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DOL/OSHA

RIN: 1218-AA05

Publication ID: Fall 1997

Title: Respiratory Protection (Proper Use of Modern Respirators)
Abstract: In 1982, OSHA issued an ANPRM on respirators to address 6,850-11,000 cancer fatalities and 66,500 illnesses occurring annually. Existing standards had been in place for more than 20 years and did not take into consideration the current state-of-the-art for respiratory protection. In addition, the general industry standard for respirators contains redundancies and includes several advisory provisions which should be eliminated or changed. OSHA reviewed the current standards and issued a proposal to modernize the requirements on November 15, 1994 (59 FR 58884). In developing the proposal, OSHA worked closely with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). On April 17, 1995 (60 FR 19162), OSHA extended the comment period until May 15, 1995. On May 25, 1995 (60 FR 27707), OSHA published a notice to schedule a technical panel discussion on assigned protection factors as part of the pending rulemaking hearing. Hearings began on June 6, 1995 and ended on June 20, 1995. The post-hearing comment period ended on September 20, 1995. On November 7, 1995 OSHA reopened the record of the rulemaking (60 FR 56127) for the purpose of receiving comments on OSHA's scientific methodology for the development of Assigned Protection Factors (APF), referred to as the "Nicas Report". OSHA extended the comment period on the Nicas Report (61 FR 1725) to January 29, 1996. ^PIn December 1997 OSHA anticipates publishing the final respiratory protection standard, except for the reserved provision on assigned protection factors, which are numbers that estimate the degree of performance of the various classes of respirators. OSHA has developed a statistical model for analyzing available data to be used to derive APFs. Accordingly, OSHA will request further public comment on the analyses conducted using that model, the ANSI Z88.2-1992 APFs, the NIOSH Respirator Decision Logic APFs, and other relevant methodologies for deriving APFs to make certain that public input is received and fully considered before final APFs are incorporated.
Agency: Department of Labor(DOL)	Priority: Economically Significant
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda	Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage
Major: Yes	Unfunded Mandates: Private Sector
CFR Citation: 29 CFR 1910.134 29 CFR 1915.152 29 CFR 1918.102 29 CFR 1926.103
Legal Authority: 29 USC 655(b)

Timetable:

Action	Date	FR Cite
ANPRM	05/14/1982	47 FR 20803
ANPRM Comment Period End	09/13/1982
Public Comment Period on Preproposal Draft Ends	11/29/1985
NPRM	11/15/1994	59 FR 58884
Final Action	12/00/1997

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No	Government Levels Affected: Federal, Local, State, Tribal
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