OSHA issues new interim rule for PSMS Appendix A chemicals

August 19th, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently announced a change in the way chemicals falling under Appendix A of the Process Safety Management Standard are treated. According to Safety+Health magazine, an interim citation policy for the Appendix A chemicals was issued to regional and state-level authorities via memorandum in early August. The new interim rule replaces the previous guidance on the topic, a relatively new rule itself. The previous memo, issued in June 2015, is no longer the information the federal regulator wants companies to use when determining safe concentrations of chemicals present in various business processes.

Safety concern with chemical concentrations
There are a total of 137 chemicals listed in Appendix A, with just 11 including a minimum listed concentration along with the chemical name, OSHA said in memorandum. The other 126 substances present don't have a quantifiable concentration listed. OSHA said this approach led to confusion about the appropriate uses of these potentially hazardous chemicals, such as concerns regarding the use of them in pure form versus mixtures in which chemicals can be present at a number of concentrations. The federal regulator said neither the rule's specific text nor the history of its development provide guidance to organizations on that issue.

Concerns about the PSMS applying to chemicals in various concentrations - including many situations where the chemicals aren't present in their pure form but can still cause significant harm - drove the new approach outlined in the memorandum. Other concerns, such as whether a company should measure the concentration of an Appendix A chemical contained in a mixture based on only the chemical's weight or the total mixture weight, also influenced the current interim rule. OSHA noted that past issues with inconsistencies and lack of guidance led to the dismissal of a large criminal indictment involving a Pennsylvania business. Presumably, OSHA wants to avoid having its own rules and related legal judgments ignored and vacated due to gaps in interpretation.

The new enforcement policy is a 1 percent test, a clear instruction for businesses to follow that lacks the confusion present in the previous rule. OSHA's rule requires businesses to determine the total weight of a chemical when present in a concentration of more than 1 percent, when that chemical lacks a specific concentration listed in Appendix A. OSHA won't reprimand violators of the new rule until March 31, 2017, and will help organize compliance assistance through early 2018.