OSHA appears to have pulled back on formal attempts to advance two key regulatory initiatives that have caused political controversy -- new standards to address diacetyl and combustible dust -- though an OSHA official said the agency is still working on them as long-term actions. At the same time OSHA is taking preliminary steps to address the need to update chemical exposure limits, observers say. The agency came out with its new regulatory agenda Friday (Jan. 20) as part of the Labor Department's list of rulemaking priorities for the near future.
September 16, 2026
The Environmental Protection Agency is defending itself against allegations by its Inspector General (IG) that EPA authorized controversial demolition practices that might cause asbestos exposures, and that EPA may have violated OSHA rules for personal protective equipment.
The IG on Dec. 14 issued an “early warning report” on allegations that EPA may have authorized use of the so-called “wet method” of demolishing asbestos-contaminated buildings at various sites, including the Hanford Superfund Site near Richland, WA and a gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, KY.
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A top OSHA official conveyed “serious policy concerns” to the Health and Human Services Department about HHS promoting a mandatory approach to health care worker vaccination for influenza, saying OSHA strongly supports efforts to increase the vaccination rates but does not believe the evidence is sufficient to back requirements that could result in workers being fired.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's (CSB) top official jumped into an ongoing dispute over the inclusion of an “unclassified hazards” category under OSHA's upcoming final rule to amend its hazard communication (hazcom) standard, telling White House officials the category should be included to ensure combustible dust is addressed. The CSB official complained to the White House that industry is trying to get the category removed, but an industry source told Inside OSHA Online that CSB's view is “not relevant” as the board is not a regulated entity.
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Washington state's OSHA plan has rolled out new regulations governing the safe handling of hazardous drugs in health care settings, following the mandate of a state law enacted last year and prompting worker advocates to call for similar policies at the federal and state levels. Sources also said action by the states could help spur more stringent requirements by health care providers across their operations.
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OSHA plans to convene a small business review panel on its closely watched injury and illness prevention program (I2P2) rulemaking by early March, Washington sources say.
The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy (SBA) sent to small business representatives a notice, obtained by Inside OSHA Online, that OSHA on Jan. 6 provided notice to SBA and the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) that the agency intends to convene the panel within 60 days.
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OSHA has unveiled a new white paper that recommends U.S. businesses roll out comprehensive injury and illness prevention programs (I2P2), and while the recommendations are voluntary, employer interests are digging in their heels against the agency's stance that I2P2 should eventually be mandatory. An industry source latched onto OSHA's references about states' differing I2P2 approaches to raise concern the agency may be contemplating a regulation that imposes more stringent enforcement.
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A federal court has sided with OSHA in a key preemption case, agreeing that the agency's cranes and derricks rule does not preempt New York City's building code, which was written with stricter standards to protect not only workers but the general public from construction crane hazards. An industry attorney who reviewed the decision suggested the District Court judge wrote it in such a way as to withstand an appeal, possibly all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and OSHA face pressure from agency advisors to take the department's case for a rulemaking on crystalline silica more forcefully to White House officials who have kept the agency's proposal under wraps for almost a year. The renewed push comes in the form of a recommendation from OSHA's national advisory panel, which often provides advice at the agency level, but not frequently to the DOL chief. The latest recommendation echoes similar advice the group gave to both OSHA and the secretary last year, but is even more strongly worded.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is intensifying pressure on OSHA to take urgent action cracking down on combustible dust hazards, calling on the agency to publish a proposed rule tackling the issue within one year and add industries that generate metal dust to the targets of its National Emphasis Program (NEP) on the enforcement side. The OSHA recommendations lead a host of measures CSB wants various organizations, from the local to federal levels, to take following a probe into several incidents last year at a steel plant in Tennessee, two of which were fatal.
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A major petroleum industry group met with White House officials in mid-December to reiterate its support for OSHA's move to align the U.S. hazard communication (hazcom) standard with the United Nations-developed global system -- but also press some key concerns, including asking that OSHA rename a category for “unclassified” hazards to “other” or similar language in the planned rule. OSHA's proposal to create an “unclassified” list of hazards has been one of the few sticking points over the rulemaking, which has generally enjoyed broad support among large industries.
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As key OSHA initiatives -- such as a closely watched proposed rule on crystalline silica -- remain in regulatory limbo, stakeholders on all sides are increasingly calling to reform the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House office that reviews the agency's regulations.
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OSHA stakeholders are turning their attention to the agency's reinvigorated enforcement efforts and the increasing profile of its National Emphasis Programs (NEPs) -- especially as they apply to testy issues such as ergonomics -- and other administrative policies within OSHA as the agency enters 2012 with a more tightly constrained regulatory agenda. Sources say OSHA is doing what it can internally to address areas it considers crucial, as the administration and Congress effectively slow new rulemaking efforts on safety and health issues.
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House Republicans plan to schedule more hearings in 2012 to scrutinize OSHA's regulatory agenda and enforcement policies, following a year in which the new GOP majority got better up to speed on key worker safety and health issues, the chairman of the workforce protections subcommittee told Inside OSHA Online in an exclusive interview. At the same time, Rep.
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Democrats on the House panel with OSHA jurisdiction on Dec. 22 blasted their Republican colleagues' record on occupational safety and health issues throughout the second half of 2011, criticizing the GOP for what they characterize as attacks on OSHA's proposed standard on crystalline silica, addition of a column for musculoskeletal disorders to injury recordkeeping logs, and a new policy tightening safety rules in home roofing and repair.
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Food safety advocacy groups have filed the first-ever lawsuit urging the government to regulate the potential health and safety risks of nanotechnology, requesting the court force the Food and Drug Administration to answer their six-year-old citizen petition demanding FDA start regulating the use of unlabeled nanomaterials in consumer products. The groups said that they were propelled to pursue further legal action by the growing number of scientific reports calling for more regulation of the use of nanotechnology in such products.
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A closely watched federal appeals court case has solidified OSHA's long-contested multi-employer citation policy, throwing out an appeal from a general contractor whom OSHA cited for alleged violations affecting workers not directly employed by the company. A legal source following the case suggested the ruling could be “the final nail in the coffin” for disputes over the policy.
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Congress – as part of a huge eleventh-hour deal to keep agencies afloat the rest of of the fiscal year – appropriated millions more to OSHA compliance assistance programs at the state and federal levels, as well as $1 million to beef up the whistleblower protection program, which OSHA has been striving to improve.
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NIOSH will continue to receive funding for two key programs the Obama administration sought to zero out, but which safety advocates fought to preserve: The agency will not see its Education and Research Centers (ERCs) or Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF) Program terminated -- at least for now. Both programs enjoy support from various occupational safety and health advocates, but for much of this year the future of both programs was unclear.
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House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Thursday (Dec. 15) on Labor Department spending for the rest of fiscal 2012 that kills OSHA's plans to add a column for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) to OSHA recordkeeping logs by blocking funds for the effort. But they scrapped policy riders that would have similarly put a stop to the agency's controversial injury and illness prevention program (I2P2) rule, as well as its new fall protection policy as it relates to residential reroofing and roof-repair activities.
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