Proposed OSHA Rule....Ammunition
 

A proposed OSHA rule would pretty much make it impossible to sell ammunition:

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=3145

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* Prohibit possession of firearms in commercial “facilities containing explosives”—an obvious problem for your local gun store.

* Require evacuation of all “facilities containing explosives”—even your local Wal-Mart—during any electrical storm.

* Prohibit smoking within 50 feet of “facilities containing explosives.”

**If properly written, this could be modified to make an exception for DOT Classes 1.1 through 1.3 (small arms ammunition and black powder).

**Properly grounded and with a proper lightning rod system installed, the necessity for evacuation could possibly be even more hazardous to those inside the building.

**From what I have seen, Wal-Marts are nonsmoking facilities to begin with, and the closest a Sporting Goods department gets to an outside or "smoking area" is greater than 100 feet in any direction

Once again, legislation triumphs over common sense.

But Bush is pro-gun. It'll never happen.


















The above was sarcasm, in case you missed it.

Not to draw too fine a line but smokeless powder doesn't explode, it combusts.
Jim

Ayup, smokeless powder is a propellant not an explosive.

NRA is sounding a bit reactionary...

OSHA was asked by a couple groups to change the standard to incorporate the current safety practices and technological advances made in the industry -

On July 29, 2002, OSHA received a
petition (the Petition) from the Institute
of Makers of Explosives (IME) and the
Sporting Arms and Ammunition
Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI) to
revise the standard. A copy of the
Petition can be found at Docket No.
OSHA–S031–2006–0665 (Ex. 2–1). IME
is an association of manufacturers of
high explosives and other companies
that distribute explosives or provide
other related services and the SAAMI is
an association of manufacturers of
sporting firearms, ammunition, and
related components. The Petition
claimed that § 1910.109 does not reflect
significant technological and safety
advances made by the explosives
industry since the standard was
promulgated. It further contended that
the standard contains outdated
references, classifications, and
jurisdiction-related provisions that do
not accurately represent the current
regulatory environment.
The Petition requested OSHA to make
a number of changes to the standard,
including the following, and provided
draft regulatory language:
• Exclude the manufacture of
explosives from the PSM requirements
of § 1910.119 and incorporate revised
PSM requirements for the manufacture
of explosives into § 1910.109;
• Replace references to outdated DOT
explosives classifications with the
current DOT classification system;
• Eliminate the provisions in
§ 1910.109 covering the storage of
explosives and the construction of
magazines because they are regulated by
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF);
• Eliminate provisions in § 1910.109
applicable to the transportation of
explosives on public highways because
such transportation is regulated by DOT;
• Update provisions for guarding
against accidental initiation by sources
of extraneous electricity;
• Include provisions governing the
intra-plant transportation of explosives;
• Include provisions for the use of
nonelectric detonation systems;
• Revise provisions regarding the
crimping of detonators to safety fuse;
• Update provisions for clearing the
blasting area of unauthorized personnel;
and
• Update the provisions for the
design of bulk delivery and mixing
vehicles and of mixing equipment.

If you get into the standard a bit, OSHA is looking for comments/input on this very issue -

Issue #4: OSHA seeks specific
comments on the impact proposed
paragraph (c)(3)(iii) would have on the
storage and retail sale of small arms
ammunition, small arms primers, and
smokeless propellants. Do open flames,
matches, or spark producing devices
create a hazard when located within 50
feet of small arms ammunition, small
arms primers, or smokeless propellants,
or facilities containing these products?
Can employers involved in the storage
or retail sale of small arms ammunition,
small arms primers, or smokeless
propellants prevent all open flames,
matches, or spark producing devices
from coming within 50 feet of these
products or facilities containing these
products? If not, why not? Should
proposed paragraph (c)(3)(iii) use a
protective distance other than 50 feet
and, if so, what distance should it be
and why? Should OSHA exclude small
arms ammunition, small arms primers,
and smokeless propellants from the
requirements of proposed paragraph
(c)(3)(iii)?

Anyone who doesn't understand the difference between rulemaking and legislation shouldn't respond to this thread. It's just a bit of basic knowledge necessary to have enough foundation to form an opinion on the subject.