29 C.F.R. § 1960.34 General provisions.
Within six months of the effective date of this part, the Secretary of Labor and the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) shall initiate a study of conflicts that may exist in their standards concerning Federal buildings, leased space, products purchased or supplied, and other requirements affecting Federal employee safety and health. Both agencies shall establish and publish a joint procedure for resolving conflicting standards. All other Federal agencies that have authority for purchasing equipment, supplies, and materials, and for controlling Government space, as well as the leasing of space, shall also be subject to the requirements of this subpart, including publication of a procedure for resolving conflicting standards.
(a) In order to assist agencies in carrying out their duties under section 19 of the Act, Executive Order 12196, and this part, the Administrator or the Administrator's designee shall:
(1) Upon an agency's request, furnish for any owned or leased space offered to a Federal agency for occupancy:
(i) A report of a recent pre-occupancy inspection to identify serious hazards or serious violations of OSHA standards or approved alternate standards, and
(ii) A plan for abatement of the hazards and violations discovered;
(2) Provide space which:
(i) Meets any special safety and health requirements submitted by the requesting agency, and
(ii) Does not contain either serious hazards or serious violations of OSHA standards or approved alternate standards which cannot be abated;
(3) Repair, renovate, or alter, upon an agency's request, owned or leased space in a planned and controlled manner to reduce or eliminate, whenever possible, any hazardous exposure to the occupant agency's employees;
(4) Accompany, upon request, the Secretary or the Secretary's designee on any inspection or investigation of a facility subject to the authority of the General Services Administration. Requests made for this purpose shall, whenever possible, be made at the GSA regional level in order to facilitate prompt assistance;
(5) Investigate, upon an official agency request, reports of unsafe or unhealthful conditions within the scope of GSA's responsibility. Such investigation, when requiring an on-site inspection, shall be completed within 24 hours for imminent danger situations, within three working days for potentially serious conditions, and within 20 working days for other safety and health risk conditions;
(6) Abate unsafe or unhealthful conditions disclosed by reports, investigation or inspection within 30 calendar days or submit to the occupant agency's designated liaison official an abatement plan. Such abatement plan shall give priority to the allocation of resources to bring about prompt abatement of the conditions. (GSA shall publish procedures for abatement of hazards in the Federal Property Management Regulations—41 CFR part 101);
(7) Establish an occupancy permit program which will regulate the types of activities and occupancies in facilities in order to avoid incompatible groupings, e.g., chemical or biological laboratories in office space. GSA shall seek to consolidate Federal laboratory operations in facilities designed for such purposes;
(8) Ensure, insofar as possible, that agency safety and health problems still outstanding are resolved, or otherwise answered by acceptable alternatives prior to renegotiation of leases; and
(9) Ensure that GSA or other Federal lessor agencies' building managers maintain a log of reports of unsafe or unhealthful conditions submitted by tenants to include: date of receipt of report, action taken, and final resolution.
(b) Product safety. Agencies such as GSA, DOD, and others which procure and provide supplies, equipment, devices, and material for their own use or use by other agencies, except for the design of uniquely military products as set forth in § 1960.2(i), shall establish and maintain a product safety program which:
(1) Ensures that items procured will allow user agencies to use such products safely for their designed purpose and will facilitate user compliance with all applicable standards.
(2) Requires that products meet the applicable safety and health requirements of Federal law and regulations issued thereunder;
(3) Ensures that hazardous material will be labelled in accordance with current law or regulation to alert users, shippers, occupational safety and health, and emergency action personnel, and others, to basic information concerning flammability, toxicity, compatibility, first aid procedures, and normal as well as emergency handling and disposal procedures;
(4) Ensures availability of appropriate safety rescue and personal protective equipment to supply user agencies. The writing of Federal procurement specifications will be coordinated by GSA with OSHA/NIOSH as needed to assure purchase of approved products;
(5) Ensures that products recalled by the manufacturer, either voluntarily or by order from a regulatory authority, are removed from inventory. Each recall notice or order shall be forwarded to all agencies which have ordered such product from or through the procuring/supplying Federal agency, e.g., GSA, DOD, etc.;
(6) Includes preparation of FEDSTD 313, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), involving all interested agencies in review to keep the standard current. MSDS provided by agencies or contractors shall meet the requirements of FEDSTD 313 and be furnished to DOD for filing and distribution.
(c) In order to assist agencies in carrying out their duties under section 19 of the Act, Executive Order 12196, and this part, the DOD operates and maintains an automated system to receive, file, reproduce, and make available MSDS data to other Federal agencies through the Government Printing Office or the National Technical Information Services.
(d) All Federal agencies shall use MSDS either provided by DOD, or acquired directly from suppliers, when purchasing hazardous materials (as defined in FEDSTD 313) for local use. These data will be used to develop detailed procedures to advise employees in the workplace of the hazards involved with the materials and to protect them therefrom.
(e) Safety and health services. GSA will operate and maintain for user agencies the following services:
(1) Listings in the “Federal Supply Schedule” of safety and health services and equipment which are approved for use by agencies when needed. Examples of such services are: Workplace inspections, training, industrial hygiene surveys, asbestos bulk sampling, and mobile health testing; examples of such equipment are: personal protective equipment and apparel, safety devices, and environmental monitoring equipment;
(2) Rules for assistance in the preparation of agency “Occupant Emergency Plans” (formerly called “Facility Self-Protection Plans”), to be published by GSA at 41 CFR part 101;
(3) An effective maintenance program in the Interagency Motorpool System which will ensure the safety and health of Federal employees utilizing the vehicles. Critical items to be included are: Exhaust systems, brakes, tires, lights, steering, and passenger restraint or other crash protection systems; and
(4) A rapid response system whereby agencies can alert GSA to unsafe or unhealthful items purchased or contracted for by GSA, which in turn will evaluate the reports, initiate corrective action, as appropriate, and advise use agencies of interim protective measures.