Where is the OSHA Regulatory Agenda?

Well, it is about that time of the Fall/Winter when we should be expecting the new Regulatory Agenda from OSHA. In the last agenda, which was published in April, we saw a total of 6 regulatory items withdrawn a and few items introduced. I would not expect OSHA to withdraw any additional rulemaking items in this edition, though it is obviously theoretically possible for that to happen.

There are currently 3 items at OMB for final rule review which include Ergo Reporting/MSD Column rule, General Working Conditions in Shipyards, and Procedures for Handling Discrimination Complaints for Federal Employees. Of these, the most anticipated item is the Ergo/MSD reporting rule, particularly since it has been pending at OMB for more than 4 months.

The Fall Reg Agenda will obviously provide status updates and projected timelines for the rules which are in the funnel. I suspect the greatest attention will be placed on the Safety Program Rule / I2P2, Cooperative Agreements, GHS/Hazcom, Combustible Dust, Silica (proposed rule was anticipated for Feb 2011), and maybe some curiousity interest over data collection. That is not to say, of course, that the other items are as important – just not as ‘higher profile interest’ perhaps. As far as Diacetyl goes, there will be a lot of interest from the food manufacturing industry and I imagine a great deal attention will be put on any schedule or timeline projections.