintain accreditation. Therefore, OSHA 
has changed paragraph 1910.1017(k)(6)of the vinyl chloride standard to 
require the use of accredited laboratories for the medical tests 
required in paragraph (k)(1) of the standard.

F. Monthly and Quarterly Exposure Monitoring

    Several of the Agency's older standards have provisions that 
require employers to monitor employee exposures either monthly or 
quarterly, depending on the level of a toxic substance found in the 
workplace.
    Paragraphs 1910.1017(d)(2)(i) and (d)(2)(ii) of the vinyl chloride 
standard require employers to conduct exposure monitoring at least 
monthly if employee exposures are in excess of the permissible exposure 
limit (PEL) and not less than quarterly if employee exposures are above 
the action level (AL).
    Paragraphs 1910.1044(f)(3)(i) and (f)(3)(ii) of the DBCP standard 
specify that employers perform exposure monitoring at least quarterly 
if employee exposures are below the PEL and no less than monthly if 
employee exposures exceed the PEL.
    Paragraphs 1910.1045(e)(3)(ii) and (e)(3)(iii) of the acrylonitrile 
standard requires employers to conduct exposure monitoring at least 
quarterly for employees exposed at or above the AL, but below the PEL, 
and at least monthly for employees having exposures above the PEL.
    The preambles to these older standards do not clearly explain the 
basis for adopting these monitoring frequencies. This absence of clear 
explanation suggests that OSHA likely relied on prevailing practice at 
the time for these older standards in establishing the frequencies. In 
substance-specific standards promulgated after these standards, 
exposure monitoring is required: (1) No more often than semiannually if 
employee exposures are at or above the AL and (2) no more than 
quarterly if employee exposures are above the PEL.
    OSHA proposed to amend the exposure monitoring requirements 
specified in the vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile, and DBCP standards 
because they are inconsistent with the exposure monitoring protocols 
established by OSHA in its later substance-specific standards. OSHA 
believes that consistency among standards would increase compliance and 
because the Paperwork Reduction Act directs agencies to reduce 
paperwork burdens, OSHA therefore proposed to revise these paragraphs 
to make them consistent with the similar requirements pertaining to 
exposure monitoring in more recently promulgated health standards. That 
exposure monitoring is: (1) At least quarterly if the results of 
initial exposure monitoring show that employee exposures are above the 
PEL; and (2) no less than semiannually if the results indicate 
exposures that are at or above the AL. OSHA asked for comment on the 
extent, if any, to which the revision would reduce the protection 
afforded by the existing standards to employees exposed to vinyl 
chloride, acrylonitrile, and DBCP. OSHA also requested comment on the 
extent to which the proposed revisions would reduce employer burdens, 
including cost and collection of information (i.e., paperwork) 
reductions.
    OSHA received 14 comments on modifying the exposure monitoring 
requirements (Exs. 3-4, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 27, 29; 4-11, 
12, 13). Seven commenters supported consistency in exposure monitoring 
for one or all of the substances (Exs. 3-8, 10, 13, 14, 29; 4-11, 12). 
Dow Chemical Company (Ex. 3-13) observed that ``Consistency in 
monitoring requirements reduces employer burdens and enhances 
compliance while maintaining employee health protections.'' The 
American Chemical Council (Ex. 3-29) stated:

    ACC concurs that exposure monitoring should be consistent among 
the Agency's standards. The proposed revisions to Sec.  1910.1044 
and Sec.  1910.1045 will help to unify the requirements for exposure 
monitoring. Further unification of the exposure monitoring 
requirements will enable employers to have one monitoring strategy 
that can be applied for all substances, rather than keeping track of 
the differences between the varying standards.

    The American Society of Safety Engineers (Ex. 4-11) remarked that 
the ``revision will assist companies in implementing more uniform 
industry hygiene programs. Also, there is no demonstrated need for more 
frequent exposure monitoring these substances.''
    The American Foundry Society (Ex. 3-12) expressed its view that the 
exposure monitoring change does not go far enough. The commenter 
stated:

    The proposed revision * * * to go from monthly to quarterly and 
from quarterly to semiannual does not go far enough. While 
monitoring of potential employee exposure is essential to maintain 
employee health and exposure monitoring as part of an engineering 
study may be necessary to determine the source and magnitude of 
exposure, periodic monitoring for its own sake imposes an 
unnecessary and possibly punitive burden on employers and employees 
unless there is some benefit to employee safety and health.
    Once it has been determined that employees are exposed above an 
Action Level or Permissible Exposure Level, additional monitoring 
provides no additional useful information, unless it is part of an 
engineering study. Simply conducting exposure monitoring for its own 
sake wastes valuable health and safety resources and builds 
resentment among employees who must wear sampling equipment without 
justification.
    We strongly urge OSHA to modify the requirement in all health 
standards, now and in the future, to base the frequency of exposure 
monitoring on the need to establish employee exposure levels or to 
achieve some other useful safety and health objective. Of course, 
additional exposure monitoring should be conducted when work 
processes or practices change or there are good industrial hygiene 
or engineering reasons to conduct such monitoring.

    Six commenters disagreed with the proposed changes (Exs. 3-4, 16, 
17, 18, 27; 4-13). For example, the Paper Allied-Industrial, Chemical 
and Energy Workers Union (PACE) (Ex. 3-4) stated:

    * * * For these selected agents which have well-established 
toxicity, it is wholly inappropriate to ask employees whose exposure 
monitoring shows that they are exposed at levels above the 
permissible exposure limit to wait an addition 3 months to find out 
whether these exposures have been reduced. Likewise for employees 
whose exposures are above the action level, they should not have to 
wait six months to learn

[[Page 1118]]

whether their exposures have been reduced below that level.

The United Steel Workers of America (Ex. 3-16) remarked:

    When the three standards in question were written, it was 
assumed that most employers would come into compliance in a 
reasonable amount of time. Indeed, most have--by better controls in 
the case of vinyl chloride and acrylonitrile, by a phase-out of the 
chemical in the case of DBCP. Now OSHA proposes to reward those 
employers who have not achieved compliance. These changes will 
impair worker protection, and are not supported by evidence in the 
record.

Also, the International Chemical Workers Union (Ex. 4-13) observed:

    We do not believe that a change to these standards is justified. 
Each rule and requirement went through the rulemaking process at the 
time, weighing all available evidence. Again, just because later 
rules, for different chemicals with different hazards, controls and/
or toxicities have different requirements, do not provide adequate 
justification for a change in monitoring frequencies. OSHA needs to 
provide additional information which gives a valid justification for 
change before proposing such changes.

    The standards for vinyl chloride, acrylonitrile, and DBCB are among 
the oldest of OSHA health standards. As the United Steel Workers of 
America noted, most employers have come into compliance. Those 
employers who have not been able to achieve compliance through feasible 
engineering controls are required to protect their employees by using 
personal protective equipment. Those employers who have not been able 
to reduce worker exposures have collected hundreds of samples since the 
effective dates of these standards. Very high monitoring frequencies 
will not add appreciably to the statistical confidence an employer will 
have in the conclusion that employees' exposures exceed a permissible 
exposure limit or action level. Monitoring quarterly and semiannually 
will protect employees by allowing time to improve the workplace, while 
still producing suitably current information to employers and 
employees. When employers are over the action level or exposure limit, 
periodic monitoring is required to assure that proper respirators and 
personal protective equipment are worn.
    Moreover, OSHA concludes, after reviewing the comments, that 
uniformity of monitoring frequency is beneficial for employers and 
employees (unless there are specific reasons for different frequency) 
because uniformity permits an employer to develop a more efficient and 
thus, better, industrial hygiene program and to increase compliance by 
improving understanding of health standards. In addition the Paperwork 
Reduction Act requires OSHA to consider reduction in paperwork burden 
when that will not interfere with worker protection.
    OSHA notes that two of its standards, 29 CFR 1910.1028 and 
1910.1051, benzene and 1,3-butadiene respectively, provide for exposure 
monitoring frequencies different from the quarterly and semiannual 
monitoring contained in other standards. The Agency is not revising 
benzene or 1,3-butadiene with respect to monitoring frequencies because 
the exposure monitoring provisions in those standards have specific 
bases in their rulemaking records that preclude changing them for 
consistency under this standards improvement action. (See e.g. 52 FR 
34533-41, September 11, 1987.)

G. Alternative Control Methods for Class I Asbestos Removal

    Provisions in OSHA's asbestos standards for shipyard employment and 
construction, paragraphs 1915.1001(g)(6)(iii) and 1926.1101(g)(6)(iii), 
respectively, address alternative control methods used to perform Class 
I asbestos work. Specifically, the paragraphs require an employer to 
send an evaluation and certification of alternative control methods to 
OSHA's Directorate of Technical Support before removing more than 25 
linear feet or 10 square feet of thermal-system insulation or surfacing 
material respectively.
    The purpose of this collection of information was for OSHA to 
develop a database of alternative control methods for use in future 
rulemaking. However, OSHA has not developed a database of alternative 
control methods nor does OSHA plan a future rulemaking to do so. 
Therefore, OSHA in the proposal said that these requirements are not 
useful and are not in keeping with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Current 
OSHA regulatory policy requires that paperwork provisions, such as 
this, be a benefit to employee health or serve some other useful 
regulatory purpose. Since certification of alternative control methods 
does not meet this requirement, the Agency proposed to delete it from 
the shipyard and construction asbestos standards. OSHA invited comment 
on any regulatory benefit or purpose that removal of this requirement 
would jeopardize.
    Eight commenters addressed the removal of these paragraphs (Exs. 3-
4, 16, 17, 24, 25, 27; 4-7, 11). Some commenters (Exs. 3-24; 4-7, 11) 
agreed with their deletion because OSHA has never used the information 
to develop a database. Other commenters (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 27) 
suggested rather than simply deleting the requirements, OSHA should 
enforce the requirement and start a database of alternative control 
methods which could be useful in rulemaking and to employers and 
employees seeking methods of abatement. Finally, the Associated General 
Contractors of America (Ex. 3-25) expressed concern that the change 
would eliminate contractors' abatement options and lead to increased 
delays to contractors and building owners because no simple 
substitution process would be available to submit alternatives. In 
response to this concern, OSHA would like to make it clear that the 
removal of these requirements does not disallow the use of alternative 
control methods since the submission of alternative control methods to 
OSHA did not constitute approval of the methods.
    As stated, the intent of this collection of information was for 
OSHA to develop a database of alternative control methods, but no such 
database was developed. Further, OSHA has no future plans to expend its 
limited resources on developing a database. As to development or 
availability of alternative control methodologies, there are many 
competent asbestos abatement contractors and consultants available to 
employers so it is not necessary for OSHA to research these issues or 
collect information on them. Therefore, OSHA has deleted the 
requirement in the shipyard employment and construction standards, 
because it is an unnecessary and burdensome collection of information.

H. Evaluating Chest X-rays Using the ILO U/C Rating

    OSHA proposed to amend paragraph 1910.1018(n)(2)(ii)(A) of the 
inorganic arsenic standard and paragraph 1910.1029(j)(2)(ii) of the 
coke oven emissions standard that require employees' chest x-rays 
receive an International Labor Office UICC/Cincinnati (ILO U/C) rating. 
Subsequent to the promulgation of these provisions, the Agency received 
information from two physicians that the ILO U/C rating is not suitable 
to evaluate chest x-rays for lung cancer, the possible outcome of 
exposure to these chemicals. Regarding the use of the ILO U/C ratings 
specified by the inorganic arsenic standard, Stephen Wood, MD, MSPH, 
Corporate Medical Director for the Kennecott Corporation, states in a 
letter to OSHA (Ex. 1-1):

    This method of x-ray interpretation was designed specifically 
for use in pneumoconiosis or dust related disease. Arsenic does not 
cause pneumoconiosis. This

[[Page 1119]]

classification system is unnecessary for cancer surveillance and 
represents a substantial cost and logistical burden to industry.

Later, Steven R. Smith, MD, Director of Occupational Health and 
Occupational Medicine, Community Hospitals Indianapolis, wrote to the 
Agency (Ex. 1-2) addressing the ILO U/C rating required by the coke 
oven emissions standard:

    I am sure you know that the main pulmonary problem with coke 
oven emission exposure is carcinoma of the lung and not 
pneumoconiosis. The main merit of the ILO U/C rating system is that 
it standardizes the reading of films where there are parenchymal 
opacities either round nodules or linear densities. For the problem 
of carcinoma of the lung this system really has little to add over 
the proper interpretation of films by skilled radiologists. I think 
it is of much more importance that the chest films done as part of 
the coke oven emissions exposure surveillance be interpreted by 
expert radiologists who are aware of the fact the films are being 
done primarily for pulmonary carcinoma. To require that an ILO U/C 
rating system be employed as well seems to me as though it is going 
to necessitate an additional expense as well as to greatly limit the 
number of radiologists who are able to interpret such films.

    Based on these letters and on the opinion of OSHA's Office of 
Occupational Medicine, the Agency believed that the ILO U/C rating is 
not a suitable method to use in evaluating chest x-rays for lung 
cancer. Therefore, the Agency proposed to remove the ILO U/C rating 
requirements specified in the inorganic arsenic and coke oven emissions 
standards, thereby permitting the examining physician to determine the 
most effective procedure for evaluating the chest x-rays. This approach 
is similar to that taken in recent Agency standards that require the 
evaluation of chest x-rays for cancer (e.g., paragraph 
1910.1027(l)(4)(ii)(C) of the cadmium standard). As part of the cadmium 
rulemaking, OSHA solicited comment and other information regarding the 
suitability of the ILO U/C ratings for evaluating chest x-rays for 
cancer, the identity of any other available method or procedure that 
could effectively substitute for ILO U/C ratings, and the safety and 
efficacy of the proposed elimination of the requirement.
    OSHA received nine comments in response to this proposed change 
(Exs. 3-7, 9, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29; 4-7, 11). Some commenters agreed 
(Exs. 3-7, 28, 29; 4-7, 11) that the rating requirement should be 
deleted because the method was not appropriate to evaluating chest x-
rays for lung cancer. The American Coke and Coal Chemical Institute 
(Ex. 3-28) stated:

    ACCCI concurs with the Agency's research and rationale that the 
ILO-U/C rating is not suitable for proper evaluation of standard 
posterior-anterior chest x-rays, as this designation does not 
promote proper lung cancer surveillance. In addition to the 
additional cost burden it imposes on employers, the requirement also 
delays the reading response time, due to the extremely limited 
number of radiologists qualified to render such an interpretation.

Pinnacle West Capital Corp (Ex. 4-7) indicated that its medical 
consultant saw no detriment to employee protection if the requirement 
was deleted.
    Some commenters (Exs. 3-9, 16, 17, 27) whether they agreed with or 
opposed the removal of the rating, believed substitute language should 
be added and suggested what that language might be. For example, the 
United Steel Workers of America (Ex. 3-16) agreed that the rating is of 
little use for carcinogens but suggested that OSHA substitute the 
rating requirement with one that the radiologist be certified by the 
American Board of Radiologists to ensure qualified radiologists are 
used. The AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) observed that the use of the rating 
provided some quality control. To remedy the problem, the AFL-CIO 
suggested that x-rays be read by NIOSH certified B readers.
    OSHA has decided to eliminate the part of the provisions in arsenic 
and coke oven emissions requiring the ILO U/C rating because the rating 
is appropriate only for pneumoconiosis and is not useful for lung 
cancer. OSHA agrees with commenters who noted that the rating method is 
not appropriate for diagnosing cancer, its intended purpose. First, it 
is clear that the specified rating method is inappropriate because it 
addresses dust inhalation and resulting pneumoconiosis, a problem 
unrelated to arsenic and coke oven emissions. The rating is not 
appropriate for identifying cancer, the primary concern with respect to 
these substances. Second, OSHA has no reason to believe that the 
elimination of an inappropriate rating method will result in the use of 
unqualified radiologists under the medical surveillance programs of 
employers and does not believe it is necessary to add any other 
language to the provision. OSHA has decided based on the rulemaking 
record, to delete the requirement and does not believe that the 
deletion will decrease employee health since the method is not even 
appropriate to diagnosing the substances' likely disease outcome, 
cancer.

I. Signed Medical Opinions

    OSHA proposed to remove several requirements for medical opinions 
to be signed. (The requirement that a medical opinion be obtained by 
the employer was not affected by the proposed revision concerning a 
signature.) Paragraph 1910.1001(l)(7)(i) of the asbestos standard, and 
paragraphs 1910.1027(l)(10)(i) of the general industry cadmium standard 
and 1926.1127(l)(10)(i) of the construction industry cadmium standard, 
require that the examining physician sign the written medical opinion 
provided as part of the medical-surveillance requirements of these 
standards. The preamble to the cadmium standards states that the 
purpose of requiring the physician to sign the opinion is to ensure 
that the information that is given to the employer has been seen and 
read by the physician and that the physician has personally determined 
whether the employee may continue to work in cadmium-exposed jobs (57 
FR 42366). No other substance-specific standards promulgated by OSHA 
requires that the physician sign the medical opinion.
    The Agency expressed its belief in the proposal that the 
requirement for a physician to sign a medical opinion is unnecessary, 
precludes electronic transmission of the opinion from the physician to 
the employer, and provides no additional benefit to employees. 
Accordingly, OSHA proposed to remove the requirement from these 
standards. The Agency requested comment on whether a signed medical 
opinion is necessary to ensure that the examining physician has 
reviewed it prior to submitting it to the employer.
    OSHA received 11 comments concerning the elimination of the 
requirement for a physician's signature on a medical opinion (Exs. 3-3, 
4, 7, 16, 17, 22, 24, 26, 27; 4-7, 11). Seven commenters saw no need or 
reason for the signature (Exs. 3-3, 7, 22, 24, 26; 4-7, 11). For 
example, Phelps Dodge Corp. (Ex. 3-7) agreed that the requirements 
provide no added benefit and given current communication techniques, 
requiring signed medical opinions actually slows the process of 
completing the medical evaluation. The American Society of Safety 
Engineers (Ex. 4-11) stated that it ``supports this change because it 
permits the use of new technology, which is generally accepted in the 
business and medical field, and will minimize paperwork burdens and 
reduce delays receiving such reports, thereby enhancing safety and 
health.''
    Four commenters objected to deleting the requirement for a 
physician's signature on the medical opinion (Exs.

[[Page 1120]]

3-4, 16, 17, 27). The views expressed by these commenters include: (1) 
Physicians should take responsibility for their opinions; (2) employees 
place greater weight on opinions signed by physicians; and (3) 
providing signed opinions requires minimal effort. These commenters 
generally agreed that if OSHA wanted to allow for electronic 
transmission, then the provision should be revised to allow electronic 
signatures.
    OSHA does not believe that requiring a physician's signature on the 
required comprehensive medical opinion has any impact on the validity 
of the medical opinion. With or without a signature, the opinion is 
given by a physician through the physician's office leaving no doubt 
about responsibility for the opinion. Employees receiving the 
physician's opinions will see that the physician's name on his or her 
stationery sets forth the legitimacy of the report and the identify of 
the responsible physician. Further, OSHA believes that an actual 
physician's signature or a physician's electronic signature does not 
guarantee that the physician has read the opinion, making these 
signature requirements ineffective. The important part of the 
requirement is that a medical opinion is given. OSHA does not believe a 
signature establishes any greater validity to the medical opinion 
whether it is signed personally or electronically and has concluded 
that deleting the signature will not decrease employees' health 
protections.

J. Providing Semiannual Medical Examinations to Employees Experiencing 
Long-Term Toxic Exposures

    Three of the Agency's oldest health standards specify that 
employers provide semiannual medical examinations to employees having 
long-term exposures to the toxic substances regulated by these 
standards. However, these standards, which regulate employee exposures 
to vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, and coke oven emissions (29 CFR 
1910.1017, 1910.1019, and 1910.1029, respectively), require employees, 
exposed for lesser periods, be given annual medical examinations.
    Under paragraph 1910.1017(k) of the vinyl chloride standard 
employers must institute a medical surveillance program including a 
physical examination for employees exposed in excess of the action 
level. For employees exposed above the action level and who have been 
employed in vinyl chloride or polyvinyl chloride manufacturing for 10 
years or longer, employers must provide a semiannual medical 
examination (paragraph 1910.1017(k)(2)(i)). The preamble to this 
standard provides no rationale for this requirement.
    Paragraph 1910.1018(n)(3)(i) of the inorganic arsenic standard 
requires that employers offer semiannual medical examinations to 
employees who are 45 years or older who have been exposed above the 
action level for 30 days per year or who have been exposed above the 
action level to inorganic arsenic for at least 10 years. In justifying 
this requirement, the Agency indicated in the preamble to this standard 
that:

    Long-term employees who have exposures now or in the near future 
below the action level, but have had exposure above the action level 
now or in the recent past, are quite likely to have had 
substantially greater exposures in the more distant past. The 
epidemiological studies indicate that risk increases with both 
degree and duration of exposure (43 FR 19620).

OSHA notes that this statement addressed high exposures that occurred 
prior to the 1970's.
    Paragraphs 1910.1029(j)(3)(ii) and (j)(3)(iii) of the coke oven 
emissions standard require employers to provide semiannual medical 
examinations for employees who are at least 45 years of age, or have 
five or more years of employment in a regulated area, and for an 
employee in this age/experience group who transfers or is transferred 
from employment in a regulated area, for as long as that employee is 
employed by the same employer or a successor employer. In the preamble 
to this standard, the Agency explains this requirement by stating that 
the high risk population requires more frequent and more comprehensive 
testing than the remainder of the population (41 FR 46779, October 22, 
1976).
    OSHA believes that the available evidence does not support the 
requirements for semiannual medical examinations offered to employees 
with long-term exposures to vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, or coke 
oven emissions. Based on a review of the existing medical research 
literature in Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project, the Agency 
amended the inorganic arsenic and coke oven emissions standards by 
reducing the frequency of chest x-rays from semiannual to annual and by 
removing the requirement for sputum cytology entirely from these 
standards (63 FR 33450). This review indicated that semiannual chest x-
rays and sputum cytology did not provide additional protection to 
employee health over and above that provided by an annual chest x-ray. 
Semi-annual medical exams provide little if any benefits when x-rays 
are only justified on an annual basis. Further, other health standards 
promulgated by OSHA, e.g., the 13 Carcinogens, benzene, ethylene oxide, 
etc., only require annual medical examinations.
    Based on the available evidence, at the time of the proposal, the 
Agency believed that semiannual medical examinations for these three 
substances were unnecessary, and that annual medical examinations would 
be sufficient to detect cancer and other medical impairments caused by 
exposure to vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, or coke oven emissions. 
Also, aside from these three standards, no other substance-specific 
OSHA standard requires semiannual medical examinations. OSHA also 
believed that current medical practice with regard to employees 
occupationally exposed to toxic substances is to screen them annually. 
Therefore, the Agency proposed to revise these three standards to be 
consistent with its other substance-specific standards that require 
employers to provide annual medical examinations for covered employees 
regardless of the duration of their exposures. OSHA requested comment 
and other information on the effectiveness of annual versus semiannual 
medical examinations in detecting cancer and other medical impairments 
caused by exposure to vinyl chloride, inorganic arsenic, or coke oven 
emissions.
    OSHA received 13 comments concerning semiannual versus annual 
medical examinations (Exs. 3-4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29; 
4-7, 11). Most of these commenters supported the change from semiannual 
to annual medical examinations (Ex. 3-4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 28, 29; 4-7, 
11). OxyChem (Ex. 3-10) supported OSHA's rationale that semiannual 
medical examinations do not offer any more or better disease 
identification than annual examinations. Further, OxyChem noted that 
annual examination is the medical profession's standard, and is 
consistent with all recent OSHA medical examination requirements. The 
Vinyl Chloride Health Committee of the American Chemistry Council (Ex. 
3-14) stated:

    OSHA recognizes in the preamble that semiannual examinations are 
not necessary, because annual medical examinations are sufficient to 
detect any material adverse health effect caused by vinyl chloride 
exposure. The Health Committee supports the proposal and notes that, 
more than any other proposed change, this will reduce significantly 
employer cost burdens without affecting worker health adversely.

    Further, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (Ex. 4-7) remarked:


[[Page 1121]]


    These standards promulgated in the 70s took a very conservative 
view in regard to medical monitoring requirements. In view of 
today's knowledge and OSHA's mediating this ultra conservative 
stance, we agree that annual exams are adequate to protect employee 
health. We believe it will enhance compliance with OSHA standards by 
making these rules consistent in requiring annual exams for all 
substance specific standards.

    Two commenters did not support eliminating the semiannual medical 
examinations (Ex. 3-17, 27). The UAW (Ex. 3-17) noted that increasing 
the frequency of examinations with increasing latency from first 
exposure to carcinogens is logical and based on science. The AFL-CIO 
(Ex. 3-27) expressed a similar opinion:

    In the view of the AFL-CIO, the current language requiring 
semiannual exams should be retained. Workers with long term 
exposures to any of these three substances are likely to be at 
increased risk of developing lung and liver cancer. The time since 
first exposure is also increased among this subset of exposed 
workers. More frequent screenings will assist these workers in 
identifying or diagnosing their cancers earlier than with an annual 
examination frequency.

    OSHA continues to believe based on available evidence resulting 
from its Phase I Standards Improvement Project, discussed above (that 
semiannual x-rays and sputum cytology do not improve survival rates), 
that annual medical examinations are sufficient to detect cancer and 
other medical impairments caused by exposure to vinyl chloride, 
inorganic arsenic, or coke oven emissions. The majority of commenters 
also believed that requiring annual medical examinations would be as 
effective as semiannual. OSHA finds that current medical practice to 
screen annually, makes it administratively advantageous especially when 
the medical examination may cover potential adverse health effects from 
other chemicals. Finally, OSHA's experience with other substance 
specific standards requiring annual medical examinations, persuades 
OSHA that the three standards can be changed without a decrease in 
employee health.
    A second issue was raised in the proposal addressing the medical 
examination in the coke oven emissions standard. OSHA sought comment on 
whether the urinary cytology examination was a useful test. OSHA 
indicated it might include its removal in the final rule if warranted, 
based on comments. The coke oven emissions standard requires, in 
paragraph 1910.1029(j)(2)(vii), that employers provide urinary cytology 
examinations as part of the medical examination to exposed employees. 
OSHA had adopted this requirement based on its belief that the urinary 
cytology examination would serve as a useful tool in screening for 
bladder cancer for those exposed to coke oven emissions.
    However, at the time of this proposal, the Agency believed that the 
use of urinary cytology in the coke oven emissions standard as a 
screening tool for cancer should be reexamined based on more recent 
scientific literature. OSHA's Office of Occupational Medicine (OOM) 
reviewed data pertaining to the benefits of urinary cytology in the 
detection of bladder cancer (Ex. 1-3). The literature indicates that 
the sensitivity of urine cytology, that is, its ability to detect 
bladder cancer, is not very powerful and, thus, not a particularly 
effective screening test for this disease. OOM recommends that urinary 
cytology testing be eliminated from the coke oven emissions standard. 
However, OOM does recommend retaining dipstick urinalysis as an 
inexpensive means of maintaining the urologic screening program until 
more effective technology is developed, despite its low sensitivity for 
detecting cancer. Comment was requested on the issue and on the OOM 
recommendation of retaining dipstick urinalysis.
    OSHA received five comments on the urinary cytology examination in 
the coke oven emissions standard (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 27). None of the 
commenters believe that OSHA should eliminate the urinary cytology 
examination at this time. For example, the United Steel Workers of 
America (Ex. 3-16) remarked:

    We agree with OSHA that urinary cytology should be thoroughly 
examined. While we have respect for OSHA's Office of Occupational 
Medicine, the evaluation should be based on more than their opinion. 
In addition, the Agency should consider newer methods for detecting 
overexposures, such as 2-hydroxypyrenol. Until that analysis is 
complete, the requirement for urinary cytology should be retained.

    The AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) stated:

    While we have no objection to OSHA reexamining the utility of 
using urinary cytology as a screen for cancer, we are opposed to 
removing it merely because the sensitivity of the screening tool 
``is not very powerful''. If another screening method can be shown, 
with scientific substantiation, to be more powerful then it may be 
appropriate for the agency to require a different method to be used. 
Until such time as this analysis has been completed and a more 
powerful method identified, the AFL-CIO believes the requirement for 
urinary cytology should be retained. To eliminate the screening test 
altogether would weaken worker protection.

    Based on comments, OSHA has been persuaded to retain the 
requirement to conduct urinary cytology testing as part of the medical 
examination required by the coke oven emissions standard until such 
time that the Agency more fully examines alternatives to the test. 
However, also based on the information in the record and comments, OSHA 
is requiring the test be conducted on an annual basis as part of the 
annual medical examination, the same time the other tests are required 
(urinalysis), rather than every 6 months. OSHA has found no compelling 
reason that the cytology test should be conducted more frequently than 
the other tests required as part of the medical examination and it is 
important to be consistent with the annual frequency of other required 
medical examinations and tests so that it can be reviewed by the 
physician.

K. Notifying OSHA Regarding the Use of DBCP or the Establishment of 
Regulated Areas for Certain Substances

    The Agency proposed to delete paragraph 1910.1044(d) of the 1,2-
dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) standard. This standard is the only OSHA 
substance standard that requires employers to submit a report to the 
nearest OSHA Area Office that describes the employer's use of the 
chemical within 10 days of introducing the substance into the 
workplace. The preamble to the DBCP standard does not provide a 
rationale for the requirement. Further, OSHA has not found this 
requirement useful either for research or to assist in compliance 
activities.
    OSHA believed that the provision had little use in practice and 
thus, it might be appropriate to remove this provision consistent with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act mandates. OSHA requested comment on the 
proposed deletion of paragraph 1910.1044(d) of the DBCP standard.
    One commenter specifically disagreed with the deletion of paragraph 
(d) of the DBCP standard. The commenter, the United Steel Workers of 
America (Ex. 3-16) stated:

    The DBCP standard requires employers to notify OSHA if they 
introduce the substance into the workplace. No known employers 
currently use or produce DBCP. If any do so in the future, it would 
be useful for the Agency to know it. Therefore, there is no reason 
to delete this provision. The deletion would not even reduce any 
current paperwork burdens.

    At the request of the public, OSHA queried its regions on the 
notification of use and establishment of regulated area provisions. The 
regions said that very few notifications have been received with regard 
to any chemicals (e.g., arsenic) and that the reports are not used for 
targeting inspections (Ex. 9-1-1). (For example, one region stated it 
has

[[Page 1122]]

received 2 to 3 reports over 28 years regarding reporting for vinyl 
chloride.) In any case, OSHA has other provisions for targeting 
inspections.
    OSHA has decided to delete this requirement. It has not been used 
by OSHA and no other OSHA health standards have such provisions. At the 
time of this proposal, OSHA was aware that DBCP is no longer produced 
or used, and therefore no reduction in burden hours was projected for 
the deletion. Nonetheless, if DBCP was used again, OSHA still considers 
the provision an unnecessary burden under the Paper Work Reduction Act 
and unnecessary for purposes of targeting inspections. Moreover, if 
DBCP were to be used again, the standard would protect employees.
    A number of other OSHA standards dating from the 1970s require 
employers to notify the nearest OSHA Area Director/Office if they are 
required to establish regulated areas in their workplaces. The 
following standards have such a requirement: Paragraph 1910.1003(f)(1) 
of the 13 carcinogens standard; paragraph 1910.1017(n)(1) of the vinyl 
chloride standard; paragraph 1910.1018(d)(1) of the inorganic arsenic 
standard; and, paragraph 1910.1045(d)(1) of the acrylonitrile standard.
    The preamble to the vinyl chloride standard explains that the 
purpose of this notification requirement is to enable OSHA to obtain 
information on control technology (39 FR 35896, October 4, 1974). The 
preamble to the acrylonitrile standard notes that the requirement is 
designed to enable OSHA to be aware of facilities where substantial 
exposure exists (43 FR 45762).
    In the years since these standards were promulgated, OSHA has not 
found the notification provision useful for the purposes described in 
the two preambles nor have these requirements been useful for 
compliance inspection targeting purposes. No other substance-specific 
standards promulgated by OSHA require such notification. The Agency 
proposed to delete the notification requirement from the standards to 
reduce unnecessary collections of information (paperwork burdens) 
required by OSHA but not used by OSHA. OSHA invited comment on the 
effect this deletion would have in general, and specifically on 
employee protection, employer burden, and paperwork reduction.
    OSHA received 14 comments on the OSHA notification provision 
concerning regulated areas (Exs. 3-8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 27, 
29; 4-7, 11, 12, 13). Nine commenters supported deleting notifying OSHA 
of regulated areas (Exs. 3-8, 10, 13, 14, 22, 29; 4-7, 11, 12). Dow 
Chemical (Ex. 3-13) observed:

    Dow agrees with OSHA that it is appropriate to revise the 
requirement that an employer notify the Agency when it has 
established a ``regulated area.'' OSHA does not find the information 
useful and we believe that the information serves no purpose and 
should be eliminated. The requirement to notify places a burden on 
the employer that does not appear to be necessary. Conditions in an 
area that might require reporting can change quickly. While these 
changes are being monitored, it does not appear to be a useful 
exercise to determine how many days the employer has to postmark a 
letter detailing the information to OSHA, particularly when OSHA 
does not utilize the information anyway. Further, there are many 
tasks that potentially might trigger establishing a regulated area, 
where other tasks involving the same chemical do not. Thus, it does 
not seem particularly helpful or necessary to notify OSHA when 
establishing a regulated area which only exists when certain tasks, 
done at a variety of different frequencies (rather than a permanent 
arrangement), exists. Dow supports OSHA's efforts to eliminate this 
unnecessary regulatory burden.

Organization Resources Counselors (Ex. 3-22) indicated it agreed with 
the elimination of the provisions on the principle that if OSHA no 
longer has a need to collect information or finds that the information 
provides no useful benefits for enforcement or protection, then the 
requirements should be deleted.
    Five commenters did not agree that the regulated area notification 
provisions were unnecessary or should be deleted (Exs. 3-16, 17, 18, 
27; 4-13). The UAW (Ex. 3-17) observed that the stronger argument would 
be to extend the requirement to other standards. This would enable OSHA 
to target health inspections more efficiently. The AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) 
stated:

    We are also opposed to removing the requirement to notify OSHA 
whenever regulated areas are established for the 16 carcinogens. 
This information can be extremely helpful in protecting worker 
health by identifying effective methods to control exposure and 
targeting OSHA inspections. Instead of eliminating this requirement, 
the agency should improve all its health standards by incorporating 
this provision into all of its health standards.

Also, the ICWU (Ex. 4-13) believes the rule at least encourages 
employers to investigate and institute corrective actions.
    OSHA concludes that the notification requirements are not adding to 
worker protection and eliminating them will reduce the collection of 
information (paperwork) burden and overall improve compliance with OSHA 
health standards by making them more consistent. OSHA has not been 
using these reports for enforcement purposes. (See Ex. 9.) These are 
older standards with a high degree of compliance and where technology 
was long ago developed to achieve compliance. OSHA has other methods 
for targeting inspections. OSHA therefore has decided to eliminate 
these reporting requirements.

L. Reporting Emergencies to OSHA

    Paragraph 1910.1017(n)(2) of the vinyl chloride standard and 
paragraph 1910.1045(d)(2) of the acrylonitrile standard require 
employers to report the occurrence of emergencies involving these 
substances to the nearest OSHA Area Director/Office. The preambles to 
these standards are silent on the reason for this reporting requirement 
and OSHA has not found such reporting, which has occurred only rarely, 
useful. In addition, other Agency substance-specific standards do not 
have such a requirement. Accordingly, OSHA proposed to delete these 
reporting provisions as unnecessary and a way to reduce unnecessary 
collections of information (paperwork burdens). OSHA asked for comment 
on the proposed deletions and for information on any impact such an 
action might have.
    Thirteen commenters addressed the deletion of the provisions 
requiring notifying the OSHA Area Director/Office of an emergency (Exs. 
3-4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 27, 29; 4-11, 13). Of those, seven 
commenters supported the modification (Exs. 3-8, 10, 13, 14, 22, 29; 4-
11) and six commenters did not (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 18, 27; 4-13). 
Generally, commenters that supported the modification believed that if 
OSHA does not use the information, then it should not be collected.
    The commenters who did not agree with the modification indicated 
that the information could be very useful to OSHA and employers if it 
was collected and evaluated properly. The AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) argued:

    The AFL-CIO is opposed to the deletion of this requirement 
because it will weaken worker protection. Information from 
emergencies can be used to identify hazards and inform other 
employers using these substances about control procedures that can 
eliminate similar emergencies from occurring in the future. The fact 
that such reporting has been rare is irrelevant and not sufficient 
justification to delete it from these two standards. Furthermore, it 
is our position that this emergency reporting requirement should be 
extended to all of OSHA's health standards. To do so, in our 
opinion, would genuinely result in the improvement of the

[[Page 1123]]

agency's standards and increase worker protection.

    OSHA remains unconvinced by these arguments that it should retain 
the requirement to report emergencies for these two substances. OSHA 
regions have not been utilizing the few reports which have been filed, 
though several regional staff felt they conceivably could be useful. 
However, that the plans could be useful is not very persuasive when 
they have not been used. OSHA has other regulations for reporting 
deaths and serious injuries (see 29 CFR 1904.39).
    Speculation that employees may be protected by these emergency 
reporting requirements does not outweigh the fact that emergency 
reports required by these standards are rare and OSHA has found them 
not to be useful. Finally, no evidence in the rulemaking records for 
OSHA's more recent health standards compelled the Agency to include 
emergency reporting requirements. Thus, OSHA had concluded that the 
requirements are unnecessary and create a needless paperwork burden. 
Therefore, the requirement to report emergencies to OSHA contained in 
these two standards is being deleted in this final rule.

M. Semiannual Updating of Compliance Plans

    The Agency's substance-specific standards typically require 
employers to develop compliance plans to meet the exposure-control 
objectives of the standard. Most of these standards specify that 
employers must update these plans at least annually because OSHA 
believed that annual updating was sufficient to ensure the continued 
effectiveness of the plans. However, a few of the substance-specific 
standards promulgated by the Agency require semiannual updating. These 
standards include: the standard for vinyl chloride, paragraph 
1910.1017(f)(3); the inorganic arsenic standard, paragraph 
1910.1018(g)(2)(iv); the lead standard, paragraph 1910.1025(e)(3)(iv); 
the coke oven emissions standard, paragraph 1910.1029(f)(6)(iv); the 
DBCP standard, paragraph 1910.1044(g)(2)(ii); the acrylonitrile 
standard, paragraph 1910.1045(g)(2)(v); and, the lead in construction 
standard, paragraph 1926.62(e)(2)(v).
    The preambles to these standards, vinyl chloride, inorganic 
arsenic, lead, coke oven emissions, DBCP, acrylonitrile and lead in 
construction, contained no evidence pointing to the need for a 
semiannual update of compliance plans in facilities handling these 
substances. Further, OSHA believed that current industry practice with 
respect to health issues is annual updating, which is consistent with 
other OSHA health standards. Based on these reasons, the Agency 
proposed to revise those substance-specific standards that contain 
semiannual updating to annual updating. The revision would make the 
compliance plan update requirements consistent across health standards 
without diminishing employee protection and would also reduce 
unnecessary paperwork. The Agency solicited comment on any impact, 
particularly on employee health, that the proposed revision might have.
    Many commenters addressed the proposed change to an annual update 
of compliance plans (Exs. 3-4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 18, 22, 27, 
28, 29; 4-7, 11, 12, 13). Most of these commenters supported the 
revision as well as OSHA's reasons (Exs. 3-7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 22, 
28, 29; 4-7, 11, 12). However, some commenters disagreed with the 
proposed change (Exs. 3-4, 16, 17, 18, 27; 4-13).
    Of those commenters that endorsed the change, OxyChem (Ex. 3-10) 
stated:

    The VCM standard requires a written compliance plan whenever 
employees' exposures exceed the Permissible Exposure Limit 
(``PEL''). The compliance plan is intended to help reduce employee 
exposures to or below the PEL through use of engineering and work 
practice controls. The written plan is required to be updated semi-
annually. Like several other proposed revisions affecting the VCM 
standard, OSHA proposes to revise this regulation to require an 
annual update of the written plan. This will make these rules 
consistent with recent occupational health standards. While semi-
annual plan updating may have been important when the VCM standard 
was published, it is no longer needed due to the reduced potential 
for exposure to VCM in the manufacturing and user industries. 
OxyChem supports this proposal.

Additionally, the American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute (Ex. 3-28) 
noted:

    ACCCI supports this revision, as it would have no diminishing 
effect on employee safety and health. Engineering controls are well 
established and maintained throughout the industry, and work 
practice controls remain regimented within individual coke making 
facilities. Furthermore, employee protection is ensured through 
related compliance with other applicable standards such as 
Respiratory Protection (1910.134) and Personal Protective Equipment 
(1910.132).

Finally, the American Society of Safety Engineers (Ex. 4-11) 
recommended ``this change to encourage uniformity in industrial health 
recordkeeping.''
    In contrast, the AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) remarked:

    The AFL-CIO is opposed to OSHA's proposed change. The semiannual 
requirement applies to a significant number of chemicals and is an 
important provision, particularly in circumstances where changes in 
the workplace occur that may increase the potential for worker 
exposures. Furthermore, in the interest of increasing worker 
protection, we believe this requirement needs to be added to all of 
the agency's health standards.

After reviewing the comments, OSHA concludes that annual updates are 
sufficient. Uniformity among standards is advantageous for improving 
compliance. Semi-annual updating of compliance plans was most useful in 
the years immediately following the promulgation of these standards. In 
those years, employers were installing engineering controls, evaluating 
their effectiveness and making modifications to increase their 
effectiveness. Now that many years have passed and engineering control 
strategies have been well established, the need to evaluate twice each 
year is diminished and does not outweigh the benefits of consistency 
among OSHA's health standards. Employees continue to be fully protected 
by the substantive provisions of these standards. Consequently the 
revisions will make compliance plan updates more consistent without 
diminishing employee protection. The revisions will also reduce 
employers' collection of information burdens (paperwork) which the 
Paperwork Reduction Act requires OSHA to consider. Therefore, OSHA is 
revising these standards to allow for an annual compliance program 
review.

N. Notifying Employees of Their Exposure Monitoring Results

    Many of OSHA's substance-specific standards require employers to 
notify employees of their exposure monitoring results. The manner of 
notification varies. (See Table 1) Some standards require the employer 
to provide written notification to each employee in a monitoring 
program and also post the monitoring results. Other standards require 
the employer to only notify the individual of exposure monitoring 
results. Still other standards require that monitoring results be 
posted.
    Obviously, the reason for employee notification of monitoring 
results is for employees to be aware of their exposures to regulated 
substances. However, the preambles to these standards do not identify 
the reasons for the differences in the manner in which employees are 
informed of their exposure results. Also, there was no evidence to 
suggest that the timing differences were based on effects on

[[Page 1124]]

employee health. Therefore, OSHA believed that making the notification 
and timing requirements consistent across standards would reduce 
regulatory confusion and facilitate compliance without diminishing 
employee protection.
    The Agency proposed to allow employers to provide employees with 
their exposure monitoring results either individually in writing, or by 
posting the results in a readily accessible location, or by both. There 
were a number of considerations identified by OSHA with regard to the 
manner in which employees are notified. For example, individual 
notification gives employees a permanent record and they may take 
individual notification more seriously. Individual notification also 
avoids possible privacy concerns that may be associated with posting 
results. However, individual notification increases the paperwork 
burden on employers. On the other hand, posting monitoring has 
advantages. When monitoring results are posted, all employees, not just 
those monitored, will have knowledge of overall exposure related trends 
in their workplace. Posting monitoring results, however, might pose 
privacy issues that will be discussed under section O, Additional 
Issues for Comment. OSHA requested information on the impact the 
proposed revision might have on employee protection.

              Table 1.--Method of Notification and Time Period for Notification of Exposure Results
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Standard                     Method of notification         Maximum period for notification
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Part 1910--General Industry
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asbestos: Paragraph 1910.1001(d)(7)(i)...  Individually in writing or    15 working days.
                                            posting.
Vinyl Chloride: Paragraph 1910.1017(n)(3)  Individually in writing only  10 working days.
Inorganic Arsenic: Paragraph               Individually in writing only  5 working days.
 1910.1018(e)(5)(i).
Lead: Paragraph 1910.1025(d)(8)(i).......  Individually in writing only  5 working days.
Cadmium: Paragraph 1910.1027(d)(5)(i)....  Individually in writing and   15 working days.
                                            posting.
Benzene: Paragraph 1910.1028(e)(7)(i)....  Individually in writing only  15 working days.
Coke Oven Emissions: Paragraph             Individually in writing only  5 working days.
 1910.1029(e)(3)(i).
Cotton Dust: Paragraph 1910.1043(d)(4)(i)  Individually in writing only  20 working days.
1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane: Paragraph     Individually in writing only  5 working days.
 1910.1044(f)(5)(i).
Acrylonitrile: Paragraph                   Individually in writing only  5 working days.
 1910.1045(e)(5)(i).
Ethylene Oxide: Paragraph                  Individually in writing or    15 working days.
 1910.1047(d)(7)(i).                        posting.
Formaldehyde: Paragraph 1910.1048(d)(6)..  Individually in writing or    15 working days.
                                            posting.
Methylenedianiline: Paragraph              Individually in writing or    15 working days.
 1910.1050(e)(7)(i).                        posting.
Butadiene: Paragraph 1910.1051(d)(7)(i)..  Individually in writing or    5 working days.
                                            posting.
Methylene Chloride: Paragraph              Individually in writing or    15 working days.
 1910.1052(d)(5)(i).                        posting.
------------------------------------------
      Part 1915--Shipyard Employment
------------------------------------------
Asbestos: Paragraphs 1915.1001(f)(5)(i)    Individually in writing or    As soon as possible.
 and (f)(5)(ii).                            posting.
------------------------------------------
                                             Part 1926--Construction
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Methylenedianiline: Paragraph              Individually in writing or    15 working days.
 1926.60(f)(7)(i).                          posting.
Lead: Paragraph 1926.62(d)(8)(i).........  Individually in writing only  5 working days.
Asbestos: Paragraphs 1926.1101(f)(5)(i)    Individually in writing or    As soon as possible.
 and (f)(5)(ii).                            posting.
Cadmium: Paragraph 1926.1127(d)(5)(i)....  Individually in writing and   5 working days.
                                            posting.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition to the notification requirements, these standards 
contain a variety of different time limits between receipt of 
employees' exposure monitoring results and notification of employees. 
Employee notification time for exposure results range from ``as soon as 
possible,'' to 5, 10, 15 or 20 working days after the employer receives 
the monitoring results. See Table 1 for the amount of time permitted by 
15 substance-specific standards for general industry, one for shipyard 
employment, and four for construction.
    OSHA proposed to require employers regulated by the 15 substance-
specific standards for general industry to notify employees of their 
exposure monitoring results within 15 working days of receiving the 
results. OSHA believed a consistent time-period would simplify employer 
compliance and found no reason to believe that 15 days is an 
unreasonable time frame or would in any way compromise employee 
protection.
    For construction employers covered by the methylenedianiline, lead, 
asbestos, or cadmium standards, and shipyard employers covered by the 
asbestos standard, OSHA proposed to require notification as soon as 
possible but no later than five working days after the employer 
receives the results of exposure monitoring.
    The asbestos and cadmium standards established different time 
periods for notification based on the industries affected. Although the 
general industry asbestos standard requires employee notification 
within 15 working days, both the construction and shipyard employment 
asbestos standards require notification ``as soon as possible.'' 
Construction and shipyard employers were believed to have employees 
that were involved in more short-term and intermittent activities. 
Also, the general industry cadmium standard requires employee 
notification within 15 working days while the construction cadmium 
standard requires notification within five working days. Again, the 
preamble to the construction cadmium standard states that the five 
working-day notification period is appropriate because of the short 
term nature of many construction jobs (57 FR 42383).
    OSHA requested comment on the appropriateness of the different 
notification time periods. The Agency believed that factors such as 
short-term or intermittent projects might justify retaining the shorter 
notification periods for construction and shipyard employment 
activities, although some health standards allow 15 working day time 
periods standards for these industries.

[[Page 1125]]

    OSHA invited comment and information on the proposed revisions to 
the notification requirements in OSHA health standards, particularly on 
the differences proposed for employers in different industries and any 
reduction in employee protection that may result from the proposed 
revisions.
    OSHA received 24 comments on the means of employee notification and 
the time period to inform employees the results of exposure monitoring 
(Exs. 3-1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 
27, 28, 29; 4-7, 11, 12, 13). Of these comments, the majority addressed 
OSHA's proposal to allow informing employees of their exposure 
individually in writing, by posting the results, or by both (Exs. 3-1, 
4, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29; 4-12, 13) and most 
supported the proposal (Exs. 3-1, 7, 8, 10, 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, 29; 4-
12, 13).
    For example, Phelps Dodge Corporation (Ex. 3-7) remarked:

    We support OSHA's proposal to allow employers to provide 
employees with their exposure monitoring results either individually 
in writing or by posting the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location. We agree with OSHA's preliminary finding that 
the goal of ensuring that employees are aware of their exposures can 
effectively be met either by individual written notification or by 
posting results in a location that is readily accessible to all 
employees whose results are being posted. Posting results for 
general observation is efficient and provides a large number of 
people access to the exposure monitoring results. However, in some 
cases, individual written notification may be the preferred method 
of communication if the notification involves sensitive information. 
We ask OSHA to provide employers with the flexibility to choose the 
best method to notify employees and make this notification an 
effective communication tool.

The United Steelworkers of America (Ex. 3-16) stated that ``We agree 
that these standards should be harmonized, and we agree that exposure 
results could be provided individually or by posting.''
    One commenter that supported employer choice of individual 
notification or posting, expressed concern about employee privacy with 
respect to posting monitoring results. OxyChem (Ex. 3-10) observed that 
``employers should not be forced to utilize employee identifiers that 
invoke privacy concerns when performing the notification of 
monitoring'' such as social security numbers. OSHA absolutely agrees 
that employers should not use employee identifiers when posting 
monitoring results and does not require such identification and 
emphatically recommends that employers not use such identifiers.
    Several commenters did not support allowing employers the latitude 
in choosing the method of informing employees about their exposures 
(Exs. 3-4, 17, 26, 27). The Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical & Energy 
Workers International Union (PACE) (Ex. 3-4) remarked:

    PACE sees no need or rationale for OSHA to change the 
requirement that employees receive their own test results on an 
individual basis. The proposed change is highly objectionable. In 
fact, OSHA should required that employers provide written 
notification of such results to individuals and, in addition, should 
require employers to post such results on an anonymous basis in a 
conspicuous place in the workplace. Many workers do not pay much 
attention to bulletin boards in the workplace and, therefore, use of 
such a communication method would likely not be effective. Also by 
being provided a written copy of exposure monitoring results, the 
employee has a record of exposures to toxic substances in a form 
that they can take with them, should they change employers.

    OSHA concludes that its proposal to permit employers to either post 
or individually provide monitoring data to employees is justified. 
There is a substantial health benefit to employees to posting. They 
will be able to know exposures in all parts of the workplace, to know 
whether the employer is keeping exposures below the PEL, where in the 
workplace they need to wear a respirator and overall exposure trends. 
Individual notification may have some privacy benefits and employees 
may take the notification more seriously. Balancing these factors, and 
the reduced collection of information (paperwork) burden and increased 
flexibility at giving the employer the option, OSHA concludes that the 
proposal is justified. If an employee wants a copy of the record, then 
the employee can request the record under the 29 CFR 1910.1020, Access 
to Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard.
    Of the 24 comments that addressed employee notification and the 
time limits for informing employees of exposure results, 21 commented 
on the number of days employers should have before notifying employees 
of exposure (Ex. 3-1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 26, 
27, 28, 29; 4-1, 7, 11, 13). Although commenters generally agreed that 
it would be beneficial to have a consistent timeframe across standards, 
some commenters believed that 5 days should be the reporting time for 
general industry rather than the proposed 15 days (Exs. 3-4, 16, 26, 
27; 4-13). For example, PACE (Ex. 3-4) remarked:

    OSHA's proposal to standardize the reporting period for employee 
monitoring results is fine, but the period should be a maximum of 
five days. There is really no need for a longer period of time. 
Providing for a longer period of time for notification communicates 
the lack of importance of such monitoring. In addition, use of a one 
week period will allow workers to remember what kinds of activities 
they were engaged in on the day of monitoring, which, in turn, may 
have lead to excessive exposure. Hence, the utility of exposure 
monitoring would be enhanced with a short notification period.

The United Steelworkers of America (Ex. 3-16) observed:

    We agree that these standards should be harmonized, and we agree 
that exposure results could be provided individually or by posting. 
But there is no reason for an employer to hold monitoring results 
for up to three weeks before passing them on to the employee, 
especially when the employer can do so by posting. These standards 
should be harmonized upwards, to a maximum notification period of 
five working days.

Finally, the AFL-CIO (Ex. 3-27) stated that:

    The AFL-CIO fully agrees that it is reasonable to establish 
consistency in the notification period. However, it is our position 
that, in order to be genuinely consistent in protecting workers from 
exposures to all of these substances, a 5 day notification period 
should be applicable across all industries and not just construction 
and shipyard industries. Again, OSHA's proposed 15 day period for 
general industry is the lowest common denominator. Reducing, 
uniformly, the notification period to 5 days increases worker 
protection by reducing the period of time between notification of 
the results and the subsequent implementation of responses to reduce 
worker exposure where overexposures have been identified.

    On the other hand, the majority of commenters agreed with the 15 
day uniform reporting proposal for general industry (Exs. 3-1, 3, 7, 8, 
10, 13, 14, 15, 22, 28, 29; 4-1, 7, 11). A commenter from Phelps Dodge 
Corporation (Ex. 3-7) observed:

    We support OSHA's proposal to make the requirements for 
notifying employees of exposure monitoring results in the 15 general 
industry standards consistent at 15 working days. This time interval 
ensures timely communication of results to employees, while giving 
employers sufficient time to adequately evaluate and communicate 
exposure-monitoring results. In addition, many standards require 
that the employer communicate a corrective action plan to the 
employee when exposures exceed the Permissible Exposures Limit. It 
is often impossible to develop an effective and realistic plan in 
less than 15 working days.

Dow Chemical Company (Ex. 13) remarked:

    Having consistency in this area will greatly reduce 
administrative burden as well as

[[Page 1126]]

regulatory confusion. This, in turn, will facilitate better 
compliance without diminishing employee protection.

The American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute (ACCCI) (Ex. 3-28) also 
supported the proposal by stating:

    ACCCI is in agreement with the proposal revisions, as they would 
facilitate regulatory compliance without adversely affecting 
employee health. By increasing the notification period to 15 days, 
it not only provides consistency with other standards but also 
provides employers with the leeway to work through periods when 
employees may be away from work and to coordinate any remedial 
testing that may be warranted by the initial results.

Finally, the American Chemistry Council (Ex. 3-29) noted:

    The wide variety of existing requirements creates confusion and 
an unnecessary burden on employers to keep detailed records on 
individual employees' different potential exposures. ACC recommends 
OSHA establish a uniform reporting timeframe (e.g. fifteen days).

    A few commenters urged OSHA not to limit the maritime shipyard 
proposal (Ex. 3-1) or the construction proposals (Exs. 3-5, 7, 13, 24; 
4-7) to a 5-day notification rather than a 15 day notification. 
Northrop Grumman Newport News (Ex. 3-1) indicated that it:

    Does not agree with the proposal to require notification ``as 
soon as possible but no later than five working days'' after 
shipyard employers receive exposure-monitoring results. The shipyard 
employee population is as non-transitory as general industry in 
spite of short-term and intermittent projects and that those 
employees will receive exposure notification as effectively as in 
general industry.

    With respect to the construction industry, Phelps Dodge Corporation 
(Ex. 3-7) stated:

    We believe that the construction industry should also be allowed 
15 working days to communicate the results of exposure monitoring. 
While some employees in these fields are employed for only short 
periods of time, the employer would still be able to reach them to 
communicate their results in the vast majority of cases. Interaction 
between employers and transient employees continues to take place 
when paychecks or tax documents are mailed. We believe that the 
proposed five-day time limit in the construction standard 
effectively prohibits any meaningful employee involvement in 
developing action plans.

Dow Chemical Company (Ex. 3-13) remarked:

    While we understand the premise for the difference in report 
times (namely, that the transient nature of construction work and 
the construction workers may lead to difficulty in communicating 
results), this has not been our experience. Construction workers 
must still provide addresses to their employer and this information 
can still be channeled to the individuals accordingly. Moreover, 
employees in general industry as well as construction are advised of 
their rights to access this information. To have inconsistent 
notification requirements will be confusing for General Industry 
employers that may have extensive construction work on their sites, 
as they may have to comply with both standards. Dow believes that 
both the General Industry and Construction Standards should follow 
the proposed 15 working day requirement for employee notification.

Finally, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (Ex. 4-7) observed:

    We see no reason to have a shorter period for construction 
workers. Our experience is that when we monitor a contractor's 
employee, we provide notice to the construction company, who is then 
required to provide it to their employee. The 15 working day period 
would allow enough time to complete the notification. Even when the 
worker has left the construction company's employment, they usually 
have either his/her home address or know for which union he/she 
works. This notification can be made to either place. Less than 15 
working days almost make this almost impossible.

    OSHA has concluded that a uniform time limit for notifying 
employees in general industry has substantial benefits. It will improve 
employer understanding of standards and improve compliance. As a 
practical matter it will reduce employers paperwork burdens because 
their compliance program will be simpler and uniform. There will be no 
reduction in employee protection and probably improvement because of 
improved compliance. The 15 working day period is a reasonable time for 
notification in general industry with its more stable workforce and is 
the time frame OSHA adopted in most of its health standards for general 
industry.
    Employment at a particular location is often brief in construction 
and sometimes brief in shipyards. Therefore OSHA is finalizing the 
proposal ``as soon as possible but not more than 5 working days'' 
requirement for asbestos in shipyards and MDA, lead, asbestos, and 
cadmium in construction.

O. Additional Issue for Comment

Social Security Numbers
    OSHA's substance-specific standards require that exposure 
monitoring and medical-surveillance records that the employer is 
required to retain, include the employee's social security number 
(SSN). In the preamble to the final methylene chloride standard (62 FR 
1598, January 10, 1997), OSHA justified the requirement for employers 
to document social security numbers by observing that the numbers are 
correlated to employee identity in other types of records and that they 
are a more useful differentiation among employees since each number is 
unique to an individual for a lifetime and does not change as an 
employee changes employers. In a letter of interpretation regarding the 
use of social security numbers in the asbestos standard for 
construction (April 16, 1999), the Agency provided the following 
response. Many employees have identical or similar names and that 
identifying employees solely by name makes it difficult to determine to 
which employee a particular record pertains. The use of SSNs avoids 
this problem because they are unique to an individual.
    In addition, epidemiologic studies of employee health from 
workplace exposures to toxic substances require that social security 
numbers be attached to employee medical and monitoring records. Only in 
that way can employee health end points be compared to employee 
exposures over many years, over changes in employers and ultimately be 
compared to death certificates.
    However, OSHA has examined alternatives to requiring SSNs in its 
requirements for employee identification due to growing concerns about 
individual privacy. In Phase II of the Standards Improvement Project, 
OSHA requested public comments on: the necessity, usefulness, and 
effectiveness of SSNs as a means of identifying employee records in 
exposure monitoring and medical-surveillance records. Further, OSHA 
asked whether there were privacy concerns or issues raised by this 
requirement. Finally, the Agency inquired about the existence of other 
equally effective methods of uniquely identifying employees for OSHA 
exposure and medical-surveillance records.
    The Agency received 14 comments with respect to OSHA's requirements 
to use employee SSNs in records (Exs. 3-1, 7, 9, 16, 17, 24, 26, 27, 
28, 29; 4-6, 7, 11, 13). Seven commenters believed that SSNs needed to 
be retained in OSHA standards (Exs. 3-9, 16, 17, 24, 27; 4-6, 13). 
NIOSH (Ex. 9) strongly believes in the use of SSNs. NIOSH stated:

    In NIOSH's experience, the SSN is the most practical identifier 
when studying large workplace populations. Any other unique and 
unchanging individual identifier that would accompany a worker 
throughout his or her life would essentially serve as an SSN 
surrogate. This alternative identifier would also have to be a 
unique personal identifier

[[Page 1127]]

and would thus share any privacy concerns associated with the use of 
SSNs.

NIOSH listed a number of shortcomings concerning the use of employer-
generated identifiers. They include:
    1. Use of non-unique identification numbers or codes across 
employers;
    2. Re-issuance of previously used identification codes to different 
individuals;
    3. Periodic changes in identification codes with changes in company 
ownership or organization;
    4. Introduction of new or revised data management systems;
    5. Changes in product lines;
    6. Elimination of functions or activities;
    7. Implementation of new payroll or other administrative systems;
    8. Revision of job titles;
    9. Abbreviations following personal names (e.g., Jr., Sr., Esq.)
    10. Variations in spelling of names or name changes (for example, 
through marriage).
    The United Steel Workers of America (Ex. 3-16) remarked:

    Employers currently use social security numbers on virtually all 
employee records. Almost all health care institutions and insurance 
companies identity individuals by social security number. We 
understand OMB's privacy concerns, but employee exposure records are 
an insignificant part of the problem of workplace privacy. Deleting 
requirements for social security numbers would complicate record 
handling. It would also complicate epidemiological studies, which 
depend on social security numbers to ascertain vital status.

Also, Verizon Communications, Inc. (Ex. 3-24) offered its opinion on 
why SSNs should be retained in OSHA health standards:

    Anytime a SSN is used as an identifier on paperwork, one might 
raise the issue of privacy. However, one should try to balance these 
privacy issues against the need to have a unique identifier that can 
be used to track individuals. Certainly, a SSN is unique and follows 
the person for a lifetime. There is no ambiguity when such an 
exclusive number is used. In work-related exposure situations, it is 
desirable to track individuals for the short term and the long term. 
There is a strong emphasis within the public health arena to follow 
and protect workers, especially over a working lifetime with 
multiple employers. Verizon believes that this need outweighs the 
potential privacy issues involved in using a SSN for tracking 
purposes. Verizon is not aware of anything comparable to a SSN that 
could serve a similar purpose. Even if there were, privacy issues 
might also be raised with its use. In summary, it is Verizon's 
opinion that if one balances the uniqueness of SSN and the strong 
public health policy to follow and protect these individuals 
employees against the public's interest in maintaining adequate 
privacy, the scales are tipped in favor of retaining the current 
system.

    Four commenters disagreed with continuing the use of SSNs (Exs. 3-
1, 7, 28; 4-7) and suggested that some other identification system 
should be developed to identify employees for the purposes of exposure 
monitoring or medical-surveillance. Northrup Grumman Newport News (Ex. 
3-1) expressed:

    OSHA should not continue to require that social security numbers 
be used as identifiers in employee exposure records. Widespread 
personal security concern associated with using them to identify 
individuals and records makes this practice unpopular and 
unnecessary in today's environment.
    Many companies, including Northrop Grumman Newport News, have 
already implemented alternative employee identification systems to 
allay employee security concerns and are in the process of phasing-
out routine use of social security numbers as identifiers. If OSHA 
were to continue to require the use of social security numbers, 
employers using alternative numbering systems would be forced to 
maintain redundant and more secure social security number systems. 
This would be unnecessarily cumbersome, would not provide added 
benefit to OSHA, employers or employees and would be a continued 
concern to employees worried about personal security issues.

Another commenter, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (Ex. 4-7), stated:

    We see no value in requiring monitoring records to include the 
social security number (SSN). Most employees, either ours or 
contractors are reluctant to give their SSN for privacy reasons. The 
only reason we were ever told that SSNs were necessary was for use 
in future epidemiological studies. We use our unique employee 
numbers for our workers. If needed for an epidemiological study, we 
could cross-reference the SSN from our employee numbers. That should 
be adequate to meet this need.

    Finally, a few commenters recognized the need to identify employees 
for exposure monitoring and medical-surveillance but suggested that 
some other identification system might be developed in the future (Ex. 
3-26, 29; 4-13). The American Chemistry Council (Ex. 3-29) indicated 
that it believed SSNs are the most effective means of tracking lifetime 
exposures to employees. ``However, we also recognize potential privacy 
concerns within individual companies that may warrant further 
discussion and consideration. ACC would be interested in discussing 
alternatives with other stakeholders should OSHA convene such a 
group.'' The International Chemical Workers Union (Ex. 4-13) indicated 
that it is concerned about identity theft and that a means must be 
found to both protect employees privacy and ensure continuity of 
records across time and across employers.
    Finally, the American Society of Safety Engineers (Ex. 4-11) 
remarked that employers should have the flexibility to use any system 
that enables accurate identification and tracking of employees for 
medical purposes.
    OSHA health standards require employers to keep social security 
numbers with monitoring and medical records which employers are 
required to retain. All employers have access to employee social 
security numbers for tax purposes. OSHA's Access to Employee Exposure 
and Medical Records standard, 29 CFR 1910.1020, grants access to 
employee medical records only to the employee, those who the employee 
authorizes in writing to have access and to OSHA in circumstances 
requiring OSHA to rigorously protect the employee's privacy. So there 
is no additional privacy concern created by having social security 
numbers included in the medical records beyond that already existing in 
the employers use of the social security numbers for payroll and tax 
purposes.
    Access to employee exposure records is similar except that a 
collective bargaining agent for an employee does have access to the 
monitoring data for employees. That assists collective bargaining 
agents to negotiate on employee health protection issues.
    However, there is no requirement and no need for an employer to 
attach social security numbers to employee exposure records it intends 
to post or provide to anyone other than the employee whose record it 
is.
    OSHA is not taking action in this final rule concerning the use of 
SSNs in the various health standards. OSHA believes that all commenters 
have raised significant concerns and that it will need to investigate 
this issue in greater detail.
First Aid
    One commenter (Ex. 3-20), the American Heart Association, responded 
to the proposal with a request to eliminate or revise the OSHA 
Directive CPL-2-2.53, Guidelines for First Aid Training Programs. The 
request to revise the OSHA Directive is not a part of rulemaking and 
therefore has not been considered in this final rule.

III. Legal Considerations

    The Agency concludes that the final rule does not reduce the 
employee protections put into place by the rules being revised. There 
is no change in exposure limits or action levels. There

[[Page 1128]]

are no reductions in respiratory protection, personal protective 
equipment or industrial hygiene provisions. There is therefore no 
change in risk and no need to determine significant risk, or the extent 
to which the proposed rule would reduce or increase that risk, as would 
be required by Industrial Union Department, AFL-CIO v. American 
Petroleum Institute, 448 U.S. 607 (1980), the Supreme Court ruling 
applying to standards addressing new hazards, setting more stringent 
standards, or reducing employee protection. Accordingly, no further 
analysis of significant risk is necessary as that has already been 
determined when OSHA issued the underlying standards.
    A number of the amendments made by this rule change medical and 
monitoring provisions. These changes are covered by Sect. 6(b)(7) of 
the OSH Act.

IV. Final Economic Analysis

    OSHA has determined that this final rule is not an economically 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866. E.O. 
12866 requires regulatory agencies to conduct an economic analysis for 
rules that meet certain criteria. The most frequently used criterion 
under E.O. 12866 is that the rule will impose annual costs on the 
economy of $100 million or more. Neither the benefits nor the costs of 
this rule exceed $100 million. OSHA has provided OMB's Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs with this assessment of the costs, 
benefits and alternatives, as required by section 6(a)(3)(C) of E.O. 
12866.
    OSHA has also determined that the final rule is not a major rule 
under the Congressional Review provisions of the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 
1980 (RFA), as amended in 1996, requires OSHA to determine whether the 
Agency's regulatory actions will have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. OSHA's analysis, based on the 
analysis in this section of the preamble as well as the later section 
``OMB Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act'' below, indicates that 
the final rule will not have significant impacts on a substantial 
number of small entities. Indeed, the final standard reduces the costs 
and paperwork on all affected entities, including small businesses. The 
rule benefits small entities by reducing costs and paperwork.
    The final standard deletes or revises a number of provisions in 
existing OSHA standards. The reasons for these changes are presented 
and discussed in subsections A through N in the Summary and Explanation 
of this preamble above. Most of the provisions delete requirements that 
the Agency has concluded are unnecessary to protect employee health. 
Some of the provisions provide greater flexibility in complying with 
requirements or reduce reporting requirements that have proved to have 
little if any value in protecting worker health. One provision updates 
a reference to a current consensus standard (for first aid kits) and 
another corrects a technical error in requirements for evaluating x-
rays for lung cancer.
    The final rule is technologically feasible because it reduces or 
eliminates current requirements on employers. The Agency considered 
regulatory and non-regulatory alternatives to the final rule. Because 
every final provision reduces requirements or provides flexibility to 
employers by revising current standards, non-regulatory alternatives 
are not an appropriate remedy to affect those changes. As discussed in 
the Summary and Explanation section above, the Agency considered 
alternatives to amending the several ancillary provisions. In most 
cases, the Agency chose to revise older ancillary provisions to make 
them consistent with standards more recently promulgated by the Agency. 
In some cases, the final standard provided more flexibility in the way 
information is communicated to employees or the Agency. All of the 
final provisions were intended to reduce burden on employers--or 
provide flexibility--while maintaining necessary protections for 
employee health.
    This Final Economic Analysis provides estimates of the cost savings 
resulting from the final standard. All of the changes OSHA is making 
are expected to reduce employers' costs of compliance. The revised 
standard eliminates or reduces requirements for many ``ancillary'' 
provisions, provides greater flexibility for compliance for others, or 
reduces paperwork/reporting requirements. For most of these changes, 
economic benefits can be quantified. Where revisions have only provided 
greater flexibility for compliance, the Agency has not calculated any 
cost savings.
    The Agency received several comments in response to the proposal 
that asserted that the proposed standards would weaken employee 
protection (e.g., AFL-CIO, Ex. 3-27). However, as discussed above in 
the Summary and Explanation section, the Agency has concluded that the 
final standards do not reduce protection for employees. Amending the 
ancillary provisions of older standards will make them consistent with 
the industrial hygiene and surveillance practices of more recent 
standards.
    The Agency received only a few comments on the estimates of cost 
savings from the proposed standards. A comment from the International 
Chemical Workers Union (Ex. 4-13) asserted that some cost savings were 
``minimal'' or that some of the provisions were only a ``minimal burden 
on employers,'' but did not offer any corrections to the Agency's 
estimates or provide new estimates.
    The AN [Acrylonitrile] Group said that the Agency had ``grossly 
underestimated the time and cost-burden [savings]'' resulting from the 
final standard. As an example, the AN Group cites the costs of 
reporting an emergency to OSHA [29 CFR 1910.1045(d)(2)]. OSHA estimates 
the cost that will be saved by the final standard as an hour's time 
each for a manager and a secretary to prepare the notification of an 
emergency. But the AN Group suggests that actual paperwork costs should 
include assessing whether an event qualifies as an emergency, including 
time for groups of professionals to meet. The Agency has concluded that 
its existing regulation does not require such a complex determination. 
Although that saving may be real for some employers, it is not required 
or necessarily implied by the standard and the Agency is not revising 
the cost saving estimate for that provision in the final standard.
    Dow Chemical (Ex. 3-13) stated that the Agency's estimates of cost 
savings for reduced sampling frequencies was underestimated. According 
to Dow, the Agency should include the cost of ``pre-work time'' it 
takes for exposure monitoring. Pre-work time would include: identifying 
employees at work that day; setting up times for monitoring; 
determining the number of samples to be taken; ordering badges (for 
vinyl chloride, in this instance); internal analysis of the sampling 
results; and written reports. Accordingly, the Agency has revised the 
model in ``Provision F'' below, which estimates the cost [savings] for 
exposure monitoring for vinyl chloride and acrylonitrile.
    The Agency estimates that the final standard will result in total 
annual cost savings of $6.8 million (see table below). (The estimates 
in this Final Economic Analysis may differ slightly from the estimates 
in the Paperwork Reduction Analysis below because of rounding.) Because 
this rule provides only cost savings, and no new costs on employers, it 
is economically feasible.

[[Page 1129]]

    The following paragraphs discuss the methodology of the analysis 
and the estimates of cost (saving) for specific provisions.

Estimated Annual Cost Savings Due to the Standards Improvement Project--
                                 Phase 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Provisions A through N (as set out in the Summary and     Annual cost
                      Explanation)                          savings ($)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Sec.   1910.42, Temporary Labor Camps.................               0
B Sec.   1910.151(b), Reference to First Aid Supplies in               0
 Appendix A.............................................
C Sec.   1910.268, First Aid Supplies Telecom...........           5,618
D Sec.   1910.1003(f)(2) Incident Reports, 13                     27,286
 Carcinogens............................................
E Sec.   1910.1017(k)(6), Vinyl Chloride................               0
F:
    Sec.   1910.1017(d)(2)(i), Exposure Monitoring,               66,024
     Vinyl Chloride.....................................
    Sec.   1910.1017(d)(2)(ii), Exposure Monitoring,              17,554
     Vinyl Chloride.....................................
    Sec.   1910.1044(f)(3)(i) & f(3)(ii), Exposure                     0
     Monitoring, 1,2-DBCP...............................
    Sec.   1910.1045(e)(3)(ii), Exposure Monitoring,             160,455
     Acrylonitrile......................................
                                                         ---------------
        F Subtotal......................................         244,033
G:
    Sec.   1915.1001(g)(6)(iii), Alt. Control Methods,                39
     Asbestos Removal...................................
    Sec.   1926.1101(g)(6)(iii), Alt. Control Methods,                39
     Asbestos Removal...................................
                                                         ---------------
        G Subtotal......................................              78
H:
    Sec.   1910.1018(n)(2)(ii)(A), ILO/UC Rating,                      0
     Inorganic Arsenic..................................
    Sec.   1910.1029(j)(2)(ii), ILO/UC Rating, Coke Oven               0
     Emissions..........................................
I:
    Sec.   1910.1001(1)(7)(i), Signed Opinion, Asbestos.               0
    Sec.   1910.1027(1)(10)(i), Signed Opinion, Cadmium                0
     Gen. Industry......................................
    Sec.   1926.1127(1)(10)(i), Signed Opinion, Cadmium                0
     Con. Industry......................................
J:
    Sec.   1910.1017(k)(2)(i), Semiannual Medical Exams,          31,064
     Vinyl Chloride.....................................
    Sec.   1910.1018(n)(3)(ii), Semiannual Medical               157,005
     Exams, Inorganic Arsenic...........................
    Sec.   1910.1029(j)(3)(ii-iii), Semiannual Medical           621,053
     Exams, Coke Oven emissions.........................
                                                         ---------------
        J Subtotal......................................         809,122
K:
    Sec.   1910.1044(d), Notifying OSHA Regarding                      0
     Regulated Areas, 1,2-DBCP..........................
    Sec.   1910.1003(f)(1) Notifying OSHA Regarding                5,457
     Regulated Areas, 13 Carcinogens....................
    Sec.   1910.1017(n)(1) Notifying OSHA Regarding                  671
     Regulated Areas, Vinyl Chloride....................
    Sec.   1910.1018(d)(1) Notifying OSHA Regarding                  117
     Regulated Areas, Inorganic Arsenic.................
    Sec.   1910.1045(d)(1) Notifying OSHA Regarding                  647
     Regulated Areas, Acrylonitrile.....................
                                                         ---------------
        K Subtotal......................................           6,892
L:
    Sec.   1910.1017(n)(2) Reporting Emergencies, Vinyl           22,504
     Chloride...........................................
    Sec.   1910.1045(d)(2) Reporting Emergencies,                  2,588
     Acrylonitrile......................................
                                                         ---------------
        L Subtotal......................................          25,091
M:
    Sec.   1910.1017(f)(3) Semiannual Updating                     7,614
     Compliance Plans, Vinyl Chloride...................
    Sec.   1910.1018(g)(2)(iv), Semiannual Updating                2,284
     Compliance Plans, Inorganic Arsenic................
    Sec.   1910.1029(f)(6)(iv), Semiannual Updating                1,332
     Compliance Plans, Coke Oven Emissions..............
    Sec.   1910.1044(e)(3)(iv), Semiannual Updating                    0
     Compliance Plans, 1,2-DCBP.........................
    Sec.   1910.1045(g)(2)(ii), Semiannual Updating                  448
     Compliance Plans, Acrylonitrile....................
    Sec.   1926.1025(e)(2)(v), Semiannual Updating             4,210,054
     Compliance Plans, Lead, Con........................
                                                         ---------------
        M Subtotal......................................       4,221,732
N:
    Sec.   1910.1017(n)(3) Notify Employees of Expos.              2,741
     Monitoring Results, Vinyl Chloride.................
    Sec.   1910.1018(e)(5)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.           9,393
     Monitoring Results, Inorganic Arsenic..............
    Sec.   1910.1025(d)(8)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.         891,293
     Monitoring Results, Lead, Gen Ind..................
    Sec.   1910.1027(d)(5)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.          50,341
     Monitoring Results, Cadmium, Gen Ind...............
    Sec.   1910.1029(e)(3)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.          25,765
     Monitoring Results, Coke Oven......................
    Sec.   1910.1043(d)(4)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.          68,102
     Monitoring Results, Cotton Dust....................
    Sec.   1910.1044(f)(5)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.               0
     Monitoring Results, 1,2-DBCP.......................
    Sec.   1910.1045(e)(5)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.           8,255
     Monitoring Results, Acryonitrile...................
    Sec.   1926.62(d)(8)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.           494,063
     Monitoring Results, Lead Construction..............
    Sec.   1926.1127(d)(5)(i) Notify Employees of Expos.          27,189
     Monitoring Results, Cadmium, Con...................
                                                         ---------------
        N Subtotal......................................       1,454,431
                                                         ===============
            Total.......................................       6,794,283
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 1130]]

Methodology

    This section describes OSHA's development of the annual cost 
(savings) for the provisions of the final standard. For the purposes of 
this Final Economic Analysis, one-time or intermittent costs have been 
annualized using a discount rate of 7 percent, as required by the U.S. 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) [Reference 1], over a specified 
period of time using the formula:

a = (i x (1 + i)[bs]n[bs])/((1 + 
i)[bs]n[bs]-1), 
[``[bs]n[bs]'' in the formula means 
raised to the nth power], where
a = annualization factor,
i = discount rate, and
n = economic life of the one-time or intermittent investment

    OSHA uses average hourly earnings, including benefits, to represent 
the cost of employee time. For the relevant occupational categories, 
mean hourly earnings from the Year 2000 National Compensation Survey by 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics have been adjusted to reflect the fact 
that fringe benefits comprise about 27.1 percent of total employee 
compensation in the private sector (Reference 2). (Straight-line hourly 
wages and salaries were estimated to be 72.9 percent of total 
compensation in 2000. Total compensation including benefits for workers 
with hourly wages of $13.41 would be $13.41/.729 = $18.40). The costs 
of labor used in this analysis are therefore estimates of total hourly 
compensation. These average hourly costs are: $38.92 for managers; 
$27.39 for production supervisors; $24.68 for chemical technicians; 
$18.40 for production workers; and $17.34 for clerical workers.
    Estimates of the number of establishments and the number of 
employees affected by the final standard are from a statement in 
support of information collection requirements (ICR) or from an 
economic analysis. The number of employees affected and their hourly 
total wages are used to calculate costs. The changes in existing 
standards made by the final Standards Improvement Project-Phase II 
pertain to approval of equipment, reporting incidents, exposure 
monitoring, laboratory analysis, medical examinations, and employee 
notification requirements.
    Most of the provisions in the final standard reduce costs related 
to a percentage of affected employees in the industry and the number of 
labor hours required to monitor a specific activity. Usually, the 
frequency of an activity, the number of employees requiring the 
activity, and the cost of the activity per employee were used to arrive 
at the estimated costs. In some instances, the costs of the activity 
were calculated according to the number of affected establishments.

A. Temporary Labor Camps

    Paragraph 1910.142(l)(2) requires that the camp superintendent 
immediately report the outbreak of certain diseases to the local health 
authority ``by telegram or telephone.'' OSHA believes that because 
other forms of communication are readily available, the requirement for 
notification via ``telegram or telephone'' is unnecessarily 
restrictive. Thus, the Agency proposed deleting the requirements 
specifying notification by telegram or telephone. The final standard 
does not delete the language as proposed, but allows other means, thus 
permitting more flexibility in reporting. The Agency has not calculated 
the value of such savings.

B. Reference to First Aid Supplies in Appendix A to the Standard on 
Medical Services and First Aid

    Paragraph 1910.151(b) in the Agency's standard regulating medical 
services and first aid supplies, requires employers to ensure that 
adequate first aid supplies be readily available in the workplace. OSHA 
added a non-mandatory appendix to this standard in a recent rulemaking 
(63 FR 33460) to help employers meet this requirement. OSHA proposed to 
update this appendix. OSHA has updated the appendix in the final rule. 
This revision would not impose any additional cost on employers because 
Appendix A is non-mandatory.

C. First Aid Supplies in the Telecommunications Standard

    The final rule revises paragraph 1910.268(b)(3) of OSHA's 
telecommunications standard that requires an employer to: provide first 
aid supplies recommended by a consulting physician; ensure that the 
items are readily accessible and housed in weatherproof containers if 
used outdoors; and inspect the items at least once a month and replace 
expended items. The Agency is revising the paragraph to read, 
``Employers must provide employees with readily accessible, adequate, 
and appropriate first aid supplies. A non-mandatory example of 
appropriate supplies is listed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.151.''
    The final rule eliminates the existing requirements in paragraph 
1910.268(b)(3) that employers must have certain first aid supplies 
approved by a consulting physician before they are used. This 
requirement applied only in cases where no infirmary, clinic, or 
hospital was in close proximity to the worksite and the employer 
intended to treat first-aid injuries at the site. OSHA's analysis here 
relies on the assumptions in the Final Economic Analysis in an earlier 
rulemaking (63 FR 33461). Based on the ICR to that rulemaking, the 
Agency estimates that 10 percent of the establishments would meet these 
criteria. OSHA also estimates that 5 minutes of a physician's time, 
valued at $100/hr ($8.33 for five minutes), would be required to 
approve the contents of the first aid kit at these establishments. The 
opportunity cost is estimated by the market price for occupational 
physical exams; i.e. at the rate of about $100 per hour.
    OSHA assumes that the physician would need to approve the first aid 
supplies once every 10 years, considering the possibility of the 
development of new kinds of medical supplies and of new hazards at the 
worksite. The cost of 5 minutes of a physician's time annualized over a 
10-year period at 7 percent interest is $1.19 per year (5/60 x $100 x 
annualization factor of 0.1424). The Agency estimates that there were 
approximately 47,217 employers in the telecommunications industry in 
1998 [County Business Patterns, 1998]. The major sector in the 
telecommunications industry is telephone communications, which consists 
of establishments that operate both wireline and wireless networks. The 
wireline networks use wires and cables to connect customers' premises 
to central offices maintained by the telecommunications companies. The 
wireless networks on the other hand operate through the transmission of 
signals over networks of radio towers and communications satellites 
[Career Guide to Industries 2000-01 Edition, Telecommunications (SIC's 
481, 482, 489)]. Since first aid supplies have to be approved once 
every 10 years, each year approximately 10 percent of the 
establishments incur costs to comply with the current requirement. 
Thus, current annualized cost is approximately $5,618 ((47,217 x 10 
percent) x $1.19). Eliminating the requirement for a physician's 
approval of an establishment's first aid kit would eliminate this 
annual burden of $5,603.

D. 13 Carcinogens

    The final rule deletes paragraph 1910.1003(f)(2) that requires 
reporting of releases of a regulated carcinogen to the nearest OSHA 
Area Director. Deleting this provision results in a savings in burden 
hours and associated costs.

[[Page 1131]]

    Based on the ICR, the Agency estimates that reportable incidents 
occur once per year at each facility and that about 97 employers fall 
under OSHA jurisdiction and will be affected by the rule. A manager and 
a clerical worker will each take 5 hours to collect information and to 
report a release of a regulated carcinogen to the nearest OSHA Area 
Director, for a total of 10 hours per employer. Thus, 970 burden hours 
are attributed to this provision (485 burden hours each by a manager 
and a clerk), at an annual cost of $27,286. Annual cost savings are 
obtained by multiplying 485 burden hours by each wage rate and adding 
the products [485 hours x ($38.92 + $17.34 per hour)]. By eliminating 
the requirement to report releases of a regulated carcinogen to the 
nearest OSHA Area Director, OSHA will eliminate annual cost burdens to 
employers of $27,286.

E. Vinyl Chloride

    Paragraph 1910.1017(k)(6) of the vinyl chloride standard specifies 
that laboratories licensed by the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) 
under 42 CFR part 74 (``Clinical laboratories'') must analyze 
biological samples collected during medical examinations. However, 42 
CFR part 74 is outdated, and the PHS now addresses laboratory licensing 
requirements under 42 CFR part 493 (``Laboratory requirements''). The 
Agency proposed to delete the reference to 42 CFR part 74 from 
paragraph (k)(6) of this standard. However, the Agency is replacing 
this outdated requirement with a requirement that employers use 
accredited laboratories for the medical tests required under the vinyl 
chloride standard. This change should provide employers with greater 
choice in laboratories while ensuring that qualified laboratories are 
used for required medical tests. The Agency had made no estimates of 
cost savings for this revision in the existing standards.

F. Monthly and Quarterly Exposure Monitoring

    Several of the Agency's older standards retain provisions that 
require employers to monitor employee exposures either monthly or 
quarterly, depending on the concentration of the toxic substance found 
in the workplace. These include: paragraphs 1910.1017(d)(2)(i) and 
(d)(2)(ii) of the vinyl chloride standard, requiring employers to 
conduct exposure monitoring each month if employees' exposure are above 
the permissible exposure limit (PEL), and quarterly if employee 
exposures are above the action level (AL); paragraphs 
1910.1044(f)(3)(i) and (f)(3)(ii) of the 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane 
(DBCP) standard, requiring exposure monitoring quarterly if employee 
exposures are below the PEL, and monthly if employee exposures exceed 
the PEL; and paragraphs 1910.1045(e)(3)(ii) and (e)(3)(iii) of the 
acrylonitrile standard, requiring quarterly monitoring for employees 
exposed at or above the AL, but below the PEL, and each month for 
employees exposed above the PEL.
    For substance-specific standards published more recently by the 
Agency subsequent to these three standards, the most frequent exposure 
monitoring requirement is semiannually if employee exposures are at or 
above the AL, and quarterly if they are above the PEL. OSHA is amending 
the exposure monitoring requirements in the older standards because 
they are inconsistent with the exposure monitoring protocols 
established by OSHA in its later substance-specific standards. OSHA 
believes consistency among standards will improve compliance levels 
thereby improving worker protection. OSHA is requiring that employers 
conduct exposure monitoring quarterly if the results of initial 
exposure monitoring show that the employee exposures are above the PEL, 
and semiannually if these results are at or above the AL.
    OSHA has concluded that revision of paragraphs 1910.1044(f)(3)(i) 
and (f)(3)(ii) of the standard regulating DBCP, would have no effect on 
cost or burden hours since no U.S. employers currently produce DBCP-
based end products.
    For purposes of the below analysis, the Agency assumes that 
exposure monitoring is done with an active sampling method; that is, 
with typical industrial hygiene sampling pumps and collection tubes. 
Passive vapor badges are available for the two substances in question, 
and the PEA referred to sampling with them, but the Agency has not been 
able to ascertain that passive monitoring meets the standards' 
requirements for accuracy for single samples. To be conservative--to 
not underestimate the potential burden--the Agency assumes sampling 
with a method whose accuracy is known. This economic analysis relies on 
the following assumptions of employee exposure to vinyl chloride and 
acrylonitrile: the Agency estimates, based on OSHA sampling data in its 
IMIS database, that 1 percent of all employees are exposed between the 
AL and the permissible exposure level (PEL), and another 1 percent are 
exposed above the PEL; sampling of employee exposures is conducted with 
active sampling methods, i.e. personal air pumps and cassettes with 
appropriate collection media for the substance; and laboratory analysis 
of collected samples is performed by a commercial laboratory.
    In its Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA), the Agency estimated 
that a supervisor, who earns $27.39 per hour, will spend 5 minutes to 
administer, and 5 minutes to collect, each vapor badge, for a total of 
0.17 hour; and a clerical worker, earning $17.34 per hour, will spend 5 
minutes (.08 hour) to maintain each record of a monitoring event. In a 
written comment on this rulemaking, Dow Chemical (Ex. 3-13) pointed out 
that there are significant other activities needed to perform exposure 
monitoring besides these identified by the Agency. In addition, the 
Agency, in concurrence with the Office of Management and Budget, 
currently includes all costs of exposure monitoring as paperwork costs, 
viewing the entire activity as a ``collection of information''--not 
just the function of recordkeeping. The existing paperwork burden is 
based only on gathering the information to form a permanent record, as 
noted at the beginning of this paragraph. In contrast, the new estimate 
here includes an average of 1 hour for a technician to collect, 
process, and record sampling data.
    The final rule revises paragraph 1910.1017(d)(2)(i) of the vinyl 
chloride standard to require quarterly rather than monthly exposure 
monitoring if past employee exposures have been above the PEL. In the 
PEA, the Agency estimated that there are 131 employees who are 
currently monitored monthly who will now be monitored quarterly. The 
Agency estimates that a technician spends, on average, 60 minutes for 
each employee sampled, which includes planning activities, affixing 
pumps, gathering sample cassettes, sending tubes or cassettes for 
laboratory analysis, and recording the results into a permanent record. 
The Agency doesn't believe there is any significant loss of employee 
time from production activities. Thus, for each employee sampled, the 
cost of the collection media and analysis and technician's time is 
about $67 ($43 for the collection media and lab analysis, about $24 in 
technician's time). When an estimated 131 employees are sampled monthly 
the annual cost is $105,324. When sampled quarterly the estimated 
annual cost is $39,300. The final standard will reduce annual employer 
costs by $66,024.
    The final rule also revises paragraph 1910.1017(d)(2)(ii) of the 
vinyl chloride standard to require semiannual rather than quarterly 
exposure monitoring if exposure is at or above the AL. In the

[[Page 1132]]

PEA the Agency estimated that there are 131 employees who must be 
monitored twice a year rather than 4 times. Under the existing 
standard, using the same unit cost and time estimates from the 
paragraph above, employers currently expend an estimated $31,618 on 
quarterly exposure monitoring that would be reduced by one-half to 
$17,554 under the final standard. Cost savings would also be $17,554.
    The final paragraphs 1910.1045(e)(3)(ii) and (e)(3)(iii) of the 
acrylonitrile standard parallel the changes in exposure monitoring 
requirements to vinyl chloride, above. The final standard requires 
semiannual monitoring if employee exposures were at or above the AL, 
and quarterly monitoring if these exposures were above the PEL. The 
existing standard requires monthly monitoring if above the PEL and 
quarterly monitoring if above the AL. In the PEA, the Agency estimated 
that there are 314 employees who require monitoring and that each 
exposure monitoring sample represents the exposures of 2 employees 
(i.e. on average, there are 2 employees involved in the same or similar 
tasks). These estimates are based on the Supporting Statement for the 
Information Collection Requirements of the Acrylonitrile (AN) Standard 
(29 CFR 1910.1045), OMB 1218-0126 (2000), p. 16. The Agency 
estimates that a technician (wage $24.68) spends, on average, 60 
minutes for each employee sampled, which includes planning activities, 
affixing pumps and cassettes, gathering and sending cassettes for 
analysis, and recording the results into a permanent record. The Agency 
doesn't believe there is any significant loss of employee time from 
production activities. Tubes or cassettes and laboratory analysis cost 
$64 each. (The Agency neglected to include the costs of collection 
media and laboratory analysis for acrylonitrile in the PEA.) Thus, for 
each employee sampled, the cost is estimated to be about $88 (tube and 
laboratory analysis $64 and technician's wage $24.68). When one-half of 
the estimated 314 employees are sampled monthly, the cost is $165,792; 
when sampled quarterly the estimated cost is $55,264. The final 
standard will thus reduce employer costs by $110,528 by requiring 
quarterly rather than monthly sampling where employee exposures are 
over the PEL.
    Where the final standard reduces exposure monitoring from quarterly 
to semi-annually for employees above the AL but below the PEL, the 
Agency estimates that the current burden for 563 employees to be 
sampled is $99,854 and will be reduced to $49,927, thereby reducing the 
current burden by $49,927. The total reduction in burden due to the 
final acrylonitrile standard is $160,455.

G. Alternative Control Methods for Class I Asbestos Removal

    OSHA is deleting provisions in OSHA's asbestos standards for 
shipyard employment and for construction (paragraphs 
1915.1001(g)(6)(iii) and 1926.1101(g)(6)(iii), respectively) that 
require that employers submit, to the Directorate of Technical Support, 
alternative control methods used to perform Class I asbestos work. OSHA 
has concluded that this requirement is unnecessary because it has not 
been used and that both the private sector and OSHA have substantial 
expertise in this area. Current OSHA regulatory policy requires that 
paperwork provisions such as this requirement, demonstrate a benefit to 
employees or serve some other useful regulatory purpose.
    To submit alternative control methods to the Directorate of 
Technical Support, OSHA estimates would require 1 hour and cost $39. 
These estimates are based on the assumption that OSHA would receive 7 
notifications from employers who choose new or modified control 
technology to reduce exposure in Class I asbestos for shipyards. A 
manager, earning $38.92 per hour, would spend on average 10 minutes to 
develop and transmit the information to the Agency for each employer. 
Thus removing this requirement would result in annual cost savings of 
$39.
    For the construction asbestos standard, OSHA again assumes the 
Agency would receive 7 notifications from employers who choose new or 
modified control technology to reduce exposures in Class I asbestos 
work. OSHA estimates a manager, earning $38.92 an hour, would need 10 
minutes to develop and transmit the information to OSHA. Thus, 1 burden 
hour would be spent, at a cost of $39, to submit alternative method 
information to OSHA.

H. Evaluating Chest X-rays Using the ILO U/C Rating

    OSHA is amending paragraph 1910.1018(n)(2)(ii)(A) of the inorganic 
arsenic standard and paragraph 1910.1029(j)(2)(ii) of the coke oven 
emissions standard. These provisions require that employees' chest x-
rays receive an International Labor Office UICC/Cincinnati (ILO U/C) 
rating. Subsequent to the promulgation of these provisions, the Agency 
received information from two physicians that the ILO U/C rating is not 
the most appropriate standard for evaluating chest x-rays for lung 
cancer (discussed above). Based on this information, OSHA believes that 
the ILO U/C rating is not a suitable method to use in evaluating chest 
x-rays for lung cancer. Therefore, the Agency is removing the ILO U/C 
rating requirements specified in the inorganic arsenic and coke oven 
emissions standards, thereby permitting the examining physician to 
determine the most effective procedure for evaluating these chest x-
rays. Deleting the ILO/UC rating would provide cost savings since it 
allows the examining physician to determine the most effective 
procedure for evaluating chest x-rays. However, the Agency has not 
calculated the value of such savings.

I. Signed Medical Opinions

    Paragraph 1910.1001(l)(7)(i) of the asbestos standard and 
paragraphs (l)(10)(i) of the cadmium standard for general industry, 29 
CFR 1910.1027, and for construction, 29 CFR 1926.1127, require that the 
examining physician sign the written medical opinion provided as part 
of the medical surveillance requirements of these standards. The 
preamble to the cadmium standards states that ``the requirement that 
the physician sign the opinion is to ensure that the information that 
is given to the employer has been seen and read by the physician and 
that the physician has personally determined whether the employee may 
continue to work in cadmium-exposed jobs'' (57 FR 42366). No other 
substance-specific standard promulgated by OSHA requires a signed 
medical opinion.
    The Agency believes that the requirement to sign a medical opinion 
written by a physician is unnecessary, precludes electronic 
transmission of the opinion from the physician to the employer, and 
provides no benefit to employees. Accordingly, OSHA is removing this 
requirement from these paragraphs.
    Removal of the requirement that a physician sign the written 
medical opinion provided as part of the medical surveillance 
requirement of these standards provides more flexibility. OSHA has not 
estimated the cost savings.

J. Semiannual Medical Examinations

    The Agency's final standard replaces a requirement for semiannual 
medical exams in three standards (vinyl chloride, arsenic, and coke 
ovens) with a requirement for an annual medical examination. This 
analysis presents the burden hours and costs associated with the 
current provisions and the estimates of cost savings of the final 
standard.

[[Page 1133]]

    The final standard's revision of a semiannual requirement for 
medical examinations to annual one would generate annual cost savings 
from several sources: less employee time; fewer medical examinations; 
and less clerical time providing the physicians' opinions to the 
affected employees and maintaining medical records.
    Based on estimates in the vinyl chloride ICR of the number of 
facilities, the number of employees per facility, and the distribution 
of employee exposures, OSHA estimates that 890 burden hours are 
incurred for medical surveillance under the semiannual examination 
requirement, with 183 employees monitored twice a year for 2 hours and 
79 employees once a year for 2 hours at a cost of $16,376 (890 hours x 
$18.40, the wage rate of a production worker). With annual 
examinations, OSHA estimates that 324 burden hours would be required, 
as 262 employees would be monitored only once a year, taking 2 hours. 
The cost would be $9,642 (524 hours x $18.40). Annual savings of $6,734 
would result.
    The revision from semiannual to annual medical examinations would 
result in annual savings of $23,790 in the cost of the medical 
examinations themselves, at $130 per examination, as 183 employees 
would have only one, as opposed to two, medical examinations per year. 
The change in frequency from semiannual to annual medical examinations 
also reduces the number of hours of clerical time required from 76 to 
45, resulting in annual savings of $539.
    When annual savings are summed for the cost of employees' time 
($6,734), medical examinations ($23,790), and clerical costs of medical 
records ($539), the revision of the vinyl chloride standard generates 
annual savings of $31,064.
    The final rule revises the semiannual medical examination to an 
annual requirement in the arsenic standard, paragraph 
1910.1018(n)(3)(ii), for employees who are 45 years old or older with 
10 or more years of exposure to inorganic arsenic above the AL. OSHA 
assumes each examination would take one hour and forty minutes and that 
50 percent of the 1,900 employees who now would require two 
examinations per year would undergo only one. Requiring only one annual 
medical examination would save about 1,587 hours in employee time away 
from the job. Thus, replacing semiannual medical examinations with 
annual medical examinations would result in annual savings of about 
1,662 burden hours and $29,192 (about 1,587 burden hours at $18.40/per 
hour).
    The change in frequency from semiannual to annual contributes 
$123,500 in annual cost savings for the medical examinations 
themselves, at $130 per exam. Semiannual medical examinations cost 
$413,920 while annual medical examinations would cost an estimated 
$284,570. In addition, the clerical costs of medical records would drop 
by $4,313 (from $13,803 to $9,489). Total annual savings resulting from 
revision of the inorganic arsenic standard would be $157,005 ($123,500 
+ $29,192 + $4,313) and would consist of savings in costs of employees' 
time, medical examinations, and clerical time for medical records.
    The final rule revises the semiannual medical examinations 
requirement to annual medical examinations in the coke oven standard, 
paragraph 1910.1029(j)(3)(i), for employees who are 45 years of age or 
older with five or more years of exposure in regulated areas. Employees 
will receive annual urinary cytology examinations as part of the annual 
examination. The final standard would generate annual cost savings in 
employees' time, medical examinations, and physicians' medical 
opinions. Based on the ICR, medical examinations currently require 
14,903 burden hours as 84 percent of the 4,600 employees who work in 
regulated areas require semiannual medical examinations, 16 percent 
require an annual medical examination, and 10 percent require an 
additional medical examination per year. Each examination requires an 
employee to be away from his or her job for 1 hour and 40 minutes, at 
$18.40 per hour, for a total annual cost of $274,217. Under the final 
standard, annual medical examinations would require 8,450 burden hours 
at a cost of $155,484. Cost savings in employees' time would thus be 
$118,733.
    At a cost of $130 per medical examination and $50 for urinary 
cytology examinations per employee, replacing semiannual medical 
examinations (estimated cost of $1,425,384) with annual medical 
examinations (estimated cost of $933,064) would result in annual cost 
savings of $502,320. There would be no savings in clerical costs of 
medical records. OSHA estimates that revision of the coke oven standard 
would result in annual cost savings of $621,053.

K. Notification of Regulated Areas

    The final rule deletes the ``13 carcinogens'' provision, paragraph 
1910.1003(f)(1), that requires employers to notify the nearest OSHA 
Area Director of newly established regulated areas. Deleting this 
provision results in savings in burden hours and associated costs. As 
in the ICR, OSHA assumes that changes in operations requiring a report 
to the nearest OSHA Area Director currently occur once a year per 
facility and require 1 hour each of managerial and clerical time, a 
total of 2 hours per employer, to report the necessary information. 
OSHA estimates that 97 employers would be affected. Burden hours are 
thus estimated to total 194 hours to report the information. The cost 
is estimated to be $5,457 (97 employers x ($38.92 x 1 hour + $17.34 x 1 
hour)), where $38.92 is the wage rate of a manager and $17.34 is the 
wage rate of a clerical worker. Thus, savings due to deleting this 
provision are estimated to be 194 burden hours and $5,457.
    The final rule would eliminate the vinyl chloride provision, 
paragraph 1910.1017(n)(1), that requires employers to notify the 
nearest OSHA Area Director of the establishment of regulated areas. 
Based on the ICR, the Agency estimates that 13 new regulated areas are 
established each year and that a manager, at an hourly rate of $38.92, 
takes 15 minutes (0.25 hour) to notify the Area Director of the address 
of the establishment and the number of employees in a new regulated 
area. Thus, for new regulated areas, OSHA estimates a current burden of 
3.25 hours at a cost of $126.
    For existing facilities, OSHA assumes that each employer 
experiences one change in a regulated area each year, and that a 
supervisor requires 10 minutes (0.17 hour) to inform the Area Director 
of this change. OSHA estimates that there are 80 affected facilities, 
resulting in 14 burden hours and a cost of $545 (14 burden hours x 
$38.92). Total burden of the current rules, for new and existing 
facilities, is 17 hours, costing $671.
    The final rule deletes the requirement in the inorganic arsenic 
standard, paragraph 1910.1018(d)(1), that employers notify the nearest 
OSHA Area Director of the establishment of regulated areas. An OSHA 
report titled ``Sampling Activity by Substance'' determined that 14.1 
percent of establishments had inorganic arsenic exposures that exceeded 
the PEL. Based on the Agency's estimate that 42 facilities are covered 
by the standard, six facilities would have employees with inorganic 
arsenic exposures that exceed the PEL (14.1% x 42 = 6). OSHA assumes 
that these six employers have already notified the Agency about 
establishing regulated areas; therefore, only significant changes to 
existing regulated areas or establishments of new regulated areas must 
be reported to OSHA. The Agency assumes that one

[[Page 1134]]

significant change occurs in, or a new regulated area is added to, each 
of these facilities annually, and that a manager, earning $38.92 an 
hour, will take 30 minutes (0.5 hours) to notify the Agency of the 
significant change or addition. Thus, OSHA estimates it would require 
three burden hours for six employers to notify the Area Director about 
establishment of regulated areas. Estimated cost would be $117 (three 
burden hours x $38.92 an hour). By deleting this provision, savings of 
three burden hours and $117 would be realized.
    The final rule deletes the provision in the acrylonitrile standard, 
paragraph 1910.1045(d)(1), that requires employers to notify the 
nearest OSHA Area Director of the establishment of regulated areas. 
Since there are no new establishments, OSHA assumes that employers will 
not establish new regulated areas during this clearance period, and 
estimates that each of the 23 facilities will make 1 significant change 
annually in a regulated area. The Agency estimates that reporting a 
significant change to the nearest OSHA Area Office currently takes a 
manager 0.5 hour and a clerical worker 0.5 hour each, for a total of 1 
hour for each of the 23 facilities. Thus, it costs $647 for the 23 
facilities to report a significant change, at $38.92 an hour for a 
manager and $17.34 an hour for a clerical. Savings due to deleting this 
provision would thus be 23 burden hours and $647.

L. Reporting Emergencies and Incidents

    The final rule deletes the provision in the vinyl chloride 
standard, paragraph 1910.1017(n)(2), that requires employers to report 
emergencies and available facts regarding each emergency to the nearest 
OSHA Area Director. On request of the Area Director, the employer must 
submit additional information in writing describing the nature and 
extent of employee exposures and measures taken to prevent similar 
emergencies in the future. OSHA estimates that each employer 
experiences one reportable emergency per year and that a manager and a 
secretary will each spend five hours, for a total of 10 hours, 
reporting the emergency. OSHA assumes there are 80 affected employers; 
a manager and a secretary would each spend 5 hours to report an 
emergency for a total of 800 burden hours. The cost to the employers 
would be $22,504 (80 employees x ($38.92 x 5 hours + $17.34 x 5 
hours)), since a manager earns $38.92 an hour and a secretary earns 
$17.34 an hour. Hence, there would be savings of 800 burden hours and 
$22,504 by deleting this provision.
    The final rule deletes the provision in the acrylonitrile standard, 
paragraph 1910.1045(d)(2), that requires employers to report an 
emergency to OSHA within 72 hours and to provide additional information 
in writing to the nearest OSHA Area Office if requested to do so. OSHA 
estimates that 2 emergencies will occur in each facility annually, and 
that a professional and a secretary each require 1 hour for a total of 
2 hours to compile and report the necessary information for each 
emergency. OSHA estimates 92 burden hours would be attributed to this 
provision because 23 facilities would report two emergencies per year 
and a manager and a secretary would each spend 1 hour to compile and 
report the necessary information. The cost of this provision would be 
$2,588, since a manager earns $38.92 per hour and a secretary earns 
$17.34 an hour. Savings due to deleting this requirement would be 92 
burden hours, worth $2,588.

M. Semiannual Updating of Compliance Plans

    The Agency's substance-specific standards typically require 
employers to develop compliance plans to meet the exposure-control 
objectives of the standard. Most of these standards specify that 
employers must update these plans at least annually, and OSHA believes 
that annual updating is sufficient to ensure the continued 
effectiveness of the plans. However, several older substance-specific 
standards promulgated by the Agency require semiannual updating, 
including: vinyl chloride, paragraph 1910.1017(f)(3); inorganic 
arsenic, paragraph 1910.1018(g)(2)(iv); lead, paragraph 
1910.1025(e)(3)(iv); coke oven emissions, paragraph 
1910.1029(f)(6)(iv); 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), paragraph 
1910.1044(g)(2)(ii); acrylonitrile, paragraph 1910.1045(g)(2)(v); and 
lead in the construction industry, paragraph 1926.62(e)(2)(v).
    OSHA has concluded that for those older standards with a high 
degree of compliance, updating compliance plans semi-annually does not 
increase worker protection. Therefore, the Agency is revising its older 
substance-specific standards to require annual, instead of semiannual, 
updating of compliance plans. OSHA believes that making this 
requirement consistent across its standards, will further improve 
employer compliance. Accordingly, the final standard eliminates a 
significant paperwork requirement without reducing employee protection. 
The following discussion estimates the cost savings of this amendment.
    The final rule revises the vinyl chloride standard to require that 
employers update compliance plans at least annually, instead of 
semiannually. As in the ICR, the Agency estimates that semiannual 
updates require 480 burden hours (20 facilities, each needing eight 
hours from a manager and four hours from a secretary) to update the 
compliance plans, at a cost of $15,229. On average, a manager earns 
$38.92 an hour while a secretary earns $17.34 an hour. Annual updates 
on the other hand, would require 240 burden hours at a cost of $7,614. 
Thus, revising the standard to allow for annual updates of compliance 
plans instead of semiannual updates would result in savings of $7,614.
    Modifying the inorganic arsenic standard, 29 CFR 1910.1018, to 
require that employers update compliance plans at least annually 
likewise would reduce burden hours and cost. OSHA estimates there are 
six employers affected by this standard and that a manager and a 
secretary need 8 hours and 4 hours, respectively, to update the 
compliance plans. With semiannual updates, the standard would require 
144 burden hours at a cost of $4,569. Revising the standard to require 
annual compliance updates would entail 72 burden hours at a cost of 
$2,284, thereby resulting in savings of $2,284.
    The final revision of the lead standard for general industry, 
paragraph 1910.1025(e)(3)(iv), would reduce the frequency for updating 
the compliance plan from semiannually to annually for areas with 
exposures over the PEL. OSHA's information on areas over the PEL in 
general industry is relatively old and the standard is almost 25 years 
old. Therefore, a substantial amount of time has gone by to achieve 
exposures below the PEL. Accordingly, OSHA has not assigned a cost 
saving for this provision at this time. Instead, OSHA requested 
comments on the approximate number of general industry lead facilities 
that still have areas over the PEL, but received none in the record. 
OSHA's estimate of the cost savings from this provision remains 
unchanged from the PEA.
    Revision of the coke oven standard, paragraph 1910.1029(f)(6)(iv), 
would allow employers to update their compliance plans annually instead 
of semiannually. OSHA estimates that each of the 14 plants takes 3 
hours to review and update its compliance plan semiannually for a total 
of 84 burden hours. OSHA estimates that a manager earning $32.92 takes 
2 hours to update the compliance semiannually; and that a clerk earning 
$17.34 will take 1 hour semiannually to update the plans.

[[Page 1135]]

Therefore the cost for the 14 plants to update their compliance plans 
semiannually is $2,665. Revising semiannual updating to annual the 14 
plants would take 42 hours annually costing a total of $1,333. The 
burden hour savings would be 42 hours and cost saving would be $1,332.
    The final revision of the 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) 
standard, 29 CFR 1910.1044, would have no cost or burden hours to 
employers since no U.S. employers currently produce DBCP-based end 
products.
    Revision of the acrylonitrile standard, paragraph 
1910.1045(g)(2)(v), would require that employers update compliance 
plans annually instead of semiannually. OSHA assumes that a manager 
earning $38.92 an hour would devote 0.5 hour to update a compliance 
plan at each facility. With semiannual updating of compliance plans, 
employers would require 23 burden hours at a cost of $895 (23 hours x 
$38.92). Revision of the standard to require annual updates would lower 
this to 11.5 burden hours at a cost of $448 (11.5 x $38.92). Savings 
due to this revision would thus be $448.
    The revision of the lead in construction standard, paragraph 
1926.62(e)(2)(v), requires employers to update compliance plans 
annually instead of semiannually. Based on the Lead in Construction 
Paperwork Package, which in turn drew upon the Economic Analysis for 
that standard, OSHA estimates the standard now requires 216,344 
employer burden hours at a cost of $8,420,108 (216,344 hours x $38.92) 
to update compliance plans semiannually. The Agency estimates that the 
revision of the standard to require annual updates would simply cut the 
burden in half, to 108,172 hours at a cost of $4,210,054 (108,172 hours 
x $38.92). Thus, the savings due to changing from semiannual to annual 
compliance updates would be $4,209,657. Although the burden reduction 
from this revised standard is the largest among the standards being 
revised in this rulemaking, the Agency has consistently applied simple 
adjustments to its current paperwork model of burden on employers for 
each of its calculations. The Agency did not receive any comment about 
either the number of affected employers or unit costs for estimating 
the burden. The Agency's final estimate of the reduction in paperwork 
burden for this standard is thus unchanged from the proposal.

N. Notifying Employees of Their Exposure Monitoring Results

    Many of OSHA's substance-specific standards require employers to 
notify employees of their exposure monitoring results. However, the 
standards specify several different methods for providing this notice. 
The standards state that an employer must provide such notification to 
employees individually in writing or by posting the results in a 
readily accessible location, or both. In addition, the maximum period 
for notifying employees of their exposure monitoring results after the 
employer receives them varies across the standards. These periods range 
from ``as soon as possible'' to 20 working days after receipt of the 
monitoring results.
    A review of the preambles to each of the above standards indicates 
that the final choice of notification method and maximum period for 
notification was a matter of convenience; none of the preambles 
provided objective evidence that the final requirements were the only 
effective or even most effective in protecting employees. The record 
developed during this rulemaking supports this view. OSHA has concluded 
that making the requirements consistent among the standards would 
reduce confusion and facilitate compliance without diminishing employee 
protection. As a result, the Agency is revising the standards by 
requiring employers to provide employees with their exposure monitoring 
results individually in writing or by posting the employees' results in 
a readily accessible location. Although the posting option would reduce 
employers' paperwork burden to some extent, they must still maintain 
individual exposure monitoring records for employees under Sec. Sec.  
1910.1020, 1915.1020, and 1926.33--OSHA's records-access standards for 
general industry, shipyard employment, and construction, respectively. 
Thus, employees could still get subsequent access to their exposure 
monitoring results.
    OSHA proposed to standardize the period of time for notifying 
employees of their exposure monitoring results after the employer 
receives them across 20 pertinent standards. Currently, the 
notification period ranges from ``as soon as possible'' to 20 working 
days after receipt of the monitoring results. The Agency proposed to 
standardize the notification period to 15 days for general industry and 
5 days for one shipyard and several construction standards on which 
OSHA made specific findings. Making these requirements consistent will 
reduce confusion and facilitate compliance with the provisions. 
However, it will not result in any significant cost savings.
    OSHA assumes that the employers will choose to post the employees' 
results in a readily accessible location for all the standards that 
give the option of providing the results individually in writing or by 
posting. This would generate savings in burden hours and costs.
    The final rule would revise the vinyl chloride standard, paragraph 
1910.1017(n)(3), to require employers to provide employees with their 
exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by posting the 
employees' results in a readily accessible location. Based on the ICR, 
under the present standard for exposure above the AL, but below the 
PEL, 42 burden hours are required at a cost of $727 as 131 employees 
would be notified quarterly by a secretary earning $17.34 an hour who 
would spend 5 minutes per notification. For exposures above the PEL, 
126 burden hours at a cost of $2,181 are required, as the same number 
of employees would be notified monthly by the secretary. Additional 
monitoring involves another 6 burden hours, at a cost of $111. Thus, 
the present vinyl chloride standard requires a total of 174 burden 
hours and a cost of $3,019.
    With the revised standard, for exposure above the AL but below the 
PEL, 3 burden hours at a cost of $55 would be incurred as a secretary 
of each of 20 employers would post monitoring results semiannually at a 
readily accessible location. For exposure above the PEL, a secretary 
would quarterly post monitoring results at 20 facilities in a readily 
accessible location, requiring 6 burden hours at a cost of $111. 
Additional monitoring would require 6 burden hours at a cost of $111. 
Thus, the revised standard would require 15 burden hours at a cost of 
$277. Cost savings would amount to $2,741.
    The final rule revises the inorganic arsenic standard, paragraph 
1910.1018(e)(5)(i), to require employers to provide employees with 
their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by posting 
the employees' results in a readily accessible location. OSHA assumes 
the employers would prefer to post the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location as that would be less costly.
    The present inorganic arsenic standard requires employers to notify 
employees individually in writing of their exposure monitoring results. 
As in the Inorganic Arsenic Paperwork Package, OSHA estimates that 
7,400 employees are exposed to inorganic arsenic, 14.1 percent or 1,043 
of these are exposed above the PEL and will be monitored quarterly, 
12.8 percent or 947

[[Page 1136]]

of these employees are exposed above the AL but below the PEL and will 
receive semiannual monitoring, while the employers must provide 10 
percent or 740 of these employees with the results obtained to meet the 
additional monitoring requirement. OSHA estimates that a secretary, 
earning $17.34 per hour, will take 5 minutes (.08 hour) to prepare each 
notification. Thus, 545 burden hours estimated to cost $9,444 are 
attributed to the present inorganic arsenic standard.
    With the revised standard, employers would be allowed to post 
monitoring results in a readily accessible location, which is cheaper 
than writing to employees individually. For estimating the burden, the 
assumptions would remain the same as under the present standard except 
employers or facilities would post monitoring results. OSHA estimates 
there are 42 facilities: 14.1 percent or 6 of these have employees 
exposed above the PEL and will be monitored quarterly; 12.8 percent or 
5 of these have employees that are exposed above the AL but below the 
PEL and will be monitored semiannually, and an additional 10 percent or 
4 facilities will be monitored yearly. Thus, the revised standard would 
require 3 burden hours at a cost of $51. Cost savings due to changing 
from writing employees individually to employers posting monitoring 
results in a readily accessible location would amount to $9,393.
    The final rule revises the lead standard for general industry, 
paragraph 1910.1025(d)(8)(i), to require employers to provide employees 
with their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by 
posting the employees' results in a readily accessible location. OSHA 
assumes the employers would post the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location.
    Currently, monitoring is required initially to determine if any 
employees are exposed to lead at or above the action level, and every 6 
months if employees are exposed above the AL but below the PEL and 
quarterly if employees are exposed to lead above the PEL. OSHA assumes 
zero burden hours for quarterly monitoring based on the assumption in 
the paperwork burden analysis that no industry sectors have working 
conditions in which employees are being exposed above the PEL. The 
Agency has estimated that about 11,508 employees would receive initial 
monitoring and 377,859 employees may be exposed to lead at levels 
between the AL and the PEL, which would require periodic monitoring at 
6-month intervals. OSHA estimates that a secretary earning $17.34 an 
hour will require 5 minutes (.08 hour) to prepare each of 767,226 
employee notifications (11,508 initial notifications and 377,859 
employees x 2 semiannual notifications).
    The paperwork burden for employee notification of monitoring 
results under the existing standard is as follows: 11,508 employees are 
notified once annually of initial monitoring results and 377,589 
employees receive results twice a year. Notifying employees of 767,226 
sampling results requires 0.08 hours each for a total of 61,378 hours, 
which, at an hourly secretarial wage of $17.34, costs $1,064,296. 
Employee notification under the revised standard will reduce the 
paperwork burden considerably: 62,357 employers will post sampling 
results twice a year, taking 0.08 hours for each, or 9,977 burden 
hours, which will cost $173,001 at the same secretarial wage. Cost 
savings would amount to 51,401 burden hours, or $891,293.
    The final rule revises the cadmium standard for general industry, 
paragraph 1910.1027(d)(5)(i), to require employers to provide employees 
with their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by 
posting the employees' results in a readily accessible location. As 
posting the monitoring results is cheaper than individually writing 
employees, OSHA assumes the employers would prefer to post the 
monitoring results.
    The present standard requires employers to notify employees 
individually in writing and to post in a centralized location their 
exposure monitoring results. As in the Cadmium General Industry 
Paperwork Package, the Agency estimates that 71,306 employees may need 
periodic monitoring when exposed to cadmium above the AL. Under the 
existing standard, OSHA estimates that a secretary, earning $17.34 per 
hour, will take 5 minutes (.08 hour) semiannually to individually 
inform the employees in writing of exposure monitoring results and to 
also post a copy of the results in a centralized location. The Agency 
also estimates that 143 additional samples will be taken in 143 plants 
when raw materials, process, personnel, or work practices change. Thus, 
under the existing standard, 11,420 burden hours would be required at a 
cost of $198,030 as 71,306 employees are notified individually in 
writing and 143 plants post notices of the employees' exposure 
monitoring results in centralized locations.
    Under the final standard, 8,517 burden hours at a cost of $147,685 
would be required (secretaries at each of the 53,161 employers, and for 
posting 143 additional samples spending five minutes, at $17.34 per 
hour, to post monitoring results). Cost savings due to changing from 
individually writing employees and posting notices in centralized 
location to employers posting notices in a readily accessible location 
would amount to $50,341.
    The final rule revises the coke oven emissions standard, paragraph 
1910.1029(e)(3)(i), to require employers to provide employees with 
their monitoring results individually in writing or by posting the 
employees' results in a readily accessible location. OSHA assumes the 
employees would prefer to post the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location.
    The present standard requires employers to notify employees 
individually in writing of their exposure monitoring results. As in the 
ICR, the Agency estimates that 4,600 employees receive exposure 
measurements (i.e., are ``covered employees'' because they work in 
regulated areas). These measurements include 18,400 quarterly 
measurements (4,600 employees x 4 measurements) and 230 resamplings (5% 
of 4,600 employees), for a total of 18,630 samples. The Agency also 
assumes that a secretary, at a wage rate of $17.34 per hour, will take 
5 minutes (.08 hour) to notify each employee of his or her sampling 
results. Thus, 1,490 burden hours would be required at a cost of 
$25,844 as 4,830 employees would be notified individually in writing of 
their exposure monitoring results.
    With the final standard, 5 burden hours at a cost of $79 would be 
attributed to secretaries, who earn $17.34 per hour, at each of the 14 
employers and would spend 5 minutes each to post monitoring results at 
a readily accessible location. Cost savings would amount to $25,765.
    The final rule revises the cotton dust standard, paragraph 
1910.1043(d)(4)(i), to require employers to provide employees with 
their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by posting 
the employees' results in a readily accessible location. OSHA assumes 
the employers would prefer to post the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location.
    OSHA estimated the numbers of exposed employees and the number of 
facilities in the industry by utilizing data from Employment and 
Earnings and County Business Patterns. The Agency estimates that 49,628 
employees would be notified in writing of their exposure monitoring 
results. OSHA estimates that a secretary, earning $17.34 per hour, will 
take 5 minutes (.08 hour) to prepare each notification. Thus, 3,970 
burden hours are required at a

[[Page 1137]]

cost of $68,844 as 53,938 employees are notified individually in 
writing of their exposure monitoring results.
    Under the final standard, 43 burden hours at a cost of $742 would 
be required (a secretary at each of the 535 plants, earning $17.34 per 
hour, would spend 5 minutes (.08 hour) to post monitoring results). 
Cost savings would amount to $68,102.
    The final rule would revise the 1,2-dibro-3-chloropropane, 
paragraph 1910.1044(f)(5)(i), to require employers to provide employees 
with their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by 
posting the employees' results in a readily accessible location. No 
cost or burden hours accrue to employers under this standard since OSHA 
has determined that no U.S. employers currently produce DBCP or DBCP-
based end-use products.
    The final rule would revise the acrylonitrile standard, paragraph 
1910.1045(e)(5)(i), to require employers to provide employees with 
their exposure monitoring results individually in writing or by posting 
the employees' results in a readily accessible location. OSHA assumes 
the employers would prefer to post the employees' results in a readily 
accessible location.
    The Agency estimates that under the present standard, 923 employees 
must be informed of sampling results in writing. OSHA estimates that a 
secretary, earning $17.34 per hour, will take 5 minutes (.08 hour) to 
prepare each notification. Thus, 485 burden hours are required at a 
cost of $8,415.
    Under the revision, 9 burden hours at a cost of $160 would be 
attributed to secretaries at each of the 23 plants, earning $17.34 per 
hour, spending 5 minutes (.08 hour) each to post quarterly monitoring 
results and one additional monitoring result. Cost savings would amount 
to $8,255.
    The final rule would revise the lead standard for the construction 
industry, paragraph 1926.62(d)(8)(i), to require employers to provide 
employees with their exposure monitoring results individually in 
writing or by posting the employees' results in a readily accessible 
location. OSHA assumes the employers would prefer to post the 
employees' results in a readily accessible location.
    As in the Lead in Construction Paperwork Package, the Agency 
estimates that under the present standard, 177,194 employees are 
notified two times a year in writing of their exposure monitoring 
results. OSHA estimates that a secretary, earning $17.34 per hour, will 
take six minutes (.10 hour) to prepare each notification. Thus, 38,678 
burden hours are required at a cost of $670,671.
    The revised standard would require that employers post monitoring 
results at readily accessible locations at each facility. Thus, 10,185 
burden hours at a cost of $176,608 would be required in the lead 
standard for construction as secretaries of each of 147,073 firms, 
earning $17.34 per hour, would spend six minutes (.10 hour) to post 
monitoring results two times a year. Cost savings would amount to 
$494,063.
    The final rule revises the cadmium standard for the construction 
industry, paragraph 1926.1127(d)(5)(i), to require employers to provide 
employees with their exposure monitoring results individually in 
writing or by posting the employees' results in a readily accessible 
location. OSHA assumes the employers would prefer to post the 
employees' results in a readily accessible location.
    The Agency estimates that under the present standard 7,500 
employees need monitoring when exposed to cadmium above the AL three 
times per year. OSHA estimates that a secretary, earning $17.34 per 
hour, will take 5 minutes (.08 hour) to individually inform the 
employees in writing of exposure monitoring results and to also post a 
copy of the results in a centralized location. The Agency assumes that 
the time associated with posting a copy of the result is minimal after 
already completing the individual notification; thus no additional time 
is assumed. Included in this 5 minutes is the time to maintain the 
record as required in paragraph (n)(1). The present standard requires 
1,720 burden hours at a cost of $32,044.
    With the final standard, 280 burden hours at a cost of $4,855 would 
be required (secretaries at 1,000 employers, earning $17.34 per hour, 
would spend 5 minutes each to post monitoring results). The revision 
would result in cost savings of $27,189.

References

    1. Office of Management and Budget, ``Guidelines and Discount Rates 
for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs,'' Circular No. A-94 
Revised (Transmittal Memo No. 64). October 29, 1992.
    2. U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, ``Employer 
Costs for Employees.''

V. Regulatory Flexibility Certification

    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq. (as amended), OSHA examined the regulatory requirements of the 
proposed rule to determine if they would have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. As indicated in 
section IV (``Economic Analysis'') of this preamble, the proposed rule 
is expected to reduce compliance costs and regulatory burden for all 
employers, large and small. The reduction in compliance costs is under 
$100 million. Accordingly, the Agency certifies that the proposed rule 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.

VI. Environmental Impact Assessment

    OSHA has reviewed the proposed rule in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the regulations of the Council on 
Environmental Quality (40 U.S.C. 1500), and the Department of Labor's 
NEPA procedures (29 CFR part 11). The Agency finds that the revisions 
included in the final rule do not directly involve the control of 
hazardous materials. Therefore, the final rule would have no additional 
impact on the environment, including no impact on the release of 
materials that contaminate natural resources or the environment, beyond 
the impact imposed by the existing requirements these proposed 
revisions would amend.

VII. OMB Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, agencies are 
required to seek the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for 
all collections of information (paperwork). As a part of the approval 
process, agencies are required to solicit comment from affected parties 
with regard to the collection of information, including the financial 
and time burdens estimated by the agencies for the collection of 
information. The paperwork burden-hour estimate and cost analysis that 
an Agency submits to OMB is termed an ``Information Collection 
Request'' (ICR).
    In the October 31, 2002, proposed rule, OSHA requested the public 
to comment on the 13 ICRs that the Agency submitted to OMB. These ICRs 
requested OMB to approve revisions to the current collections of 
information. In December 2002, OMB approved the proposed burden hour 
and cost reduction contained in the 13 ICRs. OMB stated on the 
approvals: ``DOL will resubmit this package as a revision if changes 
are made based on comments to the Standards Improvement Project 
Proposed Rule.''
    The final rule does not change any of the proposed revisions to the 
collections

[[Page 1138]]

of information contained in the 13 ICRs. Table 4 lists the 13 ICRs, 
their OMB control number, expiration date, and changes to the 
collections of information contained in the ICRs. However, based on 
public comment (Ex. 4-13), the Agency did increase the amount of time 
employers take to conduct exposure monitoring from 10 minutes to 1 
hour. OSHA has submitted documentation to OMB, PRA Change Worksheet 
(OMB 83-C form), for Vinyl Chloride (OMB Control number 1218-0010 ) and 
Acrylonitrile (OMB Control number 1218-0126) to reflect the increased 
time employers take to conduct exposure monitoring, and the larger 
burden hour reduction from reducing the frequency of exposure-
monitoring.

                       Information Collection Requests Expiration Dates & Final Revisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Burden hour
  OMB Control Number; expiration date           ICR provision            Final changes to ICR         changes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1218-0010..............................  Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the frequency                -1,048
Exp. Date: 9/30/2005...................   1910.1017(d)(2) (i)).       employers must conduct
                                                                      periodic exposure-
                                                                      monitoring from monthly to
                                                                      quarterly monitoring.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the frequency                  -262
                                          1910.1017(d)(2) (ii)).      employers must conduct
                                                                      periodic exposure-
                                                                      monitoring from quarterly
                                                                      to semi-annual monitoring.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Increased the time to                    66
                                          1910.1017(d)(2) (iii)).     conduct additional
                                                                      exposure monitoring.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the frequency                  -240
                                          1910.1017(f) (3)).          employers must update
                                                                      their compliance plans
                                                                      from every six months to
                                                                      annually.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the number of                  -366
                                          1910.1017(k)(2) (i)&(ii)).  medical examinations from
                                                                      semi-annually to annually.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the number of                   -15
                                          1910.1017(k) (4)).          physician's written
                                                                      opinions employers must
                                                                      provide to their employees.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the number of                  -105
                                          1910.1017(m) (2)).          exposure records employers
                                                                      must develop and maintain.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Reduced the number of                   -14
                                          1910.1017(m) (2)).          medical records employers
                                                                      must develop and maintain.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Removed burden hours for                -17
                                          1910.1017(n) (1)).          employers to notify OSHA
                                                                      when establishing a
                                                                      regulated area.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Removed burden hours for               -800
                                          1910.1017(n) (2)).          employers to report
                                                                      emergencies to OSHA area
                                                                      director.
                                         Vinyl Chloride (Sec.        Allows employers to post               -159
                                          1910.1017(n) (3)).          exposure monitoring
                                                                      results and increase time
                                                                      to inform employees of
                                                                      their exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results from 10 to 15
                                                                      working days.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -2,960
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0061..............................  Cotton Dust (Sec.           Allow employers to post              -3,927
Exp. Date: 9/30/2005...................   1910.1043 (d)(4) (i)).      exposure monitoring
                                                                      results.
1218-0085..............................  13 Carcinogens (Sec.        Removed burden hours for               -970
Exp. Date: 11/30/2005..................   1910.1003(f) (2)).          employers to report spills
                                                                      to local OSHA area offices.
                                                                                                 ---------------
                                         13 Carcinogens (Sec.        Removed burden hours for               -194
                                          1910.1003(f) (1)).          employers to notify OSHA
                                                                      when establishing a
                                                                      regulated area.
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -1,164
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0092..............................  Lead in General Industry    Allow employers to post             -51,401
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................   (Sec.                       exposure-monitoring
                                          1910.1025(d)(8)(i)).        results.
                                         Lead in General Industry    Revise required compliance                0
                                          (Sec.   1910.1025(e)(3)     plan update from every six
                                          (iv)).                      months to annually. No
                                                                      information on areas over
                                                                      the PEL in general
                                                                      industry, and the standard
                                                                      is almost 25 years old.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................         -51,401
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0101..............................  1,2-Dibromo-3-chlorpropane  Removed burden hours for                  0
Exp. Date: 11/30/2005..................   (DBCP) (Sec.   1910.1044    employers to report when
                                          (d)(4)).                    DBCP is introduced into
                                                                      workplace to OSHA.
                                         DBCP (Sec.                  Reduced the frequency                     0
                                          1910.1044(f)(3)(i), (ii)).  employers must conduct
                                                                      periodic exposure
                                                                      monitoring.
                                         DBCP (Sec.   1910.1044(f)   Allow employers to post                  -0
                                          (5)).                       exposure monitoring
                                                                      results and increase time
                                                                      to inform employees of
                                                                      their exposure- monitoring
                                                                      results from 5 working
                                                                      days to 15 working days.
                                         DBCP (Sec.                  Reduced the frequency                     0
                                          1910.1044(g)(2)(ii)).       employers must update
                                                                      their compliance plans
                                                                      from every six months to
                                                                      annually.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................               0
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0104..............................  Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Removed burden hours for                 -3
Exp. Date: 9/30/2005...................   1910.1018(d)(1)).           employers to notify OSHA
                                                                      when establishing a
                                                                      regulated area.

[[Page 1139]]

 
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Allow employers to post                -541
                                          monitoring results          exposure-monitoring
                                          1910.1018(e)(5)(i)).        results.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Reduced the frequency                   -72
                                          1910.1018(g)(2)(iv)).       employers must update
                                                                      their compliance plans
                                                                      from every six months to
                                                                      annually.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Revise the x-ray rating                   0
                                          1910.1018(n)(2)(ii)(A)).    procedure; no significant
                                                                      change.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Reduced the number of                -1,661
                                          1910.1018(n)(3)(ii)).       medical examinations from
                                                                      semi-annually to annually.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Reduced the frequency                   -80
                                          1910.1018(n) (5)).          employers must provide
                                                                      information to the
                                                                      physician.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Reduced the frequency                   -80
                                          1910.1018(n) (6)).          employers must provide the
                                                                      physician's written
                                                                      opinion to their employers.
                                         Inorganic Arsenic (Sec.     Reduced the number of                   -79
                                          1910.1018(q) (6)).          medical records employers
                                                                      must develop and maintain.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -2,516
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0126..............................  Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Removed burden hours for                -23
Exp. Date: 9/30/2005...................   1910.1045(d)(1)).           employers to notify OSHA
                                                                      when establishing a
                                                                      regulated area.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Removed burden hours for                -92
                                          1910.1045(d)(2)).           employers to report
                                                                      emergencies to OSHA area
                                                                      director.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Reduced the frequency                -1,819
                                          conduct                     employers must periodic
                                          1910.1045(e)(3)(ii).        exposure monitoring from
                                                                      monthly to quarterly and
                                                                      from quarterly to semi-
                                                                      annually.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Increased the time to                   +11
                                          1910.1045(e)(4)).           conduct additional
                                                                      monitoring.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Allow employers to post                -476
                                          1910.1045(e)(5)).           exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Reduced the frequency                   -11
                                          1910.1045(g)(2) (ii)).      employers must update
                                                                      their compliance plans
                                                                      from every six months to
                                                                      annually.
                                         Acrylonitrile (Sec.         Reduced the number of                  -291
                                          1910.1045) (q)(2)).         exposure monitoring
                                                                      records employers must
                                                                      develop and maintain.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -2,701
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0128..............................  Coke Ovens                  Allows employers to post             -1,486
Exp. Date: 9/30/2005...................   1910.1029(e)(3)(i)).        exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results.
                                         Coke Ovens (Sec.            Reduced the frequency                   -42
                                          1910.1029(f)(6) (iv)).      employers must update
                                                                      their compliance plans
                                                                      from every six months to
                                                                      annually.
                                         Coke Ovens (Sec.            Revise the x-ray rating                   0
                                          1910.1029(j)((2) (ii)).     procedure; no significant
                                                                      change.
                                         Coke Ovens (Sec.            Reduced the number of                -2,898
                                          1910.1029(j)(3) (iii)).     medical examinations from
                                                                      semi-annually to annually.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -4,426
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0134..............................  Asbestos (Sec.              Modified time to inform                   0
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................   1926.1101(f)(5)(i)).        employees of their
                                                                      exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results from ``as soon as
                                                                      possible'' to no later
                                                                      than 5 days after receipt.
                                         Asbestos (Sec.              Remove burden hours for                  -1
                                          1926.1101(g)(6)(l).         employers to submit
                                                                      alternative control
                                                                      methods to OSHA.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................              -1
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0185..............................  Cadmium in General          Allows employers to post             -2,903
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................   Industry (Sec.              exposure-monitoring
                                          1910.1027(d)(5)).           results.
                                         Cadmium in General          Removed the requirement                   0
                                          Industry (Sec.              that the physician's
                                          1910.1027(l)(10)(l)).       written opinion be signed.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -2,903
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0186..............................  Cadmium Construction (Sec.  Allow employers to post              -1,440
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................     1926.1127(d)(5)(i)).      exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results.
                                         Cadmium Construction (Sec.  Remove the physician's                    0
                                            1926.1127(l)(10)(i)).     written opinion.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................          -1,440
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0189..............................  Lead in Const. (Sec.        Allow employers to post             -28,493
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................   1926.62 9(d) (8)).          exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results.
                                         Lead in Const. (Sec.        Reduce the frequency of            -108,172
                                          1926.62(e) (2)(v)).         updating written
                                                                      compliance programs.
                                                                                                 ---------------

[[Page 1140]]

 
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................        -136,665
                                                                                                 ===============
1218-0195..............................  Asbestos (Sec.              Modified time to inform                   0
Exp. Date: 12/31/2005..................   1915.1001(f)(5)).           employees of their
                                                                      exposure-monitoring
                                                                      results from ``as soon as
                                                                      possible'' to no later
                                                                      than 5 days after receipt.
                                         Asbestos (Sec.              Remove burden hours for                  -1
                                          1915.1001(g)(6)(iii)).      employers to submit
                                                                      alternative control
                                                                      methods to OSHA.
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Subtotal...........................  ..........................  ...........................              -1
                                                                                                 ===============
    Total Burden Hour Reduction........  ..........................  ...........................        -210,105
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VIII. Unfunded Mandates

    OSHA has reviewed the final rule in accordance with the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. 1501 et seq., and Executive Order 
12875. As discussed above, OSHA has determined that the final rule is 
likely to reduce the regulatory burdens imposed on public and private 
employers by the existing requirements these final revisions would 
amend. The final rule would not expand existing regulatory requirements 
or increase the number of employers who are covered by the existing 
rules. Consequently, compliance with the final rule would require no 
additional expenditures by either public or private employers. In sum, 
the final rule does not mandate that state, local, and tribal 
governments adopt new, unfunded regulatory obligations.

IX. Federalism

    The Agency has reviewed the final rule in accordance with the 
Executive Order on Federalism (Executive Order 13132, 64 FR 43255, 
August 10, 1999), which requires that Federal agencies, to the extent 
possible, refrain from limiting state policy options, consult with 
states before taking actions that restrict state policy options, and 
take such actions only when clear constitutional authority exists and 
the problem is of national scope. The Executive Order provides for 
preemption of state law only when Congress expresses an intent that a 
Federal agency do so. The Federal agency must limit any such preemption 
to the extent possible.
    With respect to states that do not have occupational safety and 
health plans approved by OSHA under Section 18 of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the ``Act'') (29 U.S.C. 667), the Agency 
finds that the final rule conforms to the preemption provisions of the 
Act. These provisions authorize OSHA to preempt state promulgation and 
enforcement of requirements dealing with occupational safety and health 
issues covered by Agency standards, unless the state has a state 
occupational safety and health plan approved by the Agency. (See Gade 
v. National Solid Wastes Management Association, 112 S.Ct. 2374 
(1992).) The provisions of 29 U.S.C. 667 prohibit states without such 
programs from issuing citations for violations of requirements covered 
by Agency standards. The final rule would not expand this limitation.
    Regarding states that have OSHA-approved occupational safety and 
health plans (``State-plan states''), the Agency finds that the final 
rule complies with Executive Order 13132 because it addresses a problem 
(i.e., health hazards) that is national in scope. Adoption of these 
final revisions, section 18(c)(2) of the Act (29 U.S.C. 667(c)(2)) 
would not preempt any alternative revisions made by State-plan states 
if these revisions are at least as effective as the final revisions.

X. State-Plan States

    The 24 states and two territories with their own federally-approved 
occupational safety and health plans must develop revisions that are at 
least as effective as the final revisions adopted by the Agency within 
six months after publication of the final rule. These states and 
territories are: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut (State and 
local government employees only), Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, 
Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey (State and local 
government employees only), New Mexico, New York (State and local 
government employees only), North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South 
Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, 
Washington, and Wyoming.

XI. Authority

    John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20210, directed the preparation of this document.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on the 20th day of December 2004.
John L. Henshaw,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.

List of Subjects

29 CFR Part 1910

    Hazardous substances, Occupational safety and health, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements.

29 CFR Part 1915

    Hazardous substances, Occupational safety and health, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Shipyard employment, Vessels.

29 CFR Part 1926

    Construction industry, Hazardous substances, Occupational safety 
and health, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


0
In accordance with sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657)), section 41 of the 
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941), section 
107 of the Contract Work and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 333), 
section 4 of the Administrative Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 553) and 
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), the Agency is 
amending 29 CFR parts 1910, 1915, and 1926 as follows:

PART 1910--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS

Subpart J--General Environmental Controls

0
1. The authority citation for subpart J is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; Secretary of 
Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76

[[Page 1141]]

(41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 
111), or 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), as applicable.
    Sections 1910.141, 1910.142, 1910.145, 1910.146, and 1910.147 
also issued under 29 CFR part 1911.


Sec.  1910.142  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  1910.142, remove the words ``telegram or telephone'' at the 
end of paragraph (l)(2) and add in their place, ``telegram, telephone, 
electronic mail or any method that is equally fast.''

Subpart K--Medical and First Aid

0
3. The authority citation for subpart K is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; Secretary of 
Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 
FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), or 3-2000 (65 FR 
50017), as applicable, and 29 CFR part 1911.


0
4. In the first paragraph of Appendix A to Sec.  1910.151, remove the 
words ``American National Standard (ANSI) Z308.1-1978, ``Minimum 
Requirements for Industrial Unit-Type First-aid Kits'' and add, in 
their place, ``American National Standard (ANSI) Z308.1-1998 ``Minimum 
Requirements for Workplace First-aid Kits.''

Subpart R--Special Industries

0
5. The authority citation for subpart R is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; Secretary of 
Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 
FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), or 3-2000 (65 FR 
50017), as applicable, and 29 CFR part 1911.


0
6. In Sec.  1910.268, revise paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows:


Sec.  1910.268  Telecommunications.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) Employers must provide employees with readily accessible, 
adequate, and appropriate first aid supplies. A non-mandatory example 
of appropriate supplies is listed in Appendix A to 29 CFR 1910.151.
* * * * *

Subpart Z--Toxic and Hazardous Substances

0
7. The authority citation for subpart Z is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; 5 U.S.C. 553; 
Secretary of Labor's Orders No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 
25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), and 
3-2000 (65 FR 50017), as applicable, and 29 CFR part 1911.
    All of subpart Z issued under section 6(b) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970, except those substances that have 
exposure limits in Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 of 29 CFR1910.1000. The 
Agency issued 29 CFR 1910.1000 under section (6)(a) of the Act (29 
U.S.C. 655(a)).
    Section 1910.1000, Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 also issued under 5 
U.S.C. 553, but not under 29 CFR part 1911, except for the inorganic 
arsenic, benzene, and cotton dust listings.
    Section 1910.1001 also issued under section 107 of the Contract 
Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 U.S.C. 333) and 5 U.S.C. 
553.
    Section 1910.1002 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553, but not under 
29 U.S.C. 655 or 29 CFR part 1911.
    Sections 1910.1018, 1910.1029, and1910.1200 also issued under 29 
U.S.C. 653.


0
8. In Sec.  1910.1001, revise paragraph (d)(7)(i) to read as set forth 
below, and remove the word ``signed'' from the first sentence of the 
introductory text of paragraph (l)(7)(i).


Sec.  1910.1001  Asbestos.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (7) Employee notification of monitoring results. (i) The employer 
must, within 15 working days after the receipt of the results of any 
monitoring performed under this sections, notify each affected employee 
of these results either individually in writing or by posting the 
results in an appropriate location that is accessible to affected 
employees.
* * * * *


Sec.  1910.1003  [Amended]

0
9-10. Section 1910.1003 is amended by removing and reserving paragraph 
(f).

0
11. Section 1910.1017 is amended by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (d)(2)(i), (d)(2)(ii), the last sentence of 
paragraph (f)(3) and paragraphs (k)(2), (k)(6) and (n)(3);
0
b. Removing paragraphs (n)(1) and (n)(2) and redesignating paragraph 
(n)(3) as new paragraph (n) and revising it.
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1017  Vinyl chloride.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (2) * * * (i) Must be repeated at least quarterly for any employee 
exposed, without regard to the use of respirators, in excess of the 
permissible exposure limit.
    (ii) Must be repeated not less than every 6 months for any employee 
exposed without regard to the use of respirators, at or above the 
action level.
* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (3) * * *Such plans must be updated at least annually.
* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (2) Examinations must be provided in accordance with this paragraph 
at least annually.
* * * * *
    (6) Laboratory analyses for all biological specimens included in 
medical examination shall be performed by accredited laboratories.
* * * * *
    (n) Employee notification of monitoring results. The employer must, 
within 15 working days after the receipt of the results of any 
monitoring performed under this section, notify each affected employee 
of these results and the steps being taken to reduce exposures within 
the permissible exposure limit either individually in writing or by 
posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to 
affected employees.
* * * * *

0
12. Section 1910.1018 is amended by:
0
a. Removing and reserving paragraph (d);
0
b. Revising paragraphs (e)(5)(i), (g)(2)(iv), (n)(2)(ii)(A), (n)(3)(i);
0
c. Removing paragraph (n)(3)(ii) and redesignating paragraph 
(n)(3)(iii) as new (n)(3)(ii); and
0
d. Removing in Appendix C Section I, second paragraph, item (2), the 
words ``and an International Labor Office UICC/Cincinnati (ILO U/C) 
rating.''
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1018  Inorganic arsenic.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (5) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to affected employees.
* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (iv) The plans required by this paragraph must be revised and 
updated at least annually to reflect the current status of the program.
* * * * *
    (n) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) * * *

[[Page 1142]]

    (A) A standard posterior-anterior chest x-ray;
* * * * *
    (3) * * *(i) Examinations must be provided in accordance with this 
paragraph at least annually.
* * * * *

0
13. In Sec.  1910.1025, revise paragraphs (d)(8)(i) and (e)(3)(iv) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1025  Lead.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (8) * * *
    (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the receipt of 
the results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify each 
affected employee of these results either individually in writing or by 
posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to 
affected employees.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iv) Written programs must be revised and updated at least annually 
to reflect the current status of the program.
* * * * *

0
14. In Sec.  1910.1027 revise paragraph (d)(5)(i) to read as set forth 
below and remove the word ``signed'' from the first sentence of the 
introductory text of paragraph (l)(10)(i).


Sec.  1910.1027  Cadmium.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (5) * * * (i)The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *

0
15-16. In Sec.  1910.1028 revise paragraph (e)(7)(i) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1910.1028  Benzene.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (7) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *

0
17. Section Sec.  1910.1029 is amended by:
0
a. Revising paragraphs (e)(3)(i), (f)(6)(iv), (j)(2)(ii), (j)(3)(ii) 
and (j)(3)(iii);
0
b. Removing paragraph (j)(3)(iv);
0
c. Redesignating paragraph (j)(3)(v) as (j)(3)(iv); and
0
d. Removing the words ``14 by 17'' and the words 
``and a ILO/UC rating to assure some standard of x-ray reading'' from 
the third sentence of Appendix B.II.A.
    The revision read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1029  Coke oven emissions.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (iv) Written plans for such programs shall be submitted, upon 
request, to the Secretary and the Director, and shall be available at 
the worksite for examination and copying by the Secretary, the 
Director, and the authorized employee representative. The plans 
required under paragraph (f)(6) of this section shall be revised and 
updated at least annually to reflect the current status of the program.
* * * * *
    (j)* * *
    (2)* * *
    (ii) A standard posterior-anterior chest x-ray;
* * * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) The employer must provide the examinations specified in 
paragraphs (j)(2)(i) through (j)(2)(vii) of this section at least 
annually for employees 45 years of age or older or with five (5) or 
more years employment in the regulated area.
    (iii) Whenever an employee who is 45 years of age or older or with 
five (5) or more years employment in a regulated area transfers or is 
transferred from employment in a regulated area, the employer must 
continue to provide the examinations specified in paragraphs (j)(2)(i) 
through (j)(2)(vii) of this section at least annually as long as that 
employee is employed by the same employer or a successor employer.
* * * * *

0
18-19. In Sec.  1910.1043, revise paragraph (d)(4)(i) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1910.1043  Cotton dust.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (4) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *

0
20-21. In Sec.  1910.1044 remove and reserve paragraph (d), and revise 
paragraphs (f)(3)(i), (f)(3)(ii), (f)(5)(i) and the last sentence of 
paragraph (g)(2)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1044  1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (3) * * * (i) If the monitoring required by this section reveals 
employee exposures to be at or below the permissible exposure limit, 
the employer must repeat these measurements at least every 6 months.
    (ii) If the monitoring required by this section reveals employee 
exposures to be in excess of the permissible exposure limit, the 
employer must repeat these measurements for each such employee at least 
quarterly. The employer must continue quarterly monitoring until at 
least two consecutive measurements, taken at least seven (7) days 
apart, are at or below the permissible exposure limit. Thereafter the 
employer must monitor at least every 6 months.
* * * * *
    (5) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each employee of these results either individually in writing or 
by posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to 
employees.
* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) * * * These plans must be revised at least annually to reflect 
the current status of the program.
* * * * *

0
22-23. In Sec.  1910.1045 remove and reserve paragraph (d), and revise 
paragraphs (e)(3)(ii), (e)(3)(iii), (e)(5)(i) and (g)(2)(v) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  1910.1045  Acrylonitrile.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) If the monitoring required by this section reveals employee 
exposure to be at or above the action level but at or below the 
permissible exposure limits, the employer must repeat such monitoring 
for each such employee at least every 6 months. The employer must 
continue these measurements every 6 months until at least two 
consecutive measurements taken at least seven (7) days a part, are 
below the action level, and thereafter the employer

[[Page 1143]]

may discontinue monitoring for that employee.
    (iii) If the monitoring required by this section reveals employee 
exposure to be in excess of the permissible exposure limits, the 
employer must repeat these determinations for each such employee at 
least quarterly. The employer must continue these quarterly 
measurements until at least two consecutive measurements, taken at 
least seven (7) days apart, are at or below the permissible exposure 
limits, and thereafter the employer must monitor at least every 6 
months.
* * * * *
    (5) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *
    (g) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (v) The plans required by this paragraph must be revised and 
updated at least annually to reflect the current status of the program.
* * * * *

0
24. In Sec.  1910.1047, revise (d)(7)(i) to read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1047  Ethylene oxide.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (7) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *

0
25. In Sec.  1910.1048, revise (d)(6) to read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1048  Formaldehyde.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (6) Employee notification of monitoring results. The employer must, 
within 15 working days after the receipt of the results of any 
monitoring performed under this section, notify each affected employee 
of these results either individually in writing or by posting the 
results in an appropriate location that is accessible to employees. If 
employee exposure is above the PEL, affected employees shall be 
provided with a description of the corrective actions being taken by 
the employer to decrease exposure.
* * * * *

0
26. In Sec.  1910.1051, revise paragraph (d)(7)(i) to read as follows:


Sec.  1910.1051  1,3-Butadiene.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (7) * * * (i) The employer must, within 15 working days after the 
receipt of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, 
notify each affected employee of these results either individually in 
writing or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is 
accessible to employees.
* * * * *

PART 1915--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS FOR SHIPYARD 
EMPLOYMENT

0
27. The authority citation for Part 1915 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 41, Longshore and Harbor Workers' 
Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 941); sections 4, 6, and 8 of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (``the Act''), 29 U.S.C. 
653, 655, and 657; Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 
8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-
96 (62 FR 111), and 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), as applicable.

    Sections 1915.120 and 1915.152 also issued under 29 CFR part 
1911.
    Section 1915.1001 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553.

Subpart Z--Toxic and Hazardous Substances

0
28. In Sec.  1915.1001, revise paragraph (f)(5) to read as set forth 
below and remove paragraph (g)(6)(iii).


Sec.  1915.1001  Asbestos.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (5) Employee notification of monitoring results. The employer must, 
as soon as possible but no later than 5 days after the receipt of the 
results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify each 
affected employee of these results either individually in writing or by 
posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to 
employees.
* * * * *

PART 1926--SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION

Subpart D--Occupational Health and Environmental Controls

0
30. The authority citation for subpart D is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards 
Act (40 U.S.C. 333); sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (``the Act''), 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; 5 
U.S.C. 553; Secretary of Labor's Orders No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 
(41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 
111), and 3-2000 (65 FR 50017), as applicable; and 29 CFR part 1911.

0
31. In Sec.  1926.60, revise paragraph (f)(7)(i) to read as follows:


Sec.  1926.60  Methylenedianilene.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (7) * * *(i) The employer must, as soon as possible but no later 
than 5 working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring 
performed under this section, notify each affected employee of these 
results either individually in writing or by posting the results in an 
appropriate location that is accessible to employees.
* * * * *

0
32. In Sec.  1926.62, revise paragraphs (d)(8)(i) and (e)(2)(v) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  1926.62  Lead.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (8) * * * (i) The employer must, as soon as possible but no later 
than 5 working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring 
performed under this section, notify each affected employee of these 
results either individually in writing or by posting the results in an 
appropriate location that is accessible to employees.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (2) * * *
    (v) Written programs must be revised and updated at least annually 
to reflect the current status of the program.
* * * * *

Subpart Z--Toxic and Hazardous Substances

0
33. The authority citation for subpart Z is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards 
Act (40 U.S.C. 333); sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (``the Act''), 29 U.S.C. 653, 655, and 657; 
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 12-71 (36 FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 
25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), 6-96 (62 FR 111), and 
3-2000 (65 FR 50017), as applicable; and 29 CFR part 1911.
    Sections 1926.1101 and 1926.1127 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553.
    Section 1926.1102 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 553, but not under 
29 U.S.C. 655 or 29 CFR part 1911.


0
34. In Sec.  1926.1101, revise paragraph (f)(5) to read as set forth 
below and remove paragraph (g)(6)(iii).


Sec.  1926.1101  Asbestos.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *

[[Page 1144]]

    (5) Employee notification of monitoring results. The employer must, 
as soon as possible but no later than 5 working days after the receipt 
of the results of any monitoring performed under this section, notify 
each affected employee of these results either individually in writing 
or by posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible 
to employees.
* * * * *

0
35-36. In Sec.  1926.1127 revise paragraph (d)(5)(i) to read as set 
forth below and remove the word ``signed'' from the first sentence of 
the introductory text of paragraph (l)(10)(i).


Sec.  1926.1127  Cadmium.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (5) * * * (i) The employer must, as soon as possible but no later 
than 5 working days after the receipt of the results of any monitoring 
performed under this section, notify each affected employee of these 
results either individually in writing or by posting the results in an 
appropriate location that is accessible to employees.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 04-28221 Filed 12-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P