Quiet OSHA spells softening demand and prices for PPE.(Occupational Safety and Health Administration does not buoy market for personal protection equipment)(Brief Article)

Purchasing, November, 2001 by Francis, Damon

Outside the industry, many believe that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations are driving a thriving market for health and safety equipment. But that just isn't the case according to Safety Equipment Distributors Association (SEDA) president Mike Stamn. "The market is flat to down," he says, noting that OSHA has not been a prime mover for the safety product market for some time. Recently, Congress vetoed OSHA'S ergonomics rule proposal, yet another example of the difficulty OSHA faces in establishing new regulations that are controversial in the business community.

"For about a two-year period, OSHA was working on little besides the ergonomics issue, at least in terms of a standard that was completely new, observes Steve King,...

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