Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
law.to.a.newly.created.agency,.the.Occupational.Safety.and.Health.Administration.
(OSHA),.located.within.the.United.States.Department.of.Labor.(DOL).
content of the oshAct
Prior.to.the.OSHAct,.there.were.some.state.laws,.a.few.pieces.of.federal.regulation,.
and.a.small.number.of.voluntary.programs.by.employers..Most.of.the.state.programs.
were.limited.in.scope.and.the.federal.laws.only.partially.covered.workers.
Another.important.reason.for.the.OSHAct.was.the.increasing.number.of.injuries.
and.illnesses.within.the.workplace..Thus,.the.OSHAct.was.passed.with.the.express.
purpose. of. insuring. that. every. working. man. and. woman. in. the. nation. would. be.
provided.safe.and.healthful.work.conditions.while.preserving.this.national.human.
resource:. the. American. worker.. The. OSHAct. is. divided. into. thirty-four. sections,.
with.each.having.a.speciic.purpose..The.full.text.of.the.OSHAct.is.approximately.
thirty-one.pages.and.a.copy.can.be.obtained.from.your.local.OSHA.ofice.
regulAtIon Process
OSHA. was. mandated. to. develop,. implement,. and. enforce. regulations. relevant. to.
workplace. safety. and. health. and. the. protection. of. workers.. Time. constraints. pre-
vented.the.newly.formed.OSHA.from.developing.brand-new.regulations..Therefore,.
OSHA.adopted.previously.existing.regulations.from.other.government.regulations,.
consensus. standards,. proprietary. standards,. professional. groups'. standards,. and.
accepted.industry.standards..This.is.the.reason.that,.today,.the.hazardous.chemical.
exposure.levels,.with.a.few.exceptions,.are.the.same.as.the.existing.Threshold.Limit.
Values.(TLVs).published.by.the.American.Conference.of.Governmental.Industrial.
Hygienist.in.1968..Once.these.TLVs.were.adopted,.it.became.very.dificult.to.revise.
them..Although.research.and.knowledge.in.the.past.40.years.has.fostered.newer.and.
safer.TLVs,.they.have.not.been.adopted.by.OSHA.
As.stated.previously,.the.original.OSHA.standards.and.regulations.have.come.from.
three. main. sources:. consensus. standards,. proprietary. standards,. and. federal. laws.
that.existed.when.the.OSHAct.became.law..Consensus.standards.are.industry-wide.
.standards.developed.by.organizations..They.are.discussed.and.substantially.agreed.
upon.through.industry.consensus..OSHA.has.incorporated.into.its.standards.the.stan-
dards.of.two.primary.groups:.the.American.National.Standards.Institute.(ANSI).and.
the.National.Fire.Protection.Association.(NFPA)..Proprietary.standards.are.prepared.
by. professional. experts. from. speciic. industries,. professional. societies,. and. asso-
ciations.. The. proprietary. standards. are. determined. by. a. straight. membership. vote,.
not by.consensus.
Some. of. the. preexisting. federal. laws. that. are. enforced. by. OSHA. include. the.
Federal. Supply. Contracts. Act. (Walsh-Healy),. the. Federal. Service. Contracts. Act.
(McNamara-O'Hara),.the.Contract.Work.Hours.and.Safety.Standard.Act.(Construction.
Safety.Act),.and.the.National.Foundation.on.the.Arts.and.Humanities.Act..Standards.
issued.under.these.Acts.are.now.enforced.in.all.industries.where.they.apply.
Standards. are. sometimes. referred. to. as. being. either. “horizontal”. or. “vertical”.
in.their.application..Most.standards.are.“horizontal”.or.“general.”.This.means.they.
apply.to.any.employer.in.any.industry..Fire.protection,.working.surfaces,.and.irst.aid.
