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Asbestos controls during roofing work

Summary A senator asked OSHA to respond to a roofing contractor’s concerns about the revised asbestos standard. OSHA said the rule applied to asbestos-containing roofing materials, referred to a settlement with industry representatives and noted that most provisions had been delayed to July 1995. OSHA labels the letter an archive document.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1995-04-05-0
Date issued
April 5, 1995
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 9, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1926 Asbestos Roofing
Source
View the official document

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The current status of this document is unclear
OSHA labels this an archive document and warns that it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

April 5, 1995

The Honorable Strom Thurmond
United States Senate
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Senator Thurmond:

Thank you for your letter of March 6 on behalf of your constituent, Victor Montgomery, expressing concern about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) newly revised asbestos standard as it pertains to roofing. Please accept our apology for the delay in this response.

Numerous workers have contracted cancer and other serious diseases from exposure to asbestos fibers. The revised OSHA standard protects against these diseases by requiring that asbestos-containing materials be handled in a manner that minimizes worker exposure to asbestos fibers. The standard applied to roofing operations because many roofing materials contain asbestos.

OSHA has engaged in productive discussions of the concerns of representatives of the roofing industry, who petitioned for review of the asbestos standards. The resulting settlement agreement is enclosed.

As you might be aware, to allow more time for implementation of compliance with the standards, OSHA has extended the effective date for most provisions to July 10, 1995 (Federal Register 60:9624, February 21, 1995).

Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health.

Sincerely,
Joseph A. Dear
Assistant Secretary
Enclosure

[Congressional inquiry and constituent materials reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]

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