New rule changes that could affect your purchasing plans
By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/12/1998
* Methylene Chloride. osha has given larger companies (20 or more employees) more time to put respirator programs and engineering controls in place under its lower permitted exposure level (PEL) for methylene chloride. osha, which cut the PEL standard from 500 ppm to 25 ppm parts air effective last April, originally gave most employers deadlines from last Dec. 10 to April 10 this year to start implementing a respirator program to achieve the new PEL. This deadline has now been extended to Aug. 31 (and osha says it may extend it further pending further study). For engineering controls, only employers with 20 or more workers (except poly-urethane foam manufacturers who employ 20-99 employees) were under the gun to implement engineering controls by April 10; they now have until Dec. 10.* Air bags. Fleet owners face some uncertainty about liability under the new air-bag deactivation rule issued by the National Highway Transportation Administration (nhtsa). The problem arises, says Mary Tavener, head of the American Automotive Leasing Association, because nhtsa decided to allow vehicle owners and drivers at risk of injury from air bag deployment (generally shorter persons) the option of having a driver-controlled on-off switch for the bag installed (instead of only having it deactivated mechanically, as nhtsa originally proposed). "It's unclear when fleet lessors give a vehicle to a lessee to give to a driver, who is responsible for injury if there's an on-off switch," Tavener says. aala is seeking clarification on this issue, she adds. On the other hand, she explains, lessors who opt to lease vehicles with the air bag mechanically deactivated may have a problem in terms of resale of the vehicle.
* Fasteners. Surprise! The Commerce Department missed its latest target of Dec.31 for issuing final regulations under the Fastener Quality Act [PUR Dec. 11, p.25]. Latest reading: Sometime this month. Robb Harris, managing director of the Industrial Fastener Institute, says the Department "is making progress" on the final rule. Some industry concerns raised in the comment period still have not been addressed, however. Examples Harris cites: the cost of implementation for small businesses and the question of which agencies are going to certify that fasteners meet standards if the manufacturer uses its own QS 9000 rather than independent laboratory certification. Unless Commerce allows provisional recognition of QS 9000 manufacturers they won't be able to sell their fasteners when the standard is scheduled to go into effect this May, he explains.
* osha ruling. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration published its final rule on respiratory protection on January 8, 1998. The revised standard is effective on April 8, 1998. Employers have 150 days after that date to determine whether respirators are required in their workplaces and 180 days to comply with all other provisions. osha expects approval for procedures from Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by the April start data. For more information, call Industrial Safety Equipment Association (isea) (703) 525-1695.
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