OSHA ruling for Employers on Arc Flash PPE

NEW OSHA RULING

OSHA Announced: PPE will be Provided by the Employer at NO COST to the Employee

OSHA has announced a final rule that all PPE, with a few exceptions, will be provided by the employer at no cost to the employee. OSHA anticipates that this rule will have substantial safety benefits that will result in more than 21,000 fewer occupational injuries per year. This new ruling helps clarify the cost responsibility for the requirements found in OSHA 1910.132.

OSHA 1910.132(d)(1) The employer shall assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). If such hazards are present, or likely to be present, the employer shall:

OSHA 1910.132(d)(1)(i) Select, and have each affected employee use, the types of PPE that will protect the affected employee from the hazards identified in the hazard assessment;

“Employees exposed to safety and health hazards may need to wear personal protective equipment to be protected from injury, illness, and death caused by exposure to those hazards,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Edwin G. Foulke Jr. “This final rule will clarify who is responsible for paying for PPE, which OSHA anticipates will lead to greater compliance and potential avoidance of thousands of workplace injuries each year.

”The final rule contains a few exceptions for ordinary safety-toed footwear, ordinary prescription safety eyewear, and logging boots. The final rule also clarifies OSHA’s requirements regarding payment for employee-owned PPE and replacement PPE. While these clarifications have added several paragraphs to the regulatory text, the final rule provides employees no less protection than they would have received under the 1999 proposed standard.

The rule also provides an enforcement deadline of 6 months from the date of publication in the Federal Register to allow employers time to change their existing PPE payment policies to accommodate the final rule. The final ruling becomes effective February 13, 2008. The final rule

must be implemented by May 15, 2008.

OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269(1)(6)(iii) “The employer shall ensure each employee who is exposed to the hazards of flames or electric arcs does not wear clothing that, when exposed to flames and arcs, could increase the extent of injury that would be sustained by the employee.”

Clothing made from acetate, nylon, polyester, acrylic, polyethylene and rayon, in either pure or blended forms, should NOT be worn when working in hazardous environments

Clothing made from 100% cotton or wool must be determined acceptable for the conditions the worker will be exposed to. Clothing made from flame-resistant materials, that meet current ASTM F1506, is acceptable.

ASTM F1506 details the specs of a textile to be used by an electrical worker as a means of electrical arc protection. A garment must include a label, which states the following information: Tracking I.D. Code, Meets ASTM F1506, Manufacturer’s name, Care Instructions & Fiber Content, Size, and “Arc Rating” – ATPV or EBT

ASTM F1278 is the test method used to measure arc rated products intended to protect the face of workers exposed to electrical parts