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DOL/OSHA RIN: 1218-AC46 Publication ID: Fall 2009 
Title: ●Airborne Infectious Diseases 
Abstract: Employees in health care and other high-risk environments face long-standing respiratory hazards such as tuberculosis (TB), varicella disease (chickenpox, shingles), and measles (rubeola), as well as new and emerging infectious disease threats, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and pandemic influenza. Health care workers and workers in related occupations or who are exposed in other high-risk environments are at increased risk of contracting tuberculosis, SARS, and other airborne infectious diseases which are spread through respiratory secretions which are exhaled or expelled though coughing, sneezing, etc. and can be transmitted through a variety of exposure routes. OSHA is concerned about the ability of employees to continue to provide health care and other critical services without unreasonably jeopardizing their health. OSHA is considering the need for a standard to ensure that employers establish a comprehensive infection control program and control measures to protect employees from airborne infectious disease exposures to pathogens that can cause significant disease. Workplaces where such control measures might be necessary include: health care, emergency responses, correctional facilities, homeless shelters, drug treatment programs and other occupational settings where employees can be at increased risk of exposure to potentially infectious people. A standard could also apply to laboratories which handle materials that may be a source of pathogens, and to pathologists, coronersÂ’ offices, medical examiners and mortuaries. 
Agency: Department of Labor(DOL)  Priority: Economically Significant 
RIN Status: First time published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Prerule Stage 
Major: Undetermined  Unfunded Mandates: Undetermined 
CFR Citation: 29 CFR 1910   
Legal Authority: 5 USC 533    29 USC 657 and 658    29 USC 660    29 USC 666    29 USC 669    29 USC 673    ...   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Request for Information  03/00/2010    
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Undetermined  Government Levels Affected: Undetermined 
Federalism: Undetermined 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: No 
Agency Contact:
Dorothy Dougherty
Director, Directorate of Standards and Guidance
Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Room N-3718, FP Building, 200 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20210
Phone:202 693-1950
Fax:202 693-1678
Email: dougherty.dorothy@dol.gov