OSHA STANDARDS

Source of Standards
The backbone of OSHA is its mandatory safety and health standards. Although safety and health standards have existed in various forms for many years, they were voluntary standards developed by associations such as the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). It was up to the management of various industries to follow those standards voluntarily.

OSHA made compliance with its standards mandatory. OSHA also made its standards applicable to all industries in all 50 states. The law backs up the standards with an inspection force which has the power to penalize violators.

Where to Get Standards
All OSHA standards are published in the Federal Register. Therefore, subscribing to the Federal Register is a sure way to obtain all the standards.

Another way is to obtain the source copies of the standards. The ANSI standards included in OSHA can be obtained from American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018. The NFPA standards included in OSHA can be obtained from the National Fire Protection Association, 60 Batterymarch Street, Boston, MA 02110.

Remember that these standards are not free for the asking. Since they cost anywhere from $1 to $5, buying all of them could be very expensive. The best thing to do is to obtain a complete listing of the standards and buy only those that apply to your particular industry.

Another possibility is to subscribe to the publication Occupational Safety and Health Reporter, A subscription gets you two binder of OSHA standards and other reference material which are kept up-to-date by replacement pages sent weekly. You will also get a weekly technical newsletter which will keep you informed on everything related to OSHA. The Occupational Safety and Health Reporter can be ordered from the Bureau of National Affair, Inc., Washington, DC 20037. The annual subscription rate is approximately $ 300.

Other Government Rule:
Chemical Hazardous Regulation