[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 239 (Friday, December 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65388-65389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32546]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

29 CFR Part 1910

[Docket No. H-371]
RIN 1218-AB46


Occupational Exposure to Tuberculosis

AGENCY: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period; rescheduling of the 
informal public hearings in Washington D.C.; announcement of additional 
hearings sites.

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SUMMARY: On October 17, 1997, the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) published in the Federal Register its proposed 
standard for occupational exposure to tuberculosis (62 FR 54160). An 
informal public hearing was scheduled for Washington, D.C., and 
deadlines were set for submission of public comments, Notices of 
Intention to Appear at the hearing, and documentary evidence from 
parties requesting more than 10 minutes for their hearing 
presentations. With this notice, OSHA is extending those deadlines, 
rescheduling the Washington, D.C., hearings to begin April 7, 1998, and 
adding three hearing sites.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed standard and Notices of 
Intention to Appear at the hearings must be postmarked on or before 
February 13, 1998.
    Testimony and documentary evidence from parties requesting more 
than 10 minutes for their presentations at the hearings must be 
submitted no later than February 27, 1998.
    The hearings will begin April 7, 1998, in Washington, D.C., 
starting at 10:00 a.m. on the first day and at 9:00 a.m. on succeeding 
days. Public hearings will also be held in Los Angeles, CA, and 
Chicago, IL, and New York City, NY. The dates and locations of these 
additional hearings will be published in the Federal Register at a 
later date.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the proposed standard, Notices of Intention to 
Appear at the hearings, testimony, and documentary evidence are to be 
submitted in quadruplicate to the Docket Officer, Docket No. H-371, 
Room N-2625, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, 
Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 219-7894. Comments of 10 pages or 
fewer may be transmitted by fax to (202) 219-5046, provided the 
original and three copies are sent to the Docket Officer thereafter.
    All material related to the development of this proposed standard 
will be available for inspection and copying in the Docket Office 
Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
    The hearing location for Washington, D.C., is the Frances Perkins 
Building Auditorium, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, 
NW. The hearing locations and dates for Los Angeles, CA, and Chicago, 
IL and New

[[Page 65389]]

York City, NY will be announced at a later date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Friedman, Office of Information 
and Consumer Affairs, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 
Room N-3647, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, 
Washington, DC 20210, Telephone (202) 219-8148, FAX (202) 219-5986.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OSHA proposed a new standard for 
occupational exposure to tuberculosis on October 17, 1997 (62 FR 
54160). The deadline for submitting written comments was December 16, 
1997. On November 5, 1997, five organizations representing more than 4 
million individuals and 5,300 facilities potentially affected by the 
proposed standard, collectively requested that OSHA consider extending 
the public comment period by a minimum of 30 days. Citing the 
complexity and the far-reaching implications of the proposed standard, 
these organizations stated that they believed that the current deadline 
of December 16, 1997, provided insufficient time for a thorough 
examination and consideration of the important issues. A similar 
request was made by the American Medical Association, which urged OSHA 
to extend the deadline to allow sufficient time for a complete and 
thoughtful analysis of the proposed TB standard.
    OSHA considers the testimony to be offered by these organizations 
to be important and necessary for the development of the final rule. In 
addition, OSHA recognizes that other parties that will be affected by 
the rulemaking may need more time to prepare their comments and 
testimony. In order to accommodate these organizations and others, OSHA 
has extended the comment period and has rescheduled the informal public 
hearings in Washington, D.C.
    The deadline for written comments and Notices of Intention to 
Appear at the informal public hearings is being extended from December 
16, 1997, to February 13, 1998. The deadline for submission of 
testimony for parties requesting more than 10 minutes at the public 
hearings or submitting documentary evidence is being extended from 
December 31, 1997, to February 27, 1998. The hearing presently 
scheduled to begin on February 3, 1998 in Washington, D.C., is being 
rescheduled to begin on April 7, 1998.
    In addition to the informal public hearings in Washington D.C., 
three sites are being added: Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA, and New 
York City, NY. Because the proposed standard will impact employees and 
employers across the nation, the Agency believes that is appropriate to 
hold public hearings at additional sites in order to give parties who 
may not be able to attend the hearings in Washington, D.C., an 
opportunity to participate in the public hearing process. OSHA has 
found that the hearings provide an important forum for interested 
parties to submit their comments and concerns on OSHA's proposed 
rulemakings and that the hearings provide the Agency with valuable 
information in developing its final standards.

Public Participation

    Persons desiring to participate at the hearings must submit four 
copies of a Notice of Intention to Appear containing the following 
information:
    (1) The name, address, and telephone number of each person to 
appear;
    (2) The hearing site that the party is requesting to attend;
    (3) The capacity in which the person will appear;
    (4) The approximate amount of time requested for the presentation;
    (5) The specific issues that will be addressed;
    (6) A detailed statement of the position that will be taken with 
respect to each issue addressed;
    (7) Whether the party intends to submit documentary evidence, and 
if so, a brief summary of that evidence; and
    (8) Whether the party wishes to testify on the days set aside to 
focus on homeless shelters.
    A tentative schedule of appearances at the hearings will be 
prepared and distributed to parties who have submitted Notices of 
Intention to Appear so parties will know when issues that concern them 
are likely to be raised at the hearing.

Filing of Testimony and Evidence Before Hearings

    Any party requesting more than 10 minutes for a presentation at the 
hearing, or who will present documentary evidence, must submit four 
copies of the complete text of the testimony, including any documentary 
evidence to be presented at the hearing to the Docket Officer at the 
above address.
    Each submission will be reviewed in light of the amount of time 
requested in the Notice of Intention to Appear. In those instances 
where the information contained in the submission does not justify the 
amount of time requested, a more appropriate amount of time will be 
allocated and the participant will be notified of that fact.
    Any party who has not substantially complied with this requirement 
may be limited to a 10-minute presentation. Any party who has not filed 
a Notice of Intention to Appear may be allowed to testify, as time 
permits, at the discretion of the Administrative Law Judge.
    OSHA emphasizes that the hearing is open to the public, and that 
interested persons are welcome to attend. However, only persons who 
have filed Notices of Intention to Appear will be entitled to ask 
questions and otherwise participate fully in the proceeding.

Authority

    This document has been prepared under the direction of Charles N. 
Jeffress, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and 
Health, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, D.C. 20210.
    It is issued under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety Health 
Act (29 U.S.C. 655), Secretary of Labor's Order 6-96, (62 FR 111) and 
29 CFR Part 1911.

    Signed at Washington, D.C. on this 9th day of December, 1997.
Charles N. Jeffress,
Assistant Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 97-32546 Filed 12-9-97; 3:59 pm]
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