OSHA’s final rule revising the standards for power generation, transmission and distribution will be published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2014. It will be effective 90 days following publication, although OSHA has adopted delayed compliance deadlines for certain requirements.
OSHA chief Dr. David Michaels estimated that the long-overdue final rule will save nearly 20 lives and prevent 118 serious injuries annually. “Electric utilities, electrical contractors, and labor organizations have long championed these much needed measures to better protect the men and women who work on or near electrical power lines,” Michaels said.
OSHA says revising the 40-year-old construction standard for electric power line work will make it more consistent with the corresponding general industry standard. Revisions are also being made to the construction and general industry requirements, including new or revised provisions for host and contract employers to share safety-related information with each other and with employees, as well as for improved fall protection for employees working from aerial lifts and on overhead line structures. In addition, the standards adopt revised approach-distance requirements to better ensure that unprotected workers do not get dangerously close to energized lines and equipment. The final rule also adds new requirements to protect workers from electric arcs.
General industry and construction standards for electrical protective equipment are also revised under the final rule. The new standard for electrical protective equipment applies to all construction work and replaces the existing construction standard, which was based on out-of-date information, with a set of performance-oriented requirements consistent with the latest revisions of the relevant consensus standards. The new standards address the safe use and care of electrical protective equipment, including new requirements that equipment made of materials other than rubber provide adequate protection from electrical hazards.
Hugh Hoagland, Sr. Managing Partner at ArcWear.com & e-Hazard.com, said the requirement for Minimum Eye Head and Face Protection in the rule will be a big surprise for for many .
OSHA says the will result in estimated monetized benefits of $179 million annually, with net benefits equal to about $130 million annually.
Additional information on the final rule is available at http://www.osha.gov/dsg/power_generation/.
