Occupational exposure to ethylene oxide--OSHA. Final rule: supplemental statement of reasons

On June 22, 1984, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final standard for ethylene oxide (EtO) that established a permissible exposure limit of 1 part EtO per million parts of air determined as an 8-hour time--weighted average (TWA) concentration (29 CFR 1910.1047, 49 FR 25734). The standard also includes provisions for methods of exposure control, personal protective equipment, measurement of employee exposure, training, signs, and labels, medical surveillance, regulated areas, emergencies and recordkeeping. The basis for this action was a determination by OSHA, based on human and animal data, that exposure to EtO presents a carcinogenic, mutagenic, genotoxic, reproductive, neurologic, and sensitization hazard to workers. During the rulemaking proceedings that led to the establishment of the 1 ppm TWA, the issue of whether there was a need for a short-term exposure limit (STEL) for workers protection from EtO was raised. OSHA reserved decision on the adoption of a STEL at the conclusion of the rulemaking in order to permit peer review of the available evidence and to review more fully the arguments and pertinent data regarding the STEL issue. Upon receipt of the analyses from most of the peer reviewers, OSHA published a notice to that effect on September 19, 1984 (49 FR 36659) and invited public comment on the pertinent issues addressed in the peer reviews. Based on the entire rulemaking record, including the peer reviews and public comments received since June 22, the Assistant Secretary has determined that adoption of a STEL for EtO is not warranted by the available health evidence, and that a STEL is not reasonably necessary or appropriate for inclusion in the final EtO standard. OSHA has also asked that NIOSH fund certain additional studies related to whether a dose-rate relationship can be established for EtO, and OSHA will review the results of those studies when they become available.     

Occupational exposure to ethylene oxide--Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Proposed rule and notice of hearing

By this notice, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing to amend its existing occupational standard that regulates employee exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO). The basis for this action is a determination by the Assistant Secretary, based on animal and human data, that exposure to EtO at OSHA's current permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 parts EtO per million parts of air (50 ppm) as an eight (8)-hour time-weighted average (TWA) is inadequate for employee health protection. OSHA proposes to reduce the PEL for EtO to a TWA of 1 ppm. An "action level" of 0.5 ppm as a TWA is included in the proposal as a mechanism for exempting an employer from the obligation to comply with certain requirements, such as employee exposure monitoring and medical surveillance, in instances where the employer can demonstrate that the employees exposures are at very low levels. The proposal would provide for among other requirements certain methods of exposure control, personal protective equipment, measurement of employee exposures, training, medical surveillance, signs and labels, regulated areas, emergency procedures and recordkeeping.     

Occupational exposure to ethylene oxide--OSHA. Final standard

In this Final Standard, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes a permissible exposure limit for occupational exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO) of 1 part EtO per million parts of air (1 ppm) determined as an 8-hour time-weighted average concentration. The basis for this action is a determination by the Assistant Secretary, based on animal and human data, that exposure to EtO presents a carcinogenic, mutagenic, genotoxic, reproductive, neurologic and sensitization hazard to workers. The standard provides for, among other requirements, methods of exposure control, personal protective equipment, measurement of employee exposures, training, medical surveillance, signs and labels, regulated areas, emergency procedures and recordkeeping. An "action level" of 0.5 ppm as an 8-hour time-weighted average is established as the level above which employers must initiate certain compliance activities such as periodic employee exposure monitoring and medical surveillance. In instances where the employer can demonstrate that employee exposures are below the action level, the employer is not obligated to comply with most of the requirements set forth in this final rule. The 1 ppm 8-hour limit reduces significant risk from exposure to EtO and is considered by OSHA to be the lowest levels feasible.     

Ethylene oxide; certain pesticide products registered for the sterilization of equipment and supplies in hospitals and health care facilities; withdrawal of revised labeling notice--EPA. Withdrawal of notice

EPA issued a notice requesting registrants of pesticide products containing ethylene oxide (EtO) registered for certain uses in hospitals and health care facilities to submit applications to amend approved labeling. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has promulgated comprehensive exposure standards for all occupational uses of EtO. Therefore, EPA has decided to withdraw the original notice in recognition of concerns regarding the potential preemption of the OSHA standards.     

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens--OSHA. Final rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration hereby promulgates a standard under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (the Act), 29 U.S.C. 655 to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other bloodborne pathogens. Based on a review of the information in the rulemaking record, OSHA has made a determination that employees face a significant health risk as the result of occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials because they may contain bloodborne pathogens, including hepatitis B virus which causes Hepatitis B, a serious liver disease, and human immunodeficiency virus, which causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The Agency further concludes that this exposure can be minimized or eliminated using a combination of engineering and work practice controls, personal protective clothing and equipment, training, medical surveillance, Hepatitis B vaccination, signs and labels, and other provisions.     

Occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor. Final rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is revising its rule addressing the recording and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses (29 CFR parts 1904 and 1952), including the forms employers use to record those injuries and illnesses. The revisions to the final rule will produce more useful injury and illness records, collect better information about the incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses on a national basis, promote improved employee awareness and involvement in the recording and reporting of job-related injuries and illnesses, simplify the injury and illness recordkeeping system for employers, and permit increased use of computers and telecommunications technology for OSHA recordkeeping purposes. This rulemaking completes a larger overall effort to revise Part 1904 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Two sections of Part 1904 have already been revised in earlier rulemakings. A rule titled Reporting fatalities and multiple hospitalization incidents to OSHA, became effective May 2, 1994 and has been incorporated into this final rule as Section 1904.39. A second rule entitled Annual OSHA injury and illness survey of ten or more employers became effective on March 13, 1997 and has been incorporated into this final rule as Section 1904.41. The final rule being published today also revises 29 CFR 1952.4, Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements, which prescribes the recordkeeping and reporting requirements for States that have an occupational safety and health program approved by OSHA under Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the "Act" or "OSH Act").     

Occupational Safety and Health Administration--Access to employee exposure and medical records. Final rule

This final occupational safety and health standard, promulgated today as a revised 29 CFR 1910.20, provides for employee, designated representative, and OSHA access to employer-maintained exposure and medical records relevant to employees exposed to toxic substances and harmful physical agents. Access is also assured to employer analyses using exposure and medical records. The final standard requires long term preservation of these records, contains provisions concerning informing employees of their rights under the standard, and includes provisions protective of trade secret information.     

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; approval of information collection requirements--OSHA. Final rule; approval of information collection requirements

On December 6, 1991, OSHA published a final standard governing occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens (56 FR 64004). The standard is designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other bloodborne pathogens. At that time OSHA submitted the information collection requirements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1980. Public reporting burden for this collection of information was estimated to average five minutes per employer response to an OSHA compliance officer's request for access to the employer's records. OMB reviewed the collection of information requirements for occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in accordance with the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and 5 CFR part 1320. OMB approved all information requirements contained in 29 CFR 1910.1030 under OMB clearance number 1218-0180. The OMB clearance expires on February 28, 1995. This document will also amend the December 6, 1991 rule to properly display the OMB control number.     

Respiratory protection--OSHA. Final rule; request for comment on paperwork requirements

This final standard, which replaces the respiratory protection standards adopted by OSHA in 1971 (29 CFR 1910.134 and 29 CFR 1926.103), applies to general industry, construction, shipyard, longshoring, and marine terminal workplaces. The standard requires employers to establish or maintain a respiratory protection program to protect their respirator-wearing employees. The standard contains requirements for program administration; worksite-specific procedures; respiratory selection; employee training; fit testing; medical evaluation; respiratory use; respirator cleaning, maintenance, and repair; and other provisions. The final standard also simplifies respirator requirements for employers by deleting respiratory provisions in other OSHA health standards that duplicate those in the final standard and revising other respirator-related provisions to make them consistent. In addition, the standard addresses the use of respirators in Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) atmospheres, including interior structural firefighting. During interior structural firefighting (an IDLH atmosphere by definition), self-contained breathing apparatus is required, and two firefighters must be on standby to provide assistance or perform rescue when two firefighters are inside the burning building. Based on the record in this rulemaking and the Agency's own experience in enforcing its prior respiratory protection standards, OSHA has concluded that compliance with the final rule will assist employers in protecting the health of employees exposed in the course of their work to airborne contaminants, physical hazards, and biological agents, and that the standard is therefore necessary and appropriate. The final respiratory protection standard covers an estimated 5 million respirator wearers working in an estimated 1.3 million workplaces in the covered sectors. OSHA's benefits analysis predicts that the standard will prevent many deaths and illnesses among respirator-wearing employees every year by protecting them from exposure to acute and chronic health hazards. OSHA estimates that compliance with this standard will avert hundreds of deaths and thousands of illnesses annually. The annual costs of the standard are estimated to be $111 million, or an average of $22 per covered employee per year.     

Occupational exposure to tuberculosis--OSHA. Proposed rule and notice of public hearing

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing a health standard, to be promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 655, to control occupational exposure to tuberculosis (TB). TB is a communicable, potentially lethal disease that afflicts the most vulnerable members of our society: the poor, the sick, the aged, and the homeless. As many as 13 million U.S. adults are presently believed to be infected with TB; over time, more than 1 million of these individuals may develop active TB disease and transmit the infection to others. TB remains a major health problem with 22,813 active cases reported in the U.S. in 1995. A number of outbreaks of this disease have occurred among workers in health care settings, as well as other work settings, in recent years. To add to the seriousness of the problem, some of these outbreaks have involved the transmission of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which are often fatal. Although it is the responsibility of the U.S. Public Health Service to address the problem of tuberculosis in the general U.S. population, OSHA is solely responsible for protecting the health of workers exposed to TB as a result of their job. OSHA estimates that more than 5 million U.S. workers are exposed to TB in the course of their work: in hospitals, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and other work settings. Because active TB is endemic in many U.S. populations, including groups in both urban and rural areas, workers who come into contact with diseased individuals are at risk of contracting the disease themselves. The risk confronting these workers as a result of their contact with TB-infected individuals may be as high as 10 times the risk to the general population. Although the number of reported cases of active TB has slowly begun to decline after a resurgence between 1985-1992, 16 states reported an increase in the number of TB cases in 1995, compared with 1994. Based on a review of the data, OSHA has preliminarily concluded that workers in hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, and certain other work settings are at significant risk of incurring TB infection while caring for their patients and clients or performing certain procedures. To reduce this occupational risk, OSHA is proposing a standard that would require employers to protect TB-exposed employees by means of infection prevention and control measures that have been demonstrated to be highly effective in reducing or eliminating job-related TB infections. These measures include the use of respirators when performing certain high hazard procedures on infectious individuals, procedures for the early identification and treatment of TB infection, isolation of individuals with infectious TB in rooms designed to protect those in the vicinity of the room from contact with the microorganisms causing TB, and medical follow-up for occupationally exposed workers who become infected. OSHA has preliminarily determined that the engineering, work practice, and administrative controls, respiratory protection, training, medical surveillance, and other provisions of the proposed standard are technologically and economically feasible for facilities in all affected industries.     

Rules of agency practice and procedure concerning OSHA access to employee medical records. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor (OSHA). Final rule

These rules of agency practice and procedure, promulgated today as a new 29 CFR 1913.10, govern OSHA access to personally identifiable employee medical information contained in medical records. The rules are structured to protect the substantial personal privacy interests inherent in identifiable medical records, while also permit OSHA to make beneficial use of these records for proper occupational safety and health purposes. The rules regulate the manner in which OSHA will seek access to employee medical records, and how the medical information will be protected once in the agency's possession.     

Voluntary protection programs to supplement enforcement and to provide safe and healthful working conditions--OSHA. Notice of implementation of revised voluntary protection programs

OSHA announces the implementation of three Voluntary Protection Programs. The programs, revised from the January 19, 1982, notice in the Federal Register (47 FR 2796), seek out and recognize exemplary safety and health programs as a means of expanding worker protection. Companies, general contractors, and small business organizations which meet specified programmatic safety and health criteria, which go beyond OSHA standards in providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees, and which want to do more than is required to help the agency accomplish the goals of the Act are the applicants OSHA seeks for these voluntary programs. In return, OSHA will remove participants from general schedule inspection lists and give priority attention to any which request a variance. The programs are called "Star." "Try," and "Praise."     

Occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements. Final rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is delaying the effective date of three provisions of the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements rule published January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5916-6135) and is establishing interim criteria for recording cases of work-related hearing loss. The provisions being delayed are sections 1904.10 (a) and (b), which specify recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss, section 1904.12, which defines "musculoskeletal disorder (MSD)" and requires employers to check the MSD column on the OSHA Log if an employee experiences a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, and section 1904.29(b)(7)(vi), which states that MSDs are not considered privacy concern cases. The effective date of these provisions is delayed from January 1, 2002 until January 1, 2003. OSHA will continue to evaluate sections 1904.10 and 1904.12 over the next year. OSHA is also adding a new paragraph(c) to section 1904.10, establishing criteria for recording cases of work-related hearing loss during calendar year 2002. Section 1904.10(c) codifies the enforcement policy in effect since 1991, under which employers must record work related shifts in hearing of an average of 25 dB or more at 2000, 3000 and 4000 hertz in either ear.     

Dipping and coating operations. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor. Final rule

OSHA's standards for dipping and coating operations, codified at sections 1910.108 and 1910.94(d), are designed to protect employees from fire, explosion, and other hazards associated with these operations. On April 7, 1998 (63 FR 16918), OSHA published proposed revisions to these standards in the Federal Register. The Federal Register announcement requested comments on the proposed rule, as well as on three major issues identified by OSHA. Based on these comments and other considerations, the Agency has developed the final standard to accomplish several goals: To rewrite the former standards in plain language; to consolidate the former requirements in sequential sections (sections 1910.122 through 1910.126 in subpart H of part 1910); and to update the former standards to increase the compliance options available to employers. In addition to achieving these goals, OSHA concludes that the final rule being published today will enhance employee protection by making it more understandable and useful to employers and employees and more flexible and performance-oriented than the former rules. The final rule accomplishes these goals without increasing the regulatory burden of employers or reducing employee protection.     

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens: request for information--OSHA. Request for information

OSHA requests information and comment on engineering and work practice controls used to eliminate or minimize the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens due to percutaneous injuries from contaminated needles and o ther contaminated sharps in occupational environments. Percutaneous injuries continue to be a concern in work settings where employees are exposed to bloodborne pathogens. The Agency is considering possible actions that it can undertake to assist in addressing this issue. Consequently, OSHA is interested in strategies for reducing percutaneous injury rates that have been successfully implemented in the work environment, including work practices and, in particular, the use of devices designed to limit the risk of such injuries. The information received in response to this notice will be carefully reviewed and will assist OSHA in determining effective approaches to reducing percutaneous injury rates and what role the Agency may have in these approaches.     

Occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium. Final rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending the existing standard which limits occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). OSHA has determined based upon the best evidence currently available that at the current permissible exposure limit (PEL) for Cr(VI), workers face a significant risk to material impairment of their health. The evidence in the record for this rulemaking indicates that workers exposed to Cr(VI) are at an increased risk of developing lung cancer. The record also indicates that occupational exposure to Cr(VI) may result in asthma, and damage to the nasal epithelia and skin. The final rule establishes an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposure limit of 5 micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of air (5 [mu]g/cu m). This is a considerable reduction from the previous PEL of 1 milligram per 10 cubic meters of air (1 mg/10 cu m, or 100 [mu]g/cu m) reported as CrO3, which is equivalent to a limit of 52 [mu]g/cu m as Cr(VI). The final rule also contains ancillary provisions for worker protection such as requirements for exposure determination, preferred exposure control methods, including a compliance alternative for a small sector for which the new PEL is infeasible, respiratory protection, protective clothing and equipment, hygiene areas and practices, medical surveillance, recordkeeping, and start-up dates that include four years for the implementation of engineering controls to meet the PEL. The final standard separately regulates general industry, construction, and shipyards in order to tailor requirements to the unique circumstances found in each of these sectors. The PEL established by this rule reduces the significant risk posed to workers by occupational exposure to Cr(VI) to the maximum extent that is technologically and economically feasible.     

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens; needlestick and other sharps injuries; final rule. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Labor. Final rule; request for comment on the Information Collection (Paperwork) Requirements

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is revising the Bloodborne Pathogens standard in conformance with the requirements of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. This Act directs OSHA to revise the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to include new examples in the definition of engineering controls along with two new definitions; to require that Exposure Control Plans reflect how employers implement new developments in control technology; to require employers to solicit input from employees responsible for direct patient care in the identification, evaluation, and selection of engineering and work practice controls; and to require certain employers to establish and maintain a log of percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps.     

Occupational exposure to formaldehyde--OSHA. Response to Court remand; final rule

By this action, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hereby amends its existing regulation for occupational exposure to formaldehyde, 29 CFR 1910.1048, in response primarily to a remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in UAW v. Pendergrass, 878 F.2d 389 (D.C. Cir. 1989). The final amendments lower the permissible exposure level for formaldehyde from 1 ppm (part per million) as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) to an 8-hour time-weighted average of 0.75 ppm. The amendments also add medical removal protection provisions to supplement the existing medical surveillance requirements for those employees suffering significant eye, nose or throat irritation and for those suffering from dermal irritation or sensitization from occupational exposure to formaldehyde. In addition, certain changes have been made to the standard's hazard communication and employee training requirements. These amendments establish specific hazard labeling requirements for all forms of formaldehyde, including mixtures and solutions composed of 0.1% or greater of formaldehyde in excess of 0.1 ppm. Additional hazard labeling, including a warning that formaldehyde presents a potential cancer hazard, is required where formaldehyde levels, under reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, may potentially exceed 0.5 ppm. The final amendments also provide for annual training of all employees exposed to formaldehyde at levels of 0.1 ppm or higher.     

Medicare program; elimination of additional payments for administrative and general costs of hospital-based home health agencies--HCFA. Final notice with comment period

In accordance with section 13564(b)(1) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, this final notice with comment period provides that the payment add-on for the administrative and general costs of hospital-based home health agencies (HHAs) is eliminated. This notice also explains the effects of this provision on the methodology used in calculating the HHA cost limits.     

Standards Improvement Project-Phase II. Final rule

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through this final rule is continuing to remove and revise provisions of its standards that are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent, or can be clarified or simplified by being written in plain language. The Agency completed Phase I of the Standards Improvement Project in June 1998. In this Phase II of the Standards Improvement Project, OSHA is again revising or removing a number of health provisions in its standards for general industry, shipyard employment, and construction. The Agency believes that the changes streamline and make more consistent the regulatory requirements in OSHA health and safety standards. In some cases, OSHA has made substantive revisions to requirements because they are outdated, duplicative, unnecessary, or inconsistent with more recently promulgated health standards. The Agency believes these revisions will reduce regulatory requirements for employers without reducing employee protection.