OSHA’s TB standard enters final review stage
June 1, 2000 2 minutes read
OSHA’s TB standard enters final review stage
Rule may expand to include ambulatory clinics
By the time you read this, the new federal TB rule just might be out. As of TB Monitor’s press time, it was still under review at the Department of Labor.
"It’s still in internal review," says Mandy Edens, MPH, an industrial hygienist at the Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and chief architect of the proposed TB rule. The federal regulations under consideration would protect health care workers and others from contracting TB on the job.
While the Department of Labor struggled to finalize the new rule, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) began holding meetings on whether the rule is needed. (See related story, p. 62.) The NAS study, requested by groups opposed to the proposed standard, was funded by Congress late last year, which gave the NAS $450,000 to look into the issue. The NAS study hasn’t slowed the pace at OSHA, Edens adds. "The terms of the NAS study state the study’s not intended to block the TB rule, and we’re proceeding accordingly," she says.
The same issues that have raised the dander of the opposition all along are getting some last-minute tweaking, Edens says. The issues include:
• Will OSHA wind up requiring employers to conduct yearly fit testing of respirators?
• Will it allow annual skin testing in most cases instead of requiring semiannual testing?
• Will homeless shelters win some exemptions?
Based on Edens’ terse replies, the answers seem to be "yes" in all three cases.
The same goes for whether OSHA will add a relative latecomer, ambulatory clinics, to the "scope" portion of the rule. "If you have TB, it’s been pointed out those clinics are the first place you’ll go," says Eden, explaining the rationale for inclusion.
After the tweaking and polishing are done, the rule heads to the Office of Management and Budget for a final check. Then it’s back to OSHA and off for publication in the Federal Register.
As for when that date will be, Edens is tight-lipped. "Yes, I do have some ideas as to when that might be," she says. "And no, I can’t share them with you."
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