Alongside eight other safety organizations, the International Safety Equipment Association submitted a petition urging OSHA to update its references to several key PPE standards.
“Safety regulations should reflect the best knowledge and protective practices available today—not from decades ago,” said ISEA president & CEO Cam Mackey. “Updating these references is a straightforward step OSHA can take to ensure its regulations keep pace with innovation and support the safety science and practices already widely used across industry.”
Some of OSHA’s PPE regulations reference consensus standards dating as far back as 1989, ISEA notes. The petition calls on OSHA to update the regulatory references for standards covering eye and face protection (ANSI/ISEA Z87.1), occupational head protection (ANSI/ISEA Z89.1), and workplace first aid kits (ANSI/ISEA Z308.1).
Together, these standards affect more than 125 million Americans who rely on PPE and emergency safety equipment every day to stay safe on the job, says ISEA. Updated standards incorporate improvements such as enhanced impact testing, clearer product markings, expanded protection against biological hazards, and updated first aid guidance.
Organizations supporting the petition include:
- American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
- ABSA International: Association for Biosecurity and Biosecurity
- American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
- American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP)
- Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP)
- International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA)
- Institute of Hazardous Materials Management (IHMM)
- National Safety Council (NSC)
- The Vision Council
The petition notes that updating incorporated references to current consensus standards will impose no additional regulatory costs. The updates would simply replace outdated references with the most recent editions.
SEE ALSO our conversation with Cam Mackey in this episode of Editor’s Corner, How to choose the right safety gear in 2026.
