News Release USDL: 95-248
Thursday, June 29, 1995
Contact: Frank Kane, (202) 219-8151

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a number of corrections and clarifications to its final rules for improving protection for millions of workers exposed to asbestos on the job.

They will assist in compliance with the package of standards for worker protection against asbestos exposures in general industry, construction and shipyard employment that were issued Aug. 10, 1994. Those standards will significantly reduce cancer deaths caused by asbestos exposure.

Since the final rules were issued, technical and typographical errors were discovered in both the preamble and regulatory text. Members of the regulated public also asked OSHA to clarify or correct some provisions.

All the corrections to the standards are deemed to be minor amendments that are based on the existing rulemaking record and are not intended to affect worker protection in a significant way.

The corrections include correction of typographical errors; corrections that clarify OSHA's intent but do not change substantive requirements imposed by the standards; and corrections intended to better carry out the agency's intent when the standards were issued.

After the asbestos standards were issued, various parties filed petitions asking that a number of the provisions of the standard be reconsidered or clarified. OSHA has settled three such cases. The resulting clarifications are included in this notice.

The asbestos standards took effect Oct. 11, 1994. A new lower exposure limit of O.1 fibers per cubic centimeter (O.1 f/cc) was effective on that date, but provisions covering medical surveillance, respiratory protection, employee training and engineering control requirements had start-up dates from Jan. 9, 1995, to April 10, 1995. Dates for those provisions are being extended in a separate notice to Oct. 1, 1995.

The corrections and clarifications to the standards are published in the June 29, 1995, Federal Register.