ABSA - Alliance Annual Report - October 31, 2005

ALLIANCE ANNUAL REPORT
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the
American Biological Safety Association (ABSA)
October 31, 2005

  1. Alliance Background

    Date Signed

    September 23, 2002

    Date Renewed

    October 26, 2004

    Overview

    The OSHA and ABSA Alliance promotes healthy and safe workplaces, especially in the area of biological safety. The organizations are working together to share technical information and best practices in the control and mitigation of biological hazards in the workplace. In addition, the OSHA and ABSA are identifying emerging biological safety issues and potential methods to address these issues.

    Implementation Team Members
     
    OSHA:  
    Cathy Cronin
    Karen Heckmann
    Jack Longmire
    Sandi Khan
    Melody Sands
    Dionne Williams    		 Office of Training and Education (OTE)
    OTE
    Directorate of Science, Technology and Medicine
    Office of Outreach Services and Alliances (OOSA)
    Directorate of Enforcement Programs (DEP)
    DEP
       
    ABSA:  
    Betsy Gilman-Duane
    Penny Holeman
    Rich Rebar    		 Wyeth Research
    Johnson & Johnson
    GlaxoSmithKline

    Evaluation Period

    September 23, 2004 – September 22, 2005
     
  2. Implementation Team Meetings
     
    February 2, 2005
    May 10, 2005
    September 13, 2005    		 Meeting, OSHA, Washington, D.C.
    Meeting, OSHA, Washington, D.C.
    Meeting, OSHA, Washington D.C.

    In addition to these formal meetings and conference calls, the Alliance coordinators from both groups maintained regular contact throughout the reporting period to monitor the Alliance's progress and results.
     
  3. Results
     
    1. Events and Products

      Training and Education Goals
       
      • Provide the OSHA Training Institute, upon request, with educational and training materials and resources on biological safety.
      Products

      ABSA implementation team members provided OSHA's Office of Training and Education with a list of ABSA members with expertise in several different Biosafety disciplines to answer any questions that may arise as needed.
       
      • Provide peer review, upon request, of OSHA's training curricula on topics relevant to biological safety.
      Products

      Biosafety Course for OSHA Inspectors

      The OSHA and ABSA implementation team members are developing Biosafety course curricula for Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs)

      Introduction to OSHA for Biosafety Professionals

      ABSA representatives reviewed and provided feedback on OSHA's Professional Development Course (PDS), "Introduction to OSHA for Biosafety Professionals."

      Outreach and Communication Goals
       
      • ABSA and OSHA will share technical information and best practices regarding biological safety.
      Products

      Hurricane Katrina
      Rescue and Recovery: Hygiene Practices for Workers

      During the reporting period, ABSA developed a fact sheet, "Rescue and Recovery: Hygiene Practices for Workers," that outlined common-sense practices and procedures that promote safety and health during the rescue and recovery efforts where contaminated water and human and animal corpses are health hazards.
       
      • ABSA will provide OSHA with technical advice, information and recommendations related to biological safety.
      Products

      ABSA Review of OSHA Technical Documents

      ABSA representatives have provided technical review and provided feedback on OSHA's documents including, Tularemia, Ricin, Plague and Foodborne Disease, and on OSHA's Guidance for Protecting Workers against Avian Flu, Guidance for Laboratory Workers.
       
      • ABSA will provide peer review, upon request, of OSHA technical documents concerning biological safety issues.

        During the reporting period the OSHA-ABSA implementation team did not have an opportunity to address the Alliance goal.
         
      • ABSA and OSHA will work together to identify emerging occupational biological safety issues and methods to address those issues.

        During the reporting period the OSHA-ABSA implementation team did not have an opportunity to address the Alliance goal.
         
      • ABSA will identify individuals within the Association who have expertise on specific biological safety issues, and who have agreed to serve as direct points of contact for OSHA regarding those issues.
      Products

      ABSA provided OSHA with a list of ABSA members who have expertise in several different Biosafety disciplines and are willing to provide technical expertise, review, and guidance to OSHA staff. OSHA posted the list of ABSA members on the OSHA-ABSA Limited Access Web Page (LAP).
       
      • ABSA will provide OSHA, upon request, with information about international regulations and guidelines relevant to biological safety.

        During the reporting period the OSHA-ABSA implementation team did not have an opportunity to address the Alliance goal.
         
      • ABSA will be available for consultation, upon request, to OSHA Compliance Assistance Specialists regarding biological safety issues.

        During the reporting period the OSHA-ABSA implementation team did not have an opportunity to address the Alliance goal.
         
      • ABSA will assist OSHA in identifying and developing technical links on biological safety for the OSHA web site.
      Products

      OSHA and ABSA Web pages

      During the reporting period, ABSA created an ABSA-OSHA Alliance Web page on its Web site that provides information on the Alliance, links to OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages, news releases, activities and events and milestones and successes. The OSHA-ABSA Alliance Web page on OSHA's Web site is updated regularly. In addition, a link to the ABSA-OSHA Alliance Web page on ABSA's Web site was added to the page.

      OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages

      Representatives from the OSHA-ABSA Alliance serve on the editorial boards of the following OSHA Safety and Health Topics pages:
       
      • Anthrax
      • Avian Flu
      • Biological Agents
      • Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
      • Botulism
      • Foodborne Disease
      • Hantavirus
      • Hazardous Waste
      • Indoor Air Quality
      • Ionizing Radiation
      • Legionnaires' Disease
      • Mold and Fungi
      • Plague
      • Ricin
      • Smallpox
      • Tularemia
      • Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
      Please see Appendix A for a list of ABSA reviewers.
       
      • OSHA will participate in ABSA conferences.
      Events

      47th Biological Safety Conference, San Antonio, TX, October 17-20, 2004

      OSHA representatives participated in the 47th Biological Safety Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, October 17-20, 2004. Representatives from OSHA's National Office and Region VI Austin, Texas Area Office staffed the OSHA-ABSA Alliance exhibit booth during the conference and provided information on OSHA's Cooperative Programs, especially the Alliance Program, and other workplace safety and health information. In addition, Melody Sands, Director, Office of Health Enforcement, USDOL-OSHA made a presentation during the plenary session, "TB, Bloodborne Pathogens and More…"

      Promoting the National Dialogue on Workplace Safety and Health Goals
       
      • ABSA and OSHA will work together to encourage employers to incorporate biological safety strategies into their overall safety and health programs.
      The OSHA-ABSA Alliance has not had the opportunity to address this Alliance goal.
       
    2. Executive summary

      During the reporting period OSHA and ABSA renewed its Alliance agreement. Through the Alliance, ABSA is providing OSHA with technical expertise and guidance in the area of biological safety. In addition the Alliance is also addressing controlling and mitigating the spread of biological hazards in the workplace.

      For example, the OSHA and ABSA Alliance maintain several resources with information about the Alliance, biological hazards and other safety and health materials. The OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web page features links to the Alliance agreement, the renewal agreement, related documents, activities and events, and milestones and successes. The ABSA Web site features a biological hazards page that provides ABSA members and other visitors to the site with resources for addressing biological hazards, including links to the OSHA and ABSA Alliance Web site, OSHA's Safety and Health Topics page and compliance assistance materials. Additionally, through the Alliance, ABSA members helped to review and revise many of OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages and eTools covering such issues as hazardous waste, legionnaires' disease, mold and fungi, tularemia and viral hemorrhagic fevers by serving on the editorial boards.

      OSHA representatives, Melody Sands, Director, Office of Health Enforcement, Directorate of Enforcement Programs, USDOL-OSHA, gave a presentation on "TB, Bloodborne Pathogens and More" during the 47th Annual Biological Safety Conference in San Antonio, Texas, October 17-20, 2004. In addition, the OSHA-ABSA Alliance had an exhibit booth that provided an excellent vehicle for distributing OSHA safety and health information products and information on OSHA's cooperative programs, particularly the Alliance Program, to conference attendees.

      As an Alliance product, ABSA developed a fact sheet for OSHA staff after Hurricane Katrina, "Rescue and Recovery: Hygiene Practices for Workers." The fact sheet provided common-sense practices and procedures for workers involved in rescue and recovery efforts when contaminated water and human and animal corpses are health hazards.

      In addition, ABSA provided OSHA with a list of its members who are willing to provide technical expertise and guidance to OSHA staff. The list of ABSA members is located on the OSHA-ABSA LAP.

      Further, ABSA reviewed and provided comments on OSHA's Professional Development Course, "Introduction to OSHA for Biosafety Professionals." The association is also working with OSHA to develop a biosafety training course for Compliance Safety and Health Officers (CSHOs).
       
    3. Alliance Program Reach
       
      Type of Activity (Conference, Training, Print and Electronic Distribution, etc.) Number of Individuals Reached or Trained
      OSHA-ABSA Alliance Web page on OSHA's Web site. 6,356

      Members of ABSA serve on 17 of OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages:

      • Anthrax
      • Avian Flu
      • Biological Agents
      • Bloodborne Pathogens and Needlestick Prevention
      • Botulism
      • Foodborne Disease
      • Hantavirus
      • Hazardous Waste
      • Indoor Air Quality
      • Ionizing Radiation
      • Legionnaires' Disease
      • Mold and Fungi
      • Plague
      • Ricin
      • Smallpox
      • Tularemia
      • Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
      		 189,435
      October 26, 2004, OSHA, "American Biological Safety Assn Renew Alliance Focus Continues on Information-Sharing to Address Biological Hazards in the Workplace."
      U.S. Newswire      		 Data unavailable
      October 26, 2004, "American Biological Safety Assn Renew Alliance Focus Continues on Information-Sharing to Address Biological Hazards in the Workplace."
      OSHA News Release      		 43 News Services
      October 28, 2004, "OSHA and the American Biological Safety Association Renew Alliance."
      Enviro.BLR.com      		 Data unavailable
      October 2004, "OSHA Renews Alliance with ABSA"
      Facilities Management News      		 Data unavailable
      TOTAL 195,791
  4. Upcoming Milestones

    In the next year, the OSHA and ABSA Alliance implementation team will continue to work together to identify opportunities to promote safety and health in the biosafety industry. OSHA and ABSA will continue to work toward the control and mitigation of biological hazards in the workplace and to identify emerging biological safety issues and potential methods to address these issues.

    OSHA and ABSA will continue to develop its successful and productive relationship through sharing information and updates on their organizations at the implementation team meetings and by providing updates on international biosafety issues and pending international regulations and guidelines as they are published.

    ABSA representatives will continue to contribute their expertise and to serve on 17 editorial boards for OSHA's Safety and Health Topics pages and other biological safety and health documents developed by OSHA, as requested. In addition, OSHA and ABSA will continue to keep their respective Alliance Web pages updated with current biological safety information.

    Three OSHA representatives, Melody Sands, Director, Office of Health Enforcement, Karen Heckman, Office of Training and Education, and Dionne Williams, Office of Health Enforcement, will deliver OSHA's Professional Development Course, "Introduction to OSHA for Biosafety Professionals," at the 48th Annual Biological Safety Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 21-16, 2005. In addition, ABSA is providing exhibit space for an OSHA and ABSA Alliance exhibit booth.

    Finally, OSHA and ABSA are planning to renew their Alliance agreement for another two years in October 2006.


    Report prepared by: Sandi Khan, Alliance Coordinator, Occupational Safety and Health Specialist, Office of Outreach Services and Alliances.

     

Appendix A

Editorial Review Board

Matthew J. Bankowski, ViroMed (LabCorp), Minnetonka, MN

Franklin R. Champlin, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS

Mary L. Cipriano, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL

Robert P. Ellis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

Glenn A. Funk

Raymond W. Hackney, Jr., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Philip Hagan, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

Robert J. Hawley, Midwest Research Institute, Frederick, MD

Richard Henkel, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA

Debra L. Hunt, Duke University, Durham, NC

Peter C. Iwen, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE

John H. Keene, Biohaztec Associates, Inc., Midlothian, VA

Paul Michael Kivistik, University of Nevada, Reno, NV

Joseph P. Kozlovac, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD

Jens H. Kuhn, Harvard Medical School, Southborough, MA

Margy S. Lambert, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

R. Thomas Leonard, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Paul J. Meechan, Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, PA

Mark Nicas, University of California, Berkeley, CA

Beryl J. Packer, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Tim Ravita, Constella Health Sciences, Atlanta, GA

Richard Rebar, GlaxoSmithKline R&D, King of Prussia, PA

Jonathan Y. Richmond, Jonathan Richmond & Associates, Inc., Southport, NC

Deanna S. Robbins, Department of Veterans Affairs, Baltimore, MD

Richard J. Shaughnessy, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

Allan Showler, USDA-ARS, Weslaco, TX

Cecil R. Smith, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

Gerard J. Spahn, The Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA

Donald Vesley, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Catherine L. Wilhelmsen, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Fort Detrick, MD

Linda B. Wolfe, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA

Jeffrey D. Wolt, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Alan G. Woodard, International Environmental Health Alliance, Gansevoort, NY