Alliance -- An OSHA Cooperative Program<< Back to The American Biological Safety Association

  1. Alliance Background  

    Date Signed

    September 23, 2002

    Date Renewed

    October 13, 2004
    January 29, 2007
    March 3, 2009

    Overview

    The OSHA and ABSA Alliance focuses on promoting healthy and safe workplaces. The organizations use their collective expertise both to enhance workplace health and safety and to assist employers, including small businesses, in developing a preventive focus for biological safety issues facing the American workplace.

    Implementation Team Members

    OSHA:

    Sharon Carr - Office of Biological Hazards (OBH), Directorate of Standards and Guidance (DSG)
    Nancy Hauter - Office of Health Enforcement (OHE), Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP)
    Jeff Lodwick - Salt Lake Technical Center, Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management (DTSEM)
    Jack Longmire - Office of Occupational Medicine, DTSEM
    Eric Lahaie - Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA), Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs (DCSP)
    Sandra Khan - OOSA, DCSP
    Thomas Nerad - OBH, DSG
    Audrey Profitt - OHE, DEP
    Gary Senatore - OHE, DEP
    Dionne Williams - OHE, DEP


    ABSA:

    David Counts - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; ABSA Member
    Penny Holeman - Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute; ABSA Member
    Rich Rebar - GlaxoSmithKline; ABSA Councilor
    Julie Savage - Director, Conference and Meetings, ABSA
    Ed Stygar - Executive Director, ABSA

    Evaluation Period

    September 23, 2009 – September 22, 2010

  2. Implementation Team Meetings

    September 28, 2009 - Implementation Team Meeting
    February 24, 2010 - Implementation Team Meeting
    June 1, 2010 - Implementation Team Meeting
    September 14, 2010 - Implementation Team Meeting


    In addition to these formal meetings, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance’s progress and results.

  3. Results
    1. Products and Events

      Outreach and Communication Goals

      • Work with OSHA to provide expertise in developing information on the recognition and prevention of workplace hazards, and to provide expertise in developing ways of communicating such information (e.g. print and electronic media, electronic assistance tools and OSHA’s and ABSA’s Web sites) to employers and employees in the industry.

      Products

      ABSA and OSHA Alliance-related Web Page

      ABSA continually updates the ABSA and OSHA Alliance Web page. The page includes links to the OSHA and ABSA Alliance agreement, renewal agreements and related documents on the OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site.   

      OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web Page

      OSHA is continuing to update the OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web page posted on the Agency Web site. The page includes information on Alliance events, milestones and successes, and links to the OSHA and ABSA agreement, news releases, and to the ABSA and OSHA Alliance Web page on the ABSA Web site.  

      OSHA’s Safety and Health Topics pages

      ABSA’s Technical Review Committee members serve on the editorial boards of the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, providing OSHA with their expertise and technical review:

      • Anthrax
        • Robert J. Hawley, Senior Advisor, Midwest Research Institute, Fredrick, MD
        • Jonathan Richmond, President, Jonathan Richmond and Associates, Southport, NC
      • Biological Agents
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
        • Mary Cipriano, Manager of Biological Safety, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Botulism
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Foodborne Disease
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Hantavirus
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Hazardous Waste
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
        • Stefan Wagener, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
      • Indoor Air Quality
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
        • Wayne Thomann, PhD, Duke University Occupational and Environmental Safety Office, Durham, NC
      • Ionizing Radiation
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
        • Stefan Wagener, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
      • Legionnaires’ Disease
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard W. Gilpin, President, Gilpin, LTD, Baltimore,
        • Jack Keene, BioHazTec Associates, Midlothian, VA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia,
      • Mold and Fungi
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard W. Gilpin, President, Gilpin, LTD, Baltimore, MD
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
        • Wayne Thomann, PhD, Duke University Occupational and Environmental Safety Office, Durham, NC
      • Plague
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Ricin
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Smallpox
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Tularemia
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA

      OSHA’s eTools

      ABSA’s Technical Review Committee members serve on the editorial boards of the following OSHA eTools, providing OSHA with their expertise and technical review:

      • Anthrax
        • Elizabeth Gilman Duane, Associate Director, Biosafety, Wyeth, Cambridge, MA
        • Richard Rebar, Biosafety, GlaxoSmithKline, King of Prussia, PA
      • Hospital
        • Debra L. Hunt, Director, Biological Safety, Duke University, Durham, NC
        • Yolanda Arriaga Stringer, Biological Safety Officer, Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, MO
      • Legionnaires’ Disease
        • Richard W. Gilpin, President, Gilpin, LTD, Baltimore,
      • Speak, exhibit or appear at OSHA’s or ABSA’s conferences, local meetings, or other events such as ABSA’s Annual Conference.

      Events

      52nd Annual Biological Safety Conference, October 18-21, 2009, Hyatt Regency Miami Convention Center, Miami, Florida

      OSHA representatives from Region IV staffed an Alliance Program exhibit booth during the conference. Vergie Bain, Compliance Assistance Specialist, reported that 200 conference attendees visited the Alliance booth. 

      2009 Drug-Free Work Week, October 19-25, 2009

      The American Biological Safety Association and a number of other Alliance Program participants supported the 2009 Drug-Free Work Week. Sponsored annually by the U.S. Department of Labor's Working Partners for an Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace Program, the Week focuses on educating employers, employees and the public about the importance of being drug-free as an essential component of a safe and healthful workplace.

      To help support the week, ABSA posted information and a link to the event on the ABSA Alliance-related Web page.

      • Share information among OSHA personnel and industry safety and health professionals regarding ABSA’s best practices or effective approaches and publicize results through outreach by ABSA and through OSHA or ABSA developed materials, training programs, workshops, seminars, and lectures (or any other applicable forum).

      During the reporting period the OSHA and ABSA implementation Team did not address this Alliance goal.

      Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goal

      • Convene or participate in forums, round table discussions, or stakeholder meetings on Biosafety issues to help forge innovative solutions in the workplace or to provide input on safety and health issues.

      Events

      2010 North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, May 2-8, 2010

      The American Biological Safety Association and a number of other Alliance Program participants supported the 2010 NAOSH Week, "Mission NAOSH 2010: Safe Workplaces." Sponsored annually by the American Society of Safety Engineers, an Alliance Program participant, and the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering, the Week focuses on the importance of preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace.

      To help support the week, ABSA posted the 2010 NAOSH Week banner to their Alliance Web page and disseminated promotional material to ABSA staff and members.

    2. Executive Summary

      Through the Alliance Program, OSHA and ABSA are working together to develop resources that focus on reducing and preventing exposure to biological health and safety hazards to assist employers, including small businesses. The positive relationship that ABSA and OSHA have developed over the past nine years has led to the development of many projects that the team is currently working on or has produced.

      Through the Alliance Program, ABSA invited an OSHA representative from the Area Office to staff an Alliance Program exhibit booth during their Annual Biological Safety Conference. Based on the success of this event, OSHA may speak and/or exhibit at the 2011 event.

      In addition, ABSA representatives are also sharing their expertise with OSHA through participation on the editorial boards for 16 OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages. The ABSA Technical Review Committee members are continuing to serve on the OSHA’s editorial boards for the Anthrax, Hospital and Legionnaires’ Disease eTools.

      Finally, as part of their outreach, ABSA supported and promoted the 2009 Drug-Free Work Week and the 2010 NAOSH Week by adding information about the Weeks on the ABSA Web site.

    3. Alliance Program Reach

      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained

      OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web page on the Agency Web site

      		 3,483

      ABSA and OSHA Alliance Web page on the ABSA Web site

      		 Data Not Available

      October 18-21, 2009
      52nd Annual Biological Safety Conference, Miami, Florida

                        		200

      Anthrax, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 675

      Biological Agents, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 13,873

      Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 170,512

      Botulism, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 4,136

      Foodborne Disease, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 12,060

      Hantavirus, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 7,830

      Hazardous Waste, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 20,318

      Indoor Air Quality, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 28,322

      Ionizing Radiation, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 19,667

      Legionnaires’ Disease, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 7,458

      Mold and Fungi, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 20,669

      Plague, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 1,557

      Ricin, Safety and Health Topics page

      		4,538

      Smallpox, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 5,023

      Tularemia, Safety and Health Topics page

      		 4,269

      Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers, Safety and Health Topics page

      		3,241

      Anthrax, OSHA eTool

      		 11,932

      Legionnaires’ Disease, OSHA eTool

      		 6,119

      Hospital, OSHA eTool

      		 40,607
      Total 386,489
  4. Upcoming Milestones

    In the upcoming year, OSHA and ABSA will undertake several additional projects through the Alliance to help employers and workers reduce or prevent exposure to health, safety, and biological hazards in a laboratory. For example, through the Alliance, ABSA will finalize the General Microbiology Fact Sheet and develop two more resources for Biosafety Professionals and non-scientific laboratory staff.

    In addition, ABSA representatives will continue to provide OSHA with their expertise by in serving on the editorial boards for OSHA’s Anthrax, Hospital, and Legionnaires’ Disease eTools and for the 16 OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, including but not limited to, Biological Agents, Bloodborne Pathogens, Foodborne Disease, Indoor Air Quality, Botulism, and Hantavirus.

    ABSA will also continue to provide their expertise to OSHA by providing feedback on draft biological safety and health documents developed by OSHA, as requested. OSHA representatives will participate at the ABSA Annual Biological Safety Conference, October 4-6, 2010, in Denver, Colorado.

    Finally, ABSA representatives will be joining with other Alliance Program participants to support 2011 North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, May 1-7, 2011, "NAOSH – Celebrating a Century of Safety."

Report prepared by: Morgan Seuberling, Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances, January 6, 2011.