Abstract:
Advance notice of proposed rulemaking is given that OSHA is
undertaking an evaluation of the feasibility and usefulness of
adoption of a generic standard on medical surveillance programs for
employees exposed to toxic substances or hazardous physical agents.
A generic standard is one that addresses a health related issue
rather than a substance. OSHA is interested in determining if
generic medical surveillance requirements could be used, for
example, to simplify development of future rules that where
necessary, would contain medical surveillance provisions, or could
be used to provide medical protection to exposed employees who are
not now entitled to medical surveillance. Though OSHA has adopted
exposure limits for the several hundred substances listed in the
Z-tables, contained in 29 CFR 1910.1000, there is no provision
requiring that medical surveillance be made available to employeees
exposed in excess of those limits. Comments should be submitted by
December 27, 1988.