The public hearing on OSHA's proposed ergonomics standard will run from April 24 to May 3, 2000, in Portland, Ore., the agency announced on Tuesday, March 22.

The proposed OSHA standard would cover 27 million workers and prevent an average of 300,000 injuries each year, saving the U.S. economy $9 billion annually.

The Portland hearing continues the informal public hearing, which will begin March 13 in Washington, D.C., and continue April 11 in Chicago. The Chicago portion of the hearing will be held in the James R. Thompson Center Assembly Hall at 100 W. Randolph Street, Chicago, Ill. The April 24 session in Portland will be held in Courtroom 16 in the Mark Hatfield Federal Court House at 1000 Southwest 3rd Ave, Portland, Ore.

Hearing participants were required to notify the agency of their intent to testify by Jan. 24, 2000, if they wanted more than 10 minutes for their testimony. Last month, OSHA extended the public comment period on the ergonomics proposal for 30 days to March 2, 2000.

OSHA published its ergonomics proposal in the Nov. 23, 1999, Federal Register. Copies of the regulatory text, as well as the preamble and other supporting materials, are available on the agency's website at www.osha.gov under "Ergonomics."

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