View Rule

View EO 12866 Meetings

Printer-Friendly Version Download RIN Data in XML

DOL/OSHA

RIN: 1218-AA98

Publication ID: Fall 1995

Title: Methylene Chloride (Preventing Occupational Illnesses: Methylene Chloride)
Abstract: In July 1985, OSHA was petitioned by the UAW to issue a hazard alert; issue an emergency temporary standard; and to begin work on a new permanent standard for methylene chloride. This request was based on information obtained from the EPA and the National Toxicology Program indicating that DCM is an animal carcinogen and may have the potential to cause cancer in humans. An estimated 209,479 workers are exposed to the hazards of MC annually. In November 1986, OSHA notified the UAW that its petition had been granted, in part, and denied, in part. Specifically, OSHA issued a set of guidelines for controlling occupational exposure to MC and OSHA denied that portion of the petition requesting the issuance of an emergency temporary standard. OSHA published an ANPRM on November 24, 1986 (51 FR 42257). After reviewing and analyzing the comments received in response to the ANPRM, OSHA published a proposal in the Federal Register on November 7, 1991 (56 FR 57036). The comment period closed on April 6, 1992. On June 9, 1992, OSHA published a notice of informal public hearings that were held in Washington, DC September 16-24 and in San Francisco, CA on October 14-16, 1992. The post-hearing comment period for new evidence closed on January 14, 1993, and the final date for submitting post-hearing summations and briefs was March 15, 1993. The record was reopened on March 11, 1994, for 45 days to address MC exposure in the furniture stripping industry, an NCI study relating brain cancer to occupational exposure to MC, and information regarding the use of MC as a solvent in adhesive formulation in flexible foam manufacturing.
Agency: Department of Labor(DOL)	Priority: Other Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage
CFR Citation: 29 CFR 1910.1052 29 CFR 1926.1162
Legal Authority: 29 USC 655 29 USC 657

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
ANPRM	11/24/1986	51 FR 42257
ANPRM Comment Period End	02/23/1987	51 FR 42257
NPRM	11/07/1991	56 FR 57036
NPRM Comment Period End	04/06/1992
Final Action	04/00/1996

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Undetermined	Government Levels Affected: Undetermined
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
Agency Contact: Steven F. Witt Director, Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-3700, FP Building, Washington, DC 20210 Phone:202 693-2200 Fax:202 693-1671 Email: witt.steven@dol.gov