This book contains the occupational safety and health standards for general industry promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), effective January 2009. Although this is not an official OSHA publication, it reproduces in full the text of regulations contained in the official OSHA government version at Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910.

Also includes:

• 1903 regulations on inspections, citations, and proposed penalties
• 1904 regulations covering occupational injury and illness record-keeping and reporting
• 1990 carcinogen policy and model standards
• Entire text of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, including §5(a) (the "General Duty" clause.

Recent Amendments:

Important amendments, additions, and other changes to the OSHA standards have been implemented since the last edition was produced.

Interpretation Letters:

OSHA's recent letters of interpretation reprinted in this edition allow employers and employees to see how the agency addresses certain compliance questions raised by the public. The initial letter discusses lineman belts and hooks that provide protection to employees from falls while climbing and/or performing work. This equipment is PPE and employers must pay for it when the equipment is used to comply with an OSHA standard.

Another letter discusses an employer's requirement to determine, in advance, whether employees are likely to disturb asbestos containing materials (ACM) or presumed asbestos containing materials (PACM) and to train accordingly. The letter notes that employees doing work in which ACM or PACM is likely to be disturbed must be trained to the Class III level.

Employee concerns about overexposure to formaldehyde at FEMA trailer manufacturing sites is addressed in the next letter. According to OSHA's Integrated Management and Information Systems (IMIS) data, no inspections were conducted in response to employee complaints of alleged over exposure to formaldehyde at trailer manufacturing sites after the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Also of interest is a letter that clarifies several recordkeeping scenarios regarding days away from work, restricted work activity, and work-relatedness.

Clarification is offered concerning a chemical manufacturer's responsibility with regard to inorganic arsenic under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard and specifically, whether or not OSHA takes into consideration the type of casing material or chemical compound (i.e., paint, thermoplastic, glass beads) when determining employee exposure.

Training requirements are addressed in another letter, which provides guidance on whether a single 12-hour combination course can meet both the HAZWOPER refresher training requirement under 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(8) and the OSHA 10-hour construction industry outreach training program. A 12-hour combination-training program may be offered, provided the appropriate subjects or topics for the HAZWOPER refresher training and also those subjects or topics required in the OSHA guidelines for the 10-hour construction industry outreach training are both satisfied.

The Bloodborne Pathogens standard addresses the requirement for blood testing as part of a post-exposure evaluation, and a letter clarifies that an employer may not have employees sign a consent form waiving the right to have untested baseline blood maintained for the minimum time limitation of 90 days.

Employee injuries sustained in company parking lot, neither of which involved a motor vehicle accident but resulted from injuries when the employees fell out of their parked vehicle and struck the parking lot, must be recorded on the establishment's log if they meet the other recording criteria, according to another letter. OSHA does not have any specific requirements related to the longitudinal spacing of means of emergency egress for non-construction employees, cast steps, or otherwise in concrete drainage ditches; consequently, another letter discusses an employer's compliance duty under the General Duty clause in such circumstances.

Finally, in response to a request to provide a list of corrosive materials and concentrations requiring use of emergency eyewashes and showers, a letter notes that OSHA does not have a listing of corrosive materials that would require an eyewash and/or emergency shower.