Title of Regulation: 16VAC25-90. Federal Identical General Industry Standards (amending Appendix A to 16VAC25-90-1910.134).

Statutory Authority: § 40.1-22 of the Code of Virginia; Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-596).

Effective Date: March 31, 2020.

Agency Contact: Holly Trice, Senior Staff Attorney and Regulatory Coordinator, Department of Labor and Industry, 600 East Main Street, Suite 207, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 786-2641, FAX (804) 371-6524, or email holly.trice@doli.virginia.gov.

Summary:

In a final rule, federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration approved two additional quantitative fit testing protocols for inclusion in Appendix A of the Respiratory Protection Standard, including the modified ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter (CNC) quantitative fit testing protocol for full-facepiece and half-mask elastomeric respirators and the modified ambient aerosol CNC quantitative fit testing protocol for filtering facepiece respirators. The protocols apply to employers in general industry, shipyard employment, and the construction industry. In this regulatory action, the board is adopting this final rule.

Note on Incorporation by Reference: Pursuant to § 2.2-4103 of the Code of Virginia, 29 CFR Part 1910 (Occupational Safety and Health Standards) is declared a document generally available to the public and appropriate for incorporation by reference. For this reason, this document will not be printed in the Virginia Register of Regulations. A copy of this document is available for inspection at the Department of Labor and Industry, Main Street Centre, 600 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219, and in the office of the Registrar of Regulations, 900 East Main Street, 11th Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Statement of Final Agency Action: On March 5, 2020, the Safety and Health Codes Board adopted the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final rule for Additional Ambient Aerosol CNC Quantitative Fit Testing Protocols: Respiratory Protection Standard, as published in 84 FR 50739 through 84 FR 50756 on September 26, 2019, with an effective date of March 31, 2020.

Federal Terms and State Equivalents: When the regulations as set forth in the revised Final Rule for the Respiratory Protection Standard are applied to the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry or to Virginia employers, the following federal terms shall be considered to read as follows: