Abstract:

This final rule revokes 153 of the 194 provisions of the General
Industry Standards (29 CFR 1910) which were proposed for revocation
on May 28, 1982 (47 CFR 23477). These provisions use the word
"should," or other advisory language instead of the mandatory
"shall." Also revoked are three sections whose requirements are
repeated elsewhere in Part 1910, and one advisory paragraph which
was improperly adopted by OSHA as a mandatory provision. Public
comments and evidence in the record indicates that some of these
provisions provide valuable guidance to employers in addressing
significant workplace hazards, while the others are tied to or are
part of mandatory provisions and are critical to the application or
understanding of those provisions. In addition, OSHA is amending
1910.6 to clarify that only mandatory provisions of standard
incorporated by reference are adopted as OSHA standards. The removal
of these advisory and repetitive provisions from the standards will
facilitate OSHA's enforcement responsibilities regarding these
provisions, and will assist employers by improving the clarity of
the standards. This final rule becomes effective on February 10,
1984.