If you haven’t heard yet, OSHA has updated their 40 year old regulations that fall under codes CFR 1910.269 (Operation and Maintenance). These revisions have been under scrutiny for years now and were officially published on April 11th of this year and went into effect on July 11, 2014. Although many changes have been made, there are some that will specifically deal with fire and electrical arc safety. Some utility and construction companies have already made preparations to comply with these new regulations but all employers have until January 1st 2015 to assess the work environment of their employee’s and make reasonable estimates of incident energy. They then have until April 1st 2015 to purchase and require the employee at risk to wear the appropriate flame resistant protection. The updates to these regulations are both more consistent with other current industry standards and are believed to help save many lives as well as reduce workplace injuries in the future.
To clarify, OSHA is stating that flame resistant protection is now considered part of the employee’s personal protective equipment (PPE) – meaning it is the employer’s responsibility to make the necessary risk assessment, purchase, and maintain the appropriate protection for all employees working in areas at risk for exposure to these conditions. Implications of this are that while it is not necessary for the employer to launder the flame resistant protective garments, but they will be required to educate their employees on proper care and cleaning for the garments as well as regularly inspecting them to ensure they still comply with the proper protective standards.
Until this update, the requirements for flame resistant protection were general at best. Now it is explicitly stated that clothing worn by the employee must not melt and must not ignite and continue to burn when exposed to flames or electric arcs. It also states that wearing any clothing made from fabrics (blended or alone) that use acetate, nylon, polyester, rayon, or polypropylene are strictly prohibited unless the employer can demonstrate that the fabric has been treated to comply with the above requirements or is worn in such a way as to eliminate those hazards. Cotton and wool may still be worn since they do not melt but the material must be thick enough to meet above condition of not igniting and continuing to burn for the given risks involved. The requirements also now call for a flame resistant outer layer covering both upper and lower parts from head to toe for incident heat energy that may exceed 2.0 cal/cm2. For most work environments surpassing 2.0 cal/cm2 it means hand, foot, and head protection that meets certain levels of flame resistance will also be required unless otherwise stated under paragraphs (l)(8)(v)(A)-(E) in the 1910.269 Final Rule which can be found here: OSHA 269 Table
January and April 1st may seem like a ways off to bring your employees up to code, but it is strongly advised that you get a head start on this now since there are only so many flame resistant garments available. Get your orders in today before stock runs out!
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