Regulations

Section 5(a) 1 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act), also known as the General Duty Clause, requires that employers "shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees."  Therefore, even if an OSHA standard has not been promulgated that deals with a specific hazard or hazardous operation, the protection of workers from all hazards or hazardous operations may be enforceable under section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act. For example, best practices that are issued by non-regulatory organizations such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Research Council (NRC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), can be enforceable under section 5(a)(1).  

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/completeoshact

Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories standard (29 CFR 1910.1450)

Commonly referred to as the Laboratory Standard, these regulations require that the employer designate a Chemical Hygiene Officer and have a written Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP), and actively verify that it remains effective. The CHP must include provisions for worker training, chemical exposure monitoring where appropriate, medical consultation when exposure occurs, criteria for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and engineering controls, special precautions for particularly hazardous substances, and a requirement for a Chemical Hygiene Officer responsible for implementation of the CHP.  The CHP must be tailored to reflect the specific chemical hazards present in the laboratory where it is to be used. Laboratory personnel must receive training regarding the Laboratory standard, the CHP, and other laboratory safety practices, including exposure detection, physical and health hazards associated with chemicals, and protective measures.

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1450

Sometimes called the HazCom standard, this a set of requirements first issued in 1983 by OSHA. The standard requires evaluating the potential hazards of chemicals, and communicating information concerning those hazards and appropriate protective measures to employees. The standard includes provisions for: developing and maintaining a written hazard communication program for the workplace, including lists of hazardous chemicals present; labeling of containers of chemicals in the workplace, as well as of containers of chemicals being shipped to other workplaces; preparation and distribution of material safety data sheets (MSDSs) to workers and downstream employers; and development and implementation of worker training programs regarding hazards of chemicals and protective measures. This OSHA standard requires manufacturers and importers of hazardous chemicals to provide material safety data sheets to users of the chemicals describing potential hazards and other information. They must also attach hazard warning labels to containers of the chemicals. Employers must make MSDSs available to workers. They must also train their workers in the hazards caused by the chemicals workers are exposed to and the appropriate protective measures that must be used when handling the chemicals.

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1200

This standard includes changes mandated by the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2001,  and requires employers to protect workers from infection with human bloodborne pathogens in the workplace. The standard covers all workers with “reasonably anticipated” exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM). It requires that information and training be provided before the worker begins work that may involve occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens, annually thereafter, and before a worker is offered hepatitis B vaccination. The Bloodborne Pathogens standard also requires advance information and training for all workers in research laboratories who handle human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV). The standard was issued as a performance standard, which means that the employer must develop a written exposure control plan (ECP) to provide a safe and healthy work environment, but is allowed some flexibility in accomplishing this goal.  Among other things, the ECP requires employers to make an exposure determination, establish procedures for evaluating incidents, and determine a schedule for implementing the standard’s requirements, including engineering and work practice controls. The standard also requires employers to provide and pay for appropriate PPE for workers with occupational exposures. Although this standard only applies to bloodborne pathogens, the protective measures in this standard (e.g., ECP, engineering and work practice controls, administrative controls, PPE, housekeeping, training, post-exposure medical follow-up) are the same measures for effectively controlling exposure to other biological agents.

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030

This standard requires that employers provide and pay for PPE and ensure that it is used wherever “hazards of processes or environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants are encountered in a manner capable of causing injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact.” [29 CFR 1910.132(a) and 1910.132(h)]. To determine whether and what PPE is needed, the employer must “assess the workplace to determine if hazards are present, or are likely to be present, which necessitate the use of [PPE],”  
29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1). Based on that assessment, the employer must select appropriate PPE (e.g., protection for eyes, face, head, extremities; protective clothing; respiratory protection; shields and barriers) that will protect the affected worker from the hazard, 29 CFR 1910.132 (d)(1)(i), communicate selection decisions to each affected worker, 29 CFR 1910.132 (d)(1)(ii), and select PPE that properly fits each affected employee, 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)(iii). Employers must provide training for workers who are required to use PPE that addresses when and what PPE is necessary, how to wear and care for PPE properly, and the limitations of PPE, 29 CFR 1910.132(f).

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.132

 This standard requires employers to ensure that each affected worker uses appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation, 29 CFR 1910.133(a).

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.133

This standard requires that a respirator be provided to each worker when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of such individual. The employer must provide respirators that are appropriate and suitable for the purpose intended, as described in 29 CFR 1910.134(d)(1). The employer is responsible for establishing and maintaining a respiratory protection program, as required by 29 CFR 1910.134(c), that includes, but is not limited to, the following: selection of respirators for use in the workplace; medical evaluations of workers required to use respirators; fit testing for tight-fitting respirators; proper use of respirators during routine and emergency situations; procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing and discarding of respirators; procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators; training of workers in respiratory hazards that they may be exposed to during routine and emergency situations; training of workers in the proper donning and doffing of respirators, and any limitations on their use and maintenance; and regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.134

This standard requires employers to select and ensure that work-ers use appropriate hand protection when their hands are exposed to hazards such as those from skin absorption of harmful substances; severe cuts or lacerations; severe abrasions; punctures; chemi-cal burns; thermal burns; and harmful temperature extremes, 29 CFR 1910.138(a). Further, employers must base the selection of the appropriate hand protection on an evaluation of the performance characteristics of the hand protection relative to the task(s) to be performed, conditions present, dura-tion of use, and the hazards and potential hazards identified, 29 CFR 1910.138(b).

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.138

Often called the “Lockout/Tagout” standard, establishes basic requirements for locking and/or tagging out equipment while installation, maintenance, testing, repair, or construction operations are in progress. The primary purpose of the standard is to protect workers from the unexpected energization or startup of machines or equipment, or release of stored energy. The procedures apply to the shutdown of all potential energy sources associated with machines or equipment, including pressures, flows of fluids and gases, electrical power, and radiation. 

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.147

In addition to the standards listed above, other OSHA standards pertain to:

• Electrical safety (29 CFR 1910 Subpart S-Electrical)
• Fire safety (Portable Fire Extinguishers standard, 29 CFR 1910.157)
• Slips, trips and falls (29 CFR 1910 Subpart D – Walking-Working Surfaces, Subpart E -Means of Egress, and Subpart J - General Environmental Controls)

• Occupational Noise Exposure (29 CFR 1910.95)

   

These standards pertain to general industry, as well as laboratories. When laboratory workers are using large analyzers and other equipment, their potential exposure to electrical hazards associated with this equipment must be assessed by employers and appropriate precautions taken. Similarly, worker exposure to wet floors or spills and clutter can lead to slips/trips/falls and other possible injuries and employers must assure that these hazards are minimized.  While large laboratory fires are rare, there is the potential for small bench-top fires, especially in laboratories using flammable solvents. It is the responsibility of employers to implement appropriate protective measures to assure the safety of workers.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so that the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. EPA’s final rule will, among other things, prevent serious illness and death associated with uncontrolled exposures to the chemical by preventing consumer access to the chemical, restricting the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing for a reasonable transition period where an industrial and commercial use of the chemical is being prohibited, provide a time-limited exemption for a critical or essential use of methylene chloride for which no technically and economically feasible safer alternative is available, and protect workers from the unreasonable risk of methylene chloride while on the job.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-05-08/pdf/2024-09606.pdf