scope:

INTRODUCTION

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 became a law on December 29, 1970. Its purpose is:

"TO assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by authorizing enforcement of the standards developed under the Act; by assisting and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure safe and healthful working conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in the field of occupational safety and health; and for other purposes."

This volume of Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Interpretations is comprised of national consensus standards and established Federal standards. These standards are applicable to industry in general and are known as Part 1910-Occupational Safety and Health Standards. This Part 1910 is new as a result of amending Chapter XVII of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations established in April 13, 1971 (36 F.R. 7006). This amendment was made pursuant to authority in Sections 6(a) and 8(g) of the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1593, 1600; 29 U.S.C. 655, 657).

These Part 1910 Standards were originally published in the Federal Register. They were subsequently codified and republished in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Only the Federal Register can be used as the official source or reference for such material. Every effort has been made to repeat verbatim the information published in the Federal Register-however, in the event of conflict or inconsistency, the Federal Register takes precedence as the official publication.

The purposes of publishing this set of standards and interpretations are (i) to facilitate their use through a different and easier format of the material (finding and reading specific sections and paragraphs have been greatly enhanced); and (2) to create a publication system for occupational safety and health standards, interpretations, regulations, and procedures which can be more easily maintained and revised. These standards and interpretations are available through the subscription services of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.