Group asks lawmakers to push for updated fire safety regulations

The Industrial Packaging Safety Alliance, known as PackSafe, is appealing to lawmakers for help getting the Obama administration to update its safety regulations for flammable liquids.

PackSafe has asked members of Congress to encourage the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to align its regulations with the National Fire Protection Association’s safety requirements for the transportation and warehousing of hazardous and flammable liquids.

{mosads}“We’re reaching out to members of Congress because of OSHA’s unwillingness to act on something we see as reasonable enforcement and upkeep of existing regulations,” said John McQuiad, the group’s senior adviser.

PackSafe claims confusion over the current regulatory framework threatens the safety of workers, the public and the environment.

“When a product is shipped, rules from the Department of Transportation govern the type of container selected, but when that same product arrives on the warehouse floor, it’s under OSHA’s jurisdiction,” McQuaid said.

In June the group sent a letter to OSHA asking it to update its rule. A month, later OSHA responded. In the letter to PackSafe, OSHA’s Director of Standards and Guidance William Perry said it would be a “complex undertaking” to update the rules.