[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 68 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18924-18925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-07408]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001]
RIN 1218-AC93


Hazard Communication Standard

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The period for submitting public comments is being extended by 
30 days to allow stakeholders interested in the proposed rule 
additional time to review the proposed rule and collect information and 
data necessary for comment.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule that published at 86 FR 
9576 on February 16, 2021, is extended. Comments on the NPRM (including 
requests for hearing) and other information must be submitted by May 
19, 2021.
    Informal public hearing: OSHA will schedule an informal public 
hearing on the proposed rule if requested during the comment period. If 
a hearing is requested, the location and date of the

[[Page 18925]]

hearing, procedures for interested parties to notify the agency of 
their intention to participate, and procedures for participants to 
submit their testimony and documentary evidence will be announced in 
the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: 
    Written comments: You may submit comments and attachments, 
identified by Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001, electronically at http://www.regulations.gov, which is the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Follow 
the instructions online for making electronic submissions. After 
accessing ``all documents and comments'' in the docket (Docket No. 
OSHA-2019-0001), check the ``proposed rule'' box in the column headed 
``Document Type,'' find the document posted on the date of publication 
of this document, and click the ``Comment Now'' link. When uploading 
multiple attachments to www.regulations.gov, please number all of your 
attachments because www.regulations.gov will not automatically number 
the attachments. This will be very useful in identifying all 
attachments in the preamble. For example, Attachment 1_title of your 
document, Attachment 2_title of your document, Attachment 3_title of 
your document. For assistance with commenting and uploading documents, 
please see the Frequently Asked Questions on regulations.gov.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency's name and 
the docket number for this rulemaking (Docket No. OSHA-2019-0001). All 
comments, including any personal information you provide, are placed in 
the public docket without change and may be made available online at 
http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, OSHA cautions commenters about 
submitting information they do not want made available to the public, 
or submitting materials that contain personal information (either about 
themselves or others), such as Social Security Numbers and birthdates.
    Docket: To read or download comments and materials submitted in 
response to this Federal Register document, go to Docket No. OSHA-2019-
0001 at http://www.regulations.gov. All comments and submissions are 
listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index; however, some 
information (e.g., copyrighted material) is not publicly available to 
read or download through that website. All comments and submissions, 
including copyrighted material, are available for inspection through 
the OSHA Docket Office.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Documents submitted to the docket by OSHA or stakeholders 
are assigned document identification numbers (Document ID) for easy 
identification and retrieval. The full Document ID is the docket 
number plus a unique four-digit code. OSHA is identifying supporting 
information in this notice by author name, publication year, and the 
last four digits of the Document ID.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Director, Office of 
Communications, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor; telephone: (202) 693-1999; email: 
meilinger.francis2@dol.gov.
    For general information and technical inquiries: Contact Maureen 
Ruskin, Acting Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of 
Labor; telephone (202) 693-1950 or fax (202) 693-1678; email: 
ruskin.maureen@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 16, 2021, OSHA published a 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Hazard Communication 
Standard (HCS) to align with the United Nations' Globally Harmonized 
System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) Revision 7, 
to address specific issues that have arisen since OSHA last updated the 
HCS in 2012, and to provide better alignment with other U.S. agencies 
and international trading partners, without lowering the overall 
protections of the standard.
    The public comment period for this NPRM was to close on April 19, 
2021, 60 days after publication of the NPRM. However, OSHA received 
comments from stakeholders requesting extensions of the public comment 
period (Document ID 0272 (requesting a minimum of 30 additional days), 
0274 (requesting a minimum of 30 additional days), and 0276 (requesting 
extension of 60 days)). The comments state that due to the breadth and 
complexity of the technical issues involved in this rulemaking, more 
time is needed to gather data and information and to coordinate 
responses from organization members to develop more comprehensive and 
detailed comments.
    OSHA agrees to an extension and believes a 30-day extension of the 
public comment period is sufficient and appropriate in order to address 
these stakeholder requests. Therefore, the public comment period will 
be extended until May 19, 2021.

Authority and Signature

    This document was prepared under the direction of James S. 
Frederick, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. It is issued under the 
authority of sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health 
Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657); 5 U.S.C. 553; section 304, Clean 
Air Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-549, reprinted at 29 U.S.C.A. 
655 Note); section 41, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act 
(33 U.S.C. 941); section 107, Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards 
Act (40 U.S.C. 3704); section 1031, Housing and Community Development 
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4853); section 126, Superfund Amendments and 
Reauthorization Act of 1986, as amended (reprinted at 29 U.S.C.A. 655 
Note); Secretary of Labor's Order No. 8-2020 (85 FR 58383-94); and 29 
CFR part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on April 6, 2021.
James S. Frederick,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety 
and Health.
[FR Doc. 2021-07408 Filed 4-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-26-P


