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Regulation decisions finalized at the January, 2006 WorkSafeBC Board of Directors meetings

The following resolutions were finalized by WorkSafeBC's Board of Directors in January 2006. For information about the function and mandate of the Board of Directors, please see Governing Structure.

At its January 2006 meeting, the Board of Directors approved several resolutions amending the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. These approved amendments relate to the public hearing conducted in the fall of 2005. A brief summary of each amendment along with a link to the related resolution is provided below. For further information, please contact the Policy & Research Division at 604 276-5160.

 

Part 12, Tools, Machinery and Equipment
Sections 12.74 to 12.80.2, Automotive Lifts and Other Vehicle Supports

Sections 12.74 through 12.80.2, regarding automotive lifts and other vehicle supports, are amended to:

  • update the regulation to reflect the most recent ANSI automotive lift standards;
  • clarify maintenance and record-keeping requirements; and
  • require automatic or fixed stops for runway type auto lifts as recommended by the Lessons Learned Committee; and
  • require swing arm restraint devices on swing arm type auto lifts.

The amendments come into effect on August 15, 2006. You may also examine the complete resolution and amendments.

Part 26, Forestry Operations
Section 26.65, Bullboards

The amendment adds to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) provisions for bullboards that previously existed in the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (MVAR). These provisions were repealed from the MVAR in March 2005, and have been established under the OHSR to ensure continuation of reasonable standards for bullboards on log trucks, for the safety of log truck drivers.

The amendments come into effect on May 17, 2006. You may also examine the complete resolution and amendments.

Part 8, Personal Protective Clothing and Equipment, and
Part 31, Firefighting
Sections relating to respirator protection

Health employers requested that the Workers’ Compensation Board repeal the current 1993 CSA standard for respirators and replace it with the 2002 edition of that standard. Of particular interest is the 2002 edition’s adoption of biennial respirator fit testing.

The amendments include:

  • References to the 1993 edition of the CSA Standard for the selection, use and care of respirators are repealed and replaced with references to the 2002 edition (with the exception of section 8.33 regarding respirator selection).
  • Part 8 requirements for annual fit testing revised to detail circumstances in which a fit test must be conducted prior to the one year anniversary of the last fit test.
  • Table 8-1 (Respirator Protection Factors) is revised to include an additional type of respirator and to define air purifying respirators as non-powered.
  • Requirements added to Part 8 regarding records, maintenance, inspection, and compressed breathing air storage limitations for self-contained breathing apparatus and related air cylinders.
  • Requirements added to Part 31 for annual fit testing and circumstances in which a fit test must be conducted prior to the one year anniversary of the last fit test.

The amendments come into effect on May 17, 2006. You may also examine the complete resolution and amendments.

Part 6, Substance Specific Requirements
Sections 6.44 to 6.58, Cytotoxic Drugs

The Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, in part, requires that all mixing, preparation and priming of administrative sets with a cytotoxic drug be performed in a designated Class II Type B biological safety cabinet (section 6.53).

Administrative sets of cytotoxic drugs delivered by syringe are often primed outside a biological safety cabinet (e.g., in a clinic, doctor’s office, or client’s home), prior to injection, in contravention with the regulations. The priming of syringes containing low dosage cytotoxic drugs need not be done inside a biological safety cabinet because the risk of exposure to the cytotoxic drugs during this activity is low if appropriate precautions/procedures are followed.

In light of the low risk of exposure to low dosage cytotoxic drugs when priming a syringe, and given that in many cases priming an administrative set in a safety cabinet is impractical, the amendments permit, in accordance with safe work procedures, the priming of syringes containing cytotoxic drugs outside a safety cabinet.

The amendments come into effect on May 17, 2006. You may also examine the complete resolution and amendments.

 

The following amendments have been included in one resolution:

Part 3, Rights and Responsibilities
Occupational Health and Safety Programs
Section 3.1, When are they required

The amendment clarifies the intent of a March 2004 regulatory amendment, which resulted in an inadvertent exemption of employers who have a large workforce but a small number of workers at each worksite from having an occupational health and safety program as required prior to March 30, 2004.

Part 6, Substance Specific Requirements
Section 6.1 (Definitions)

Section 6.1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation references “WCB method 0205” as a method for quantifying the amount of asbestos in an air sample. With the elimination of the Workers’ Compensation Board (“WCB”) laboratory in 2001, the WCB no longer supports WCB sampling/analytical methods. The amendment replaces the reference to WCB Method 0205 with a reference to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 9002 or other method acceptable to the WCB.

Part 11, Fall Protection – Section 11.6, Anchors
Part 13, Ladders, Scaffolds and Temporary Work Platforms –
Section 13.33, Fall protection

The amendment clarifies the intent of existing fall protection requirements which came into effect January 1, 2005 by revising the application of the requirement to include personal fall protection systems. As well, the requirements for a temporary fall arrest system and a permanent anchor have been placed in separate subsections. A consequential amendment to section 13.33 (1) was required as a result of this change.

Part 11, Fall Protection
Section 11.7, Temporary horizontal lifelines

The amendment deletes the term “drawings” from the temporary horizontal lifeline requirements that came into effect January 1, 2005. The term “drawings” implies that the manufacturer or the engineer will develop formal drawings, whereas written instructions may be adequate and appropriate.

Part 13, Ladders, Scaffolds and Temporary Work Platforms
Section 13.29, Hoisting and lowering work platforms

The amendment is consequential to the regulatory amendments effective January 1, 2005, to reflect that some types of work platform hoists do not have lower limit travel devices and to allow for work procedures acceptable to the Workers’ Compensation Board where such devices are not practicable.

Part 14, Cranes & Hoists
Section 14.25, Two-block prevention

Effective January 1, 2005, section 13.98, regarding two-block prevention, was repealed, and section 13.28 enacted to address two-blocking. The change is a consequential amendment repealing section 14.25, which is a duplication of repealed section 13.98.

Part 20, Construction, Excavation and Demolition
Section 20.13, Thrust-out crane landing platforms

The amendment recognizes the increased capacity of cranes in relation to landing platforms and introduces requirements to ensure that landing platforms are not overloaded.

Part 20, Construction, Excavation and Demolition
Section 20.102, Suspended work platforms

The amendment is consequential to the regulatory amendment to s.13.27, effective January 1, 2005, to address the concern raised by the marine and pile driving industry at the 2004 public hearing that the newly amended section13.27 requires the use of two cranes for activities historically completed with one crane.

The amendments come into effect on May 17, 2006. You may also examine the complete resolution and amendments.