Denver — OSHA will likely extend by 30 days the comment period on its proposed heat rule, the agency announced Tuesday at the 2025 NSC Safety Congress & Expo.
Andrew Levinson, director of OSHA’s Standards and Guidance Directorate, delivered that news during the agency’s Current Activities Update technical session.
He also revealed that OSHA has received more than 43,000 comments on the proposed rule, the comment period for which is currently set to expire Sept. 30.
“We had a lot of people provide comments on the proposed rule,” Levinson said. “We had a lot of people tell us what they liked and didn’t like during public hearings. Now, we’ll get this next batch of information. Then we’ll figure out what we will change, if anything, and why. We’re still very much in the listening and learning process.”
He added that the agency is expected to “move aggressively” on its lockout/tagout update. The revised rule will likely include computer-based controls for hazardous energy.
A notice of proposed rulemaking could appear as early as December, according to the federal government’s most recent regulatory agenda.
Substance-specific respirator proposed rules
Levinson also provided insight into some of the recent proposed “deregulatory actions” from OSHA. A number of those cover substance-specific respirator requirements, including for asbestos and lead.
“These [substance-specific respirator regulations] are very old,” he said. “They had requirements for specific respirator selection baked into the standard. What we are proposing is to substitute that with an assigned protection factor and then saying all other respirator selection should be covered under 1910.134.”
He gave the example of asbestos. “There’s a requirement that you have to wear a tight-fitting full facepiece respirator. There are also loose-fitting, hooded [powered air-purifying respirators] that can protect.
“People will ask, ‘Hey, can I use this instead?’ The answer has always been no because the regulation requires a tight-fitting full facepiece respirator.”
The comment period on 20 proposed rules runs through Nov. 1.
Suicide prevention
Arlene Williams, acting director of OSHA’s Cooperative and State Programs Directorate, provided agency resources on suicide prevention awareness.
The agency has a Suicide Prevention: 5 Things You Should Know poster and a Role of Employers in Preventing Suicide handout. The poster and handout are both available in Spanish.
“We know that not all hazards are visible,” acting OSHA administrator Amanda Wood Laihow said during her Occupational Keynote on Tuesday. “Workplace safety is not just about preventing physical injuries; it should also include protecting the mental well-being of workers.
“Too often, mental health and suicide are recognized separately from workplace safety issues, but the truth is when workers are struggling, it affects their health, safety and their ability to perform their jobs.”
