The National Aeronautics
and Space Administration April 9 issued a final rule that will require
its contractors to design and implement safety and health programs regardless
of the size of the contract (67 Fed. Reg. 17016). "This final rule removes the dollar threshold from the Safety and Health clause prescription since safety and health requirements should be determined by the risks rather than cost of the contract requirements," NASA said in the Federal Register notice. NASA issued its proposed rule in December 2001, and the April 9 action essentially adopted the proposal as published, the agency said. The required safety and health plan must include a detailed discussion of policies and procedures that each prospective contractor plans to use to ensure the safety of contract employees on NASA projects, as well as subcontractors hired by that contractor. The final action was applauded as a "victory for safety" by the American Society of Safety Engineers, which had supported the changes. The ASSE noted that
the final rule also further limits the conditions that contractors must
meet to get their contracts excluded from the more stringent safety requirements. This paper appears in the eLCOSH website with the permission of the author and/or copyright holder and may not be reproduced without their consent. eLCOSH is an information clearinghouse. eLCOSH and its sponsors are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided on this web site, nor for its use or misuse. eLCOSH | CDC | NIOSH | Site Map | Search | Links | Help | Contact Us | Privacy Policy |