[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 5, 2011)][Proposed Rules][Pages 39041-39043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16742]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
29 CFR Part 1910
RIN 1218-AC46
Infectious Diseases
AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholder meetings.
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SUMMARY: OSHA invites interested parties to participate in informal
stakeholder meetings concerning occupational exposure to infectious
diseases. OSHA plans to use the information gathered at these meetings
to explore the possible development of a proposed rule to protect
workers from occupational exposure to infectious agents in settings,
either where workers provide direct patient care or where workers
perform tasks other than direct patient care that also have
occupational exposure. These other work tasks include: Providing
patient support services (e.g., housekeeping, facility maintenance);
handling, transporting, receiving or processing infectious items or
wastes (e.g., transporting medical specimens, disposing of medical
waste); conducting autopsies or performing mortuary services; and
performing tasks in laboratories.
DATES: Dates and locations for the stakeholder meetings are:
July 29, 2011, 9 a.m.-noon in Washington, DC.
July 29, 2011, 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. in Washington, DC.
The deadline for confirmed registration at the meeting is: July 22,
2011. However, if space remains after this deadline, OSHA may accept
additional participants until the meetings are full. Those who submit
their registration after July 22, 2011 may not receive confirmation of
their attendance from OSHA.
ADDRESSES:
Registration: Submit your notice of intent to participate in a
stakeholder meeting through one of the methods below. Specify which
meeting (morning or afternoon) you would like to attend.
Electronic: Register at: https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/osha/register-osha-stakeholder.htm
(follow the instructions online).
Facsimile: Fax your request to: (781) 674-7200, and label it
"Attention: OSHA Infectious Diseases Stakeholder Meeting
Registration."
Regular mail, express delivery, hand (courier) delivery, and
messenger service: Send your request to: OSHA Infectious Diseases
Stakeholder Meeting Registration, Attention: Thomas Nerad, OSHA, Room
N-3718, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Meetings: The July 29, 2011 meetings will be held in the Francis
Perkins Building, Room N-4437 at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding this notice is
available from the following sources:
Press inquiries: Contact Frank Meilinger, Acting Director, OSHA
Office of Communications, Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-
1999.
General and technical information: Contact Andrew Levinson,
Director, Office of Biological Hazards, OSHA Directorate of Standards
and Guidance, Room N-3718, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-2048.
Copies of this Federal Register notice: Electronic copies are
available at http://www.regulations.gov. This Federal Register notice,
as well as news releases and other relevant information, also are
available on the OSHA Web page at http://www.osha.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 6, 2010, OSHA published a Request for Information, entitled
"Infectious Diseases" (Docket Number: OSHA-2010-0003). The Agency was
interested in more accurately characterizing the nature and extent of
occupationally-acquired infectious diseases and the strategies that are
currently being used to mitigate the risk of occupational exposure to
infectious agents. More than 200 comments were received in response to
the RFI. Based upon these responses and an ongoing review of current
literature on this subject, OSHA is considering what action, if any,
the Agency should take to limit the spread of occupationally-acquired
infectious diseases.
One action the Agency is considering is the development of a
program standard to control workers' exposure to infectious agents in
settings, either where workers provide direct patient care or where
workers perform tasks other than direct patient care which also have
occupational exposure. These other tasks might include such tasks as:
Providing patient support services (e.g., housekeeping, food delivery,
facility maintenance); handling, transporting, receiving or processing
infectious items or wastes (e.g., laundering healthcare linens, transporting
medical specimens, disposing of medical waste, reprocessing medical
equipment); maintaining, servicing or repairing medical equipment that is
contaminated with infectious agents; conducting autopsies (e.g., in
medical examiners' offices); performing mortuary services; and
performing tasks in laboratories (e.g., clinical, biomedical research,
production laboratories) that result in occupational exposure.
A typical OSHA program standard affords employers substantial
flexibility in determining the best way to tailor protective measures
to their workplaces. Program standards generally involve: A hazard
assessment; a written exposure control plan; methods of compliance
(e.g., engineering controls, work practice controls, administrative
controls, and personal protective equipment); medical surveillance;
worker training; signage and labeling; and recordkeeping. A program
standard to control occupational exposure to infectious diseases would
likely incorporate all these elements.
The Agency has determined that informal discussion with
stakeholders would be beneficial to its further deliberations on how to
proceed with respect to occupational exposure to infectious diseases.
To this end, OSHA will conduct stakeholder meetings, as announced in
this notice.
II. Stakeholder Meetings
The stakeholder meetings announced in this notice will be conducted
as group discussions on views, concerns, and issues surrounding the
hazards of occupational exposure to infectious agents and how best to
control them. To facilitate as much group interaction as possible,
formal presentations by stakeholders will not be permitted. The
stakeholder meeting discussions will center on such major issues as:
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard on
occupational exposure to infectious diseases should apply in settings
where workers provide direct patient care, as well as, settings where
workers have occupational exposure even though they don't provide
direct patient care. Whether and to what extent there are any other
settings where an OSHA standard should apply.
The advantages and disadvantages of using a program
standard to limit occupational exposure to infectious diseases, and the
advantages and disadvantages of taking other approaches to organizing a
prospective standard.
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should require
each employer to develop a written worker infection control plan (WICP)
that documents how the employer will implement the infection control
measures it will use to protect the workers in its facility. Some of
the elements that might be appropriate to include in such a worker
infection control plan are: Designation of the plan administrator
responsible for WICP implementation and oversight; designation of the
individual(s) responsible for conducting infectious agent hazard
analyses in the work setting; and written standard operating procedures
(SOPs) to minimize or prevent exposure to infectious agents (e.g., SOPs
for early identification of potentially infectious individuals and for
implementation of standard and transmission-based precautions).
Whether and to what extent SOP development should be based
upon consideration of applicable regulations/guidance issued by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of
Health, and other authoritative agencies/organizations.
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should require
each employer to implement its WICP through a section addressing
methods of compliance. OSHA envisions that this section would require,
among other control measures, that an employer conduct an infectious
agent hazard analysis, follow appropriate SOPs, institute appropriate
engineering, work practice, and administrative controls, provide and
ensure the use of appropriate personal protective equipment, clean and
decontaminate the worksite, and conduct prompt exposure investigations.
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should require
each employer to make available routine medical screening and
surveillance, vaccinations to prevent infection, and post-exposure
evaluation and follow-up to all workers who have been exposed to a
suspected or confirmed source of an infectious agent(s) without the
benefit of appropriate infection control measures.
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should contain
signage, labeling, and worker training requirements to ensure the
effectiveness of infection control measures.
Whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should require
the employer to establish and maintain medical records, exposure
incident records, and records of reviews of its worker infection
control program, and whether and to what extent an OSHA standard should
contain other recordkeeping requirements.
The economic impacts of a prospective standard.
Whether and to what extent OSHA should take alternative
approaches to rulemaking to improve adherence to current infection
control guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other authoritative
agencies/organizations.
Additional topics as time permits.
III. Public Participation
Approximately 30 participants will be accommodated in each meeting,
and three hours will be allotted for each meeting. Members of the
general public may observe, but not participate in, the meetings as
space permits. The morning and afternoon meetings will cover identical
information and participants may attend only one session to allow
greater stakeholder participation. OSHA staff will be present to take
part in the discussions. Eastern Research Group (ERG), Inc., (110
Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421) will manage logistics for the
meetings, provide a facilitator, and compile notes summarizing the
discussion; these notes will not identify individual speakers. ERG also
will make an audio recording of each session to ensure that the summary
notes are accurate; these recordings will not be transcribed. The
summary notes will be posted on the docket for the Infectious Diseases
Request for Information, Docket ID: OSHA-2010-0003, available at the
Web site http://www.regulations.gov.
To participate in one of the July 29, 2011 stakeholder meetings, or
be a nonparticipating observer, you must submit a notice of intent
electronically, by facsimile, or by hard copy. OSHA will confirm
participants, as necessary, to ensure a fair representation of
interests and to facilitate gathering diverse viewpoints. To receive a
confirmation of your participation as soon as possible before the
meeting, register by the date listed in the DATES section of this
notice. However, registration will remain open until the meetings are
full. Additional nonparticipating observers that do not register for
the meetings will be accommodated as space permits. See the ADDRESSES
section of this notice for the registration Web site, facsimile number,
and address. To register electronically, follow the instructions
provided on the Web site. To register by mail or facsimile, please
indicate the following:
Name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail.
First and second preferences of meeting time.
Organization for which you work.
Organization you will represent (if different).
Stakeholder category: Government, industry, union, trade
association, insurance, manufacturers, consultants, or other (if other,
please specify).
Electronic copies of this Federal Register notice, as well as news
releases and other relevant documents, are available on the OSHA Web
page at: http://www.osha.gov.
Authority and Signature
This document was prepared under the direction of David Michaels,
PhD, MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and
Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20210. This action is taken pursuant to sections 4, 6,
and 8, Public Law 91-596, 84 STAT. 1590 (29 U.S.C. 653, 655, 657),
Secretary of Labor's Order No. 4-2010 (75 FR 55355 (Sept. 10, 2010)),
and 29 CFR part 1911.
Signed at Washington, DC, on June 29, 2011.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-16742 Filed 7-1-11; 8:45 am]
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