Authorizing Legislation OSHAct and MSHA 1970

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Attachment A1

   Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

Mine Safety and Health Act of 1970


















































91st Congress, S. 2193 
December 29, 1970
 As amended by Public Law 101-552, 
§3101, November 5, 1990

An Act

To assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women; by authorizing enforcement of
the standards developed under the Act; by assisting and encouraging the States in their efforts to assure safe and
healthful working conditions; by providing for research, information, education, and training in the field of
occupational safety and health; and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may
be cited as the "Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970."
….
Section 20.
(a) (1) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, after consultation with the Secretary and with other
appropriate Federal departments or agencies, shall conduct (directly or by grants or contracts) research,
experiments, and demonstrations relating to occupational safety and health, including studies of psychological
factors involved, and relating to innovative methods, techniques, and approaches for dealing with
occupational safety and health problems.
(2) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall from time to time consult with the Secretary in
order to develop specific plans for such research, demonstrations, and experiments as are necessary to
produce criteria, including criteria identifying toxic substances, enabling the Secretary to meet his
responsibility for the formulation of safety and health standards under this Act; and the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare, on the basis of such research, demonstrations, and experiments and any other
information available to him, shall develop and publish at least annually such criteria as will effectuate the
purposes of this Act.
(3) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, on the basis of such research, demonstrations, and
experiments, and any other information available to him, shall develop criteria dealing with toxic materials
and harmful physical agents and substances which will describe exposure levels that are safe for various
periods of employment, including but not limited to the exposure levels at which no employee will suffer
impaired health or functional capacities or diminished life expectancy as a result of his work experience.
(4) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall also conduct special research, experiments, and
demonstrations relating to occupational safety and health as are necessary to explore new problems, including
those created by new technology in occupational safety and health, which may require ameliorative action
beyond that which is otherwise provided for in the operating provisions of this Act. The Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare shall also conduct research into the motivational and behavioral factors relating to
the field of occupational safety and health.
(5) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, in order to comply with his responsibilities under
paragraph (2), and in order to develop needed information regarding potentially toxic substances or harmful
physical agents, may prescribe regulations requiring employers to measure, record, and make reports on the
exposure of employees to substances or physical agents which the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare reasonably believes may endanger the health or safety of employees. The Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare also is authorized to establish such programs of medical examinations and tests as
may be necessary for determining the incidence of occupational illnesses and the susceptibility of employees
to such illnesses. Nothing in this or any other provision of this Act shall be deemed to authorize or require
medical examination, immunization, or treatment for those who object there to on religious grounds, except
where such is necessary for the protection of the health or safety of others. Upon the request of any
employer who is required to measure and record exposure of employees to substances or physical agents as
provided under this subsection, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall furnish full financial
or other assistance to such employer for the purpose of defraying any additional expense incurred by him in
carrying out the measuring and recording as provided in this subsection.
(6) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall publish within six months of enactment of this
Act and there after as needed but at least annually a list of all known toxic substances by generic family or
other useful grouping, and the concentrations at which such toxicity is known to occur. He shall determine
following a written request by any employer or authorized representative of employees, specifying with
reasonable particularity the grounds on which the request is made, whether any substance normally found in
the place of employment has potentially toxic effects in such concentrations as used or found; and shall
submit such determination both to employers and affected employees as soon as possible. If the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare determines that any substance is potentially toxic at the concentrations in
which it is used or found in a place of employment, and such substance is not covered by an occupational
safety or health standard promulgated under section 6, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall
immediately submit such determination to the Secretary, together with all pertinent criteria.
(7) Within two years of enactment of the Act, and annually there after the Secretary of Health, Education,
and Welfare shall conduct and publish industry wide studies of the effect of chronic or low-level exposure
to industrial materials, processes, and stresses on the potential for illness, disease, or loss of functional capacity
in aging adults.
(b) The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare is authorized to make inspections and question employers
and employees as provided in section 8 of this Act in order to carry out his functions and responsibilities under this
section.
(c) The Secretary is authorized to enter into contracts, agreements, or other arrangements with appropriate public
agencies or private organizations for the purpose of conducting studies relating to his responsibilities under this Act.
In carrying out his responsibilities under this subsection, the Secretary shall cooperate with the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare in order to avoid any duplication of efforts under this section.
(d) Information obtained by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under this section
shall be disseminated by the Secretary to employers and employees and organizations thereof.
(e) The functions of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under this Act shall, to the extent feasible,
be delegated to the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health established by section 22
of this Act.




Federal Mine Safety & Health Act of 1977,
Public Law 91-173,
as amended by Public Law 95-164*
An Act
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may
be cited as the "Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1970."
…
TITLE III-INTERIM MANDATORY SAFETY
STANDARDS FOR UNDERGROUND COAL MINES
COVERAGE
SEC. 301. (a) The provisions of sections 302 through 318 of this title shall be interim mandatory safety
standards applicable to all underground coal mines until superseded in whole or in part by improved
mandatory safety standards promulgated by the Secretary under the provisions of section 101 of this
Act, and shall be enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as any mandatory safety standard
promulgated under section 101 of this Act. Any orders issued in the enforcement of the interim
standards set forth in this title shall be subject to review as provided in title I of this Act.
…
TITLE V--ADMINISTRATION
RESEARCH
SEC. 501. (a) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, as
appropriate, shall conduct such studies, research, experiments, and demonstrations as may be
appropriate--
(1) to improve working conditions and practices in coal or other mines, and to prevent accidents
and occupational diseases originating in the coal or other mining industry;
(2) to develop new or improved methods of recovering persons in coal or other mines after an
accident;
(3) to develop new or improved means and methods of communication from the surface to the
underground area of a coal or other mine;
(4) to develop new or improved means and methods of reducing concentrations of respirable dust
in the mine atmosphere of active workings of the coal or other mine;
(5) to develop epidemiological information to (A) identify and define positive factors involved in
occupational diseases of miners, (B) provide information on the incidence and prevalence of
pneumoconiosis and other respiratory ailments of miners, and (C) improve mandatory health
standards;
(6) to develop techniques for the prevention and control of occupational diseases of miners,
including tests for hypersusceptibility and early detection;
(7) to evaluate the effect on bodily impairment and occupational disability of miners afflicted
with an occupational disease;
(8) to prepare and publish from time to time, reports on all significant aspects of occupational
diseases of miners as well as on the medical aspects of injuries, other than diseases, which are
revealed by the research carried on pursuant to this subsection;
(9) to study the relationship between coal or other mine environments and occupational diseases
of miners;
(10) to develop new and improved underground equipment and other sources of power for such
equipment which will provide greater safety;
(11) to determine, upon the written request by any operator or authorized representative of
miners, specifying with reasonable particularity the grounds upon which such request is made,
whether any substance normally found in a coal or other mine has potentially toxic effects in the
concentrations normally found in the coal or other mine or whether any physical agents or
equipment found or used in a coal or other mine has potentially hazardous effects, and shall
submit such determinations to both the operators and miners as soon as possible; and
(12) for such other purposes as they deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.