| RCFC |
Refractory Ceramic Fibers Coalition |
|
2300 N Street, N.W. n
Room
2110 n
Washington, DC 20037 |
|
|
|
|
|
Refractory
Ceramic Fibers Coalition and |
Shown seated from left to right: Dell Hadden, Thermal
Ceramics, Vice President of Operations; David Brooks, Unifrax Corporation,
President
and CEO, Edwin Foulke, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health; , Dean Venturin, President, RCFC
In 2002, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) endorsed a five year voluntary product stewardship program called PSP 2002. On May 23, 2007, the Refractory Ceramic Fibers Coalition (RCFC), its member companies1 renewed this voluntary product stewardship agreement with OSHA.
This new five year program, called "PSP-HTW" (High Temperature Wools), continues and builds upon PSP 2002. PSP-HTW is a highly acclaimed, multi-faceted strategic risk management initiative designed specifically to reduce workplace exposures to refractory ceramic fiber (RCF). PSP-HTW has been developed for use wherever RCF is manufactured, fabricated, installed, or removed as well as in other occupational settings where workers have potential exposure to airborne RCF. RCFC will report their progress on the implementation of PSP-HTW to OSHA annually. Although there are no reporting provisions for non-RCFC member companies, all RCF users will be encouraged to adopt the key elements of PSP-HTW.
The provisions of PSP-HTW are consistent with the 2006 NIOSH Criteria Document for RCF in that OSHA endorses the 0.5 fibers per cubic centimeter NIOSH REL, which is the same as the RCFC recommended exposure guideline.
OSHA made a special point to commend RCFC for their attention to the safety and health of workers who use RCF. In a letter to RCFC, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Edwin Foulke, commented that ". . . the actions outlined in the program that the Refractory Ceramic Fibers Coalition has committed to in order to reduce exposures to refractory ceramic fibers will certainly help in improving employee safety and health."
RCFC has long believed that product stewardship for RCF is the most responsible risk management strategy that the industry could initiate. With this agreement, OSHA formally supports these worker protection efforts and helps to continue the tradition of cooperative agreements between industry and the regulatory community.
1 The members of RCFC are Thermal Ceramics Inc. and Unifrax Corporation.
PSP HTW DOCUMENTATION
| 05/23/2007 | Letter from Assistant Secretary of Labor, OSHA, to the President of RCFC (pdf) |
| 05/23/2007 | PSP-HTW Document (pdf) |
Should you have any questions or comments about PSP-HTW, please E-mail them to Dr. Dean E. Venturin, RCFC President, at rcfc@buffnet.net.