• Home
• Workers
• Regulations
• Enforcement
• Data & Statistics
• Training
• Publications
• Newsroom
• Small Business

News Release USDL: 97-90
Thursday, March 13, 1997
Contact: Frank Kane, (202) 219-8151

Representatives of shipyard operators, labor, professional associations, public interest groups, and government agencies will meet in Lockport, La., April 8-10 to continue work on a proposed standard for fire protection for shipyard workers.

It will be the third meeting of the Fire Protection And Shipyard Employment Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee, formed to develop consensus on a proposal for a standard under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

"Members of this committee represent all groups that would be significantly affected by such a standard," Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Gregory R. Watchman noted. "OSHA has had success with negotiated rulemaking advisory committees in the past, and we are confident that this process will result in an excellent proposal to protect shipyard workers against fire hazards."

The public sessions of the committee will run from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. daily April 8-10 at Bollinger Shipyard, 20 miles east of Thibodaux on Highway 308, Lockport, La., telephone (505) 532-2554.

The agenda for the sessions includes:

• Review of the "Scope and Application" sections of the preamble and regulatory text;

• a work group draft of the "Fire Watches" section; and

• reports on the status of other work group assignments on "Fire Response," "Safe Work Practices," and "Fire Protection."

The committee will break into work group sessions as needed. There is no advance registration for the meeting. The facilitator will decide to what extent oral presentations by members of the public will be permitted. Individuals with disabilities who wish to attend should contact Theda Kenney at (202) 219-8061.

Written comments should be directed to Docket S-051. Four copies should be sent to the OSHA Docket Office, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone (202) 219-7894. Minutes of the committee's previous meetings and materials prepared for the committee are available for public inspection at this address. Notice of the Lockport, La., meeting is to be published in the Friday, March 14, 1997, Federal Register.