OSHA Final Rule Updates Eye and Face Protection Standards
Employers are not required to update or replace protection devices solely because of this new rule and may continue to follow their current and usual practices for their eye and face protection.
OSHA announced it has published a final rule updating the requirements for eye and face personal protective equipment for workers in general industry, shipyards, longshoring, marine terminals, and construction, in order to ensure that the requirements reflect current national consensus standards and that workers can wear up-to-date eye and face protection. The rule updates references in OSHA's Eye and Face Protection Standards to recognize ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2010, Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, while deleting the outdated 1986 edition of that standard. OSHA retained the 2003 and 1989 (R-1998) versions of the ANSI standard already referenced in its standard.
The final rule also updates the construction standard by deleting the 1968 version of the ANSI standard that was referenced and now includes the same three ANSI standards, in order to ensure consistency. This final rule becomes effective April 25, 2016.
Employers are not required to update or replace protection devices solely because of this new rule and may continue to follow their current and usual practices for their eye and face protection.
OSHA on March 13, 2015, published an NPRM to revise its eye and face protection standards. The agency received no significant adverse comments on the proposal, so the final rule update has been issued as proposed. The rule has no compliance or economic burdens associated with it, according to the rule's text.