(a) In lieu of any depreciation allowance, at the option of the corporation, a deduction shall be allowed for the amortization, based on a period of 60 months, of the cost of any equipment mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), including the cost of planning, acquiring, constructing, modifying, and installing said equipment.

(b) For the purposes of this section and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-147(13)d, the term “equipment mandated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act” is any tangible personal property and other buildings and structural components of buildings, which is acquired, constructed, reconstructed, modified, or erected after January 1, 1979; and which the taxpayer must acquire, construct, install, or make available in order to comply with the occupational safety and health standards adopted and promulgated by the United States Secretary of Labor or the Commissioner of Labor of North Carolina, and the term “occupational safety and health standards” includes but is not limited to interim federal standards, consensus standards, any proprietary standards or permanent standards, as well as temporary emergency standards which may be adopted by the United States Secretary of Labor, promulgated as provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, (Public Law 91-596, 91st Congress, Act of December 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 1950) and which standards or regulations are published in the Code of Federal Regulations or otherwise properly promulgated under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 or any alternative rule, regulation or standard promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor of North Carolina as provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-131 (1979, c. 776, s. 1.)