The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) plans to issue proposals for new infectious disease exposure, communication tower safety, and tree care industry standards, according to a Department of Labor (DOL) notice published July 30 (86 FR 41242). OSHA also plans rulemaking action in the coming year to address emergency response safety, process safety management and the prevention of major chemical accidents, and workplace violence prevention in the healthcare and social assistance sectors.
The Labor Department’s listing of planned regulatory actions at OSHA and other DOL agencies supplements online updates to the department’s semiannual regulatory agenda.
Workers in healthcare and other high-risk workplaces face exposures to infectious diseases that include chickenpox and shingles (varicella disease), measles, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and tuberculosis (TB), as well as new and emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, pandemic influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The agency intends to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in December, according to the timetable in the notice.
In addition to healthcare, the standard also could apply to coroners’, medical examiners’, and pathologists’ offices; medical laboratories; and mortuaries.
Other rule proposals
Communication tower safety. There is a small number of workers in the communication tower industry, but the fatality rate for the industry is very high. The average fatality rate in communication tower construction and maintenance over the past 20 years has greatly exceeded the rate for the construction industry, according to the agency.
OSHA concluded that its current requirements for fall protection and personnel hoisting may not adequately cover all the hazards of communication tower construction and maintenance. OSHA intends to issue an NPRM for a communication tower safety standard in March 2022, according to the agency’s timetable.
The agency said it also would consider expanding the standard to cover other structures that have telecommunications equipment on or attached to them, such as billboards, building rooftops, and water towers.
Tree care industry. As with the communication tower industry, a patchwork of standards apply to hazards in tree care operations. The industry petitioned OSHA to issue a rulemaking specific to tree care. OSHA issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in September 2008 and completed a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel in May 2020. The agency now plans to issue an NPRM in April 2022.
Process safety management and major chemical accidents. OSHA issued an request for information (RFI) in December 2013, which pointed out issues related to modernizing the process safety management standard for highly hazardous chemicals. The agency intends to update the standard, with the goal of preventing major chemical accidents. The agency plans to issue a notice this month announcing a stakeholder meeting to discuss development of an update.
A number of OSHA standards apply to emergency preparedness and response, but there is no comprehensive federal safety standard. The agency also acknowledged that its standards do not reflect current emergency response practices or consensus industry standards.
Workplace violence prevention in healthcare. While there is no federal workplace violence standard, OSHA has cited employers under the General Duty Clause §5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and issued voluntary guidelines in 1996 for healthcare and social assistance. OSHA issued an RFI in December 2016 seeking information from healthcare employers, workers, and subject matter experts on impacts of violence, prevention strategies, and other information about a possible federal standard. On January 10, 2017, the National Nurses United petitioned OSHA for a workplace violence prevention standard. The agency’s next action would be initiating the SBREFA process, beginning in December.