NFPA 33 compliance and OSHA spray-finishing citations

May 14, 1996

Mr. Stephen H. Jero
Manager of Product Testing
Research Products Corporation
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Jero:

Thank you for your letter of April 12 requesting a written interpretation for questions related to compliance with NFPA 33 (1995 edition). You inquired as to whether compliance with NFPA 33 offered "equal or greater employee protection" and if a company would be cited if they comply with NFPA 33.

To address your first concern, OSHA's policy is that compliance with NFPA 33(1995 edition) offers at least "equal" employee protection in areas specifically addressed in that document. As for your second concern, we are unable to give this type of generic interpretation of compliance. A compliance officer will deal with such compliance issues on a case-by-case basis to completely evaluate the specific and unique circumstances in order to verify whether employees are being provided equal or greater protection.

An employer who complies with a consensus standard, such as NFPA-33, rather than an OSHA standard in effect at the time of inspection and clearly provides equal or greater employee protection will not be cited (OSHA's De Minimis policy, OSHA Instruction 2.103, September 26, 1994, Field Instruction Reference Manual, Chapter III-19 and 20, attached).

We hope that this interpretation is useful to you. Should you need further assistance, please contact Margo Daniel, of my staff, at (202)219-8041, extension #107. Thank you for your interest in safety and health.

Sincerely,
John B. Miles, Jr., Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs

[Requester letter reproduced on OSHA page; omitted here.]