[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1910.1]

[Page 93-94]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
CHAPTER XVII--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                                OF LABOR
 
PART 1910--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec. 1910.1  Purpose and scope.

    Authority: Secs. 4, 6, 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
(29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); Secretary of Labor's Order Numbers 12-71 (36 
FR 8754), 8-76 (41 FR 25059), 9-83 (48 FR 35736), 1-90 (55 FR 9033), or 
6-96 (62 FR 111), as applicable.
    Sections 1910.7 and 1910.8 also issued under 29 CFR Part 1911. 
Section 1910.7(f) also issued under 31 U.S.C. 9701, 29 U.S.C. 9a, 5 
U.S.C. 553; Pub. L. 106-113 (113 Stat. 1501A-222); and OMB Circular A-25 
(dated July 8, 1993) (58 FR 38142, July 15, 1993).


    (a) Section 6(a) of the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1593) provides that ``without regard to 
chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, or to the other subsections of 
this section, the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable during the 
period beginning with the effective date of this Act and ending 2 years 
after such date, by rule promulgate as an occupational safety or health 
standard any national consensus standard, and any established Federal 
standard, unless he determines that the promulgation of such a standard 
would not result in improved safety or health for specifically 
designated employees.'' The legislative purpose of this provision is to 
establish, as rapidly as possible and without regard to the rule-making 
provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, standards with which 
industries are generally familiar, and on whose adoption interested and 
affected persons have already had an opportunity to express their views. 
Such standards are either (1) national concensus standards on whose 
adoption affected persons have reached substantial agreement, or (2) 
Federal standards already established by Federal statutes or 
regulations.
    (b) This part carries out the directive to the Secretary of Labor 
under section

[[Page 94]]

6(a) of the Act. It contains occupational safety and health standards 
which have been found to be national consensus standards or established 
Federal standards.