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NFDA has been advised that Jordan Barab, the Acting Chief of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, that OSHA is considering proposing an Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard and, in the interim, would use the General Duty Clause to enforce the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Swine Flu Guidance as an operation to protect health care workers. See the CDC Guidance at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance. Mr. Barab did not specify a time line for a transmissible disease proposed standard, but has indicated that the standard would be similar to CAL/OSHA's first of a kind Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard, which is designed to protect against pandemic flu, as well as other infectious disease. The California Standard includes respiratory protection, respirator fit testing, disease exposure control plans, medical surveillance and communication procedures. By using the General Duty Clause, OSHA will be able to expand its protection by, in effect, codifying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidance document. In addition, Mr. Barab also stated that OSHA presently requires the use of N95 respirators and not surgical masks with accompanying training and fit testing for respirator use during the swing flu outbreak saying that OSHA will err on the side of caution. See the OSHA Respiratory Guidance for the H1N1 flu at www.osha.gov. Again, it would appear that general duty enforcement for the health care workers would include some enforcement efforts in the preparation room for funeral service employees. As always, NFDA will be actively involved in this process to insure that the views and concerns of funeral service are represented. For complete information on the H1N1 flu as well as links to all these government websites, go to www.nfda.org. Moreover, you can find detailed information on all the OSHA standards that apply to funeral homes as well. |