August 12, 1994

Mr. Paul H. Dittmer Vice President and General Manager W.H. Salisbury and Co. Box 1060 7520 N. Long Ave. Skokie, Illinois 60077

Dear Mr. Dittmer:

This is in response to your June 17 letter, requesting that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) treat the use of Class 00 rubber insulating gloves manufactured by W.H. Salisbury and by North Hand Protection as being in compliance with the Electrical Protective Equipment Standard, 29 CFR 1910.137, or, at most, only a de minimis violation of the 1910.137 standard. You provided supporting information in your letter, and you concluded that when the aforementioned Class 00 Rubber Insulating Gloves are used at 500 volts alternating current (VAC)/750 volts direct current (VDC) or less, electrical workers are just as safe as when using Class 0 Rubber Insulating Gloves which comply with the 1910.137 standard.

The requirements on rubber insulating gloves contained in 1910.137 are based on the American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standard ASTM D120, Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Gloves. We are aware of the proposed amendment to this ASTM standard, currently being prepared for balloting by the ASTM F-18 committee, as described in your letter. When the ASTM D120 standard, as amended to include the specification for Class 00 Rubber Insulating Gloves is adopted, OSHA will consider an employee who uses Class 00 Rubber Insulating Gloves which meet the amended ASTM D120 standards (which will include use voltage limitations) as a de minimis violation. De minimis violations are violations of existing OSHA standards which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Such violations of the OSHA standards result in no citation, no penalty and no required abatement. Until the amendment to the ASTM D120 standard is made, use of the Class 00 insulating gloves will be considered a violation of the 1910.137 standard, and penalties may be proposed.

We appreciate your interest in employee safety and health. If we can be of further assistance, please contact the Office of General Industry Compliance Assistance, Ronald Davies on 202-219-8031 extension 110.

Sincerely,

John B. Miles, Jr., Director Directorate of Compliance Programs