Having worked in a lab environment heavily subject to OSHA regulation, I think you are both correct. I've been personally subjected to brain-dead interpretation

Having worked in a lab environment heavily subject to OSHA regulation, I think you are both correct. I've been personally subjected to brain-dead interpretations on multiple occasions, but I'm also absolutely certain that in the absence of any regulation the environment would have been absurdly dangerous. On the balance, I'll favor the regulation.