Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire Prevention Plans by OSHA

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

RIN 1218-AB82

Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire Prevention Plans

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is revising its standards for means of egress. The purpose of this revision is to rewrite the existing requirements in clearer language so they will be easier to understand by employers, employees, and others who use them.

The revisions reorganize the text, remove inconsistencies among sections, and eliminate duplicative requirements. The rules are performance-oriented to the extent possible, and more concise than the original, with fewer subparagraphs, and fewer cross-references to other OSHA standards. Additionally, a table of contents has been added that is intended to make the standards easier to use.

Also, OSHA is changing the name of the subpart from "Means of Egress" to "Exit Routes, Emergency Action Plans, and Fire Prevention Plans" to better describe the contents.

Finally, OSHA has evaluated the National Fire Protection Association's Standard 101, Life Safety Code, 2000 Edition (NFPA 101-2000), and has concluded that the standard provides comparable safety to the Exit Routes Standard. Therefore, employers who wish to comply with the NFPA 101-2000 instead of the OSHA standards for Exit Routes may do so.

DATES: The final rule becomes effective December 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES: In accordance with 28 U.S.C. 2112(a), the Agency designates the Associate Solicitor of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Office of the Solicitor of Labor, Room S-4004, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210 to receive petitions for review of the final rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: OSHA, Ms. Bonnie Friedman, Director, Office of Public Affairs, N-3647, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1999. For additional copies of this Federal Register document, contact: OSHA, Office of Publications, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-3103, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-1888.

For electronic copies of this Federal Register document, as well as news releases, fact sheets, and other relevant documents, visit OSHA's homepage at http://www.osha.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: References to comments and testimony in the rulemaking record (Docket S-052) are found throughout the text of the preamble. In the preamble comments are identified by an assigned exhibit number as follows: "Ex. 5-1" means Exhibit 5-1 in Docket S-052. For quoted material in the preamble, the page number where the quote can be located is included if other than page one. The transcript of the public hearing is cited by the page number as follows: Tr. 37. A list of the exhibits, copies of the exhibits, and transcripts are available in the OSHA Docket Office.