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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

NIOSH testimony to DOL on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's proposed rule on health standards; methods of compliance by R. W. Niemeier, May 31, 1990

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5624616
The testimony addresses OSHA's proposed modification to existing provisions for controlling worker exposure to toxic substances. NIOSH supports OSHA's policy on methods of compliance for controlling these exposures. In general the policy states that whenever feasible, engineering controls and work practices should be used to prevent exposures, and that personal protective equipment, including respiratory protection, should be used only when engineering controls are not feasible. In an ordered hierarchy, the three methods for prevention of worker exposures are: prevent or contain hazardous workplace emissions at their source; remove the emissions from the pathway between the source and the worker; and control the exposure of the worker with barriers between the worker and the hazardous work environment. Essential characteristics of specific control solutions are that the levels of protection afforded workers must be reliable, consistent and adequate; that the efficacy of the protection for each individual worker must be determinable during use throughout the lifespan of the system; that the solution must minimize dependence on human intervention for its efficacy so as to increase its reliability; and that the solution must consider all routes of entry into workers' bodies and should not exacerbate existing health or safety problems or create additional problems of its own.
Research Organization:
National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
OSTI ID:
5624616
Report Number(s):
PB-91-152785/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English