12/13/1994 - Abortion clinics do not comply with OSHA regulations and guidelines

Interactive Learning Paradigms, Incorporated

	The Home page of ILPI's Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Resource, the leader in SDS information since 1995!
	The history and philosophy behind this resource.
	A curated collection of books and reference materials concerning Safety Data Sheets and closely related topics.
	Paste your plain text SDS into the SDS-Demystifier, and it will be converted into a hypertext-enriched document with links to detailed explanations of each key term.
	An extensive list of frequently asked questions about Safety Data Sheets including regulations, content, compliance, and more.
	A humorous take on Safety Data Sheet jargon. Fill in the blanks on our entry form to generate a personalized Unsafety Data Sheet to share with your coworkers.
	Since 1995, we've maintained this massive curated list of the best places to find Safety Data Sheets on the Internet.
	Way more than a glossary, this hypertext-enhanced resource covers hundreds of SDS-related terms and expert knowledge. Each entry includes both the SDS relevance and links to additional authoritative resources.
	Archived results of Safety Data Sheet related polls taken by some of our millions of site visitors
	You are here! The OSHA regulations behind SDS regulations, including the inspection guidelines and over 400 official interpretations letters under the Hazard Communication Standard
	Commercial suppliers of SDS authoring and management software as well as cloud compliance services.
	Commercial companies that will create SDS's for your specific needs as well as SDS translation companies.

Safety signs, banners, and scoreboards? Get yours at Safety Emporium!

XXXPrevNext

Title: 12/13/1994 - Abortion clinics do not comply with OSHA regulations and guidelines.
Record Type: Interpretation	Standard Number: 1910.1200; 1910.1030

December 13, 1994

The Honorable J. Bennett Johnston
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Johnston:

Thank you for your letter of October 27, on behalf of your constituent, Mrs. James Hannie of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Mrs. Hannie wrote to your questioning why abortion clinics do not comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations and guidelines as other doctors and hospitals are required to.

OSHA inspections are based upon (in order of priority), a worker fatality or catastrophe, knowledge of an imminent danger situation affecting employees, a compliant or referral, and our general schedule targeting system.

Abortion clinics, like other healthcare facilities are covered by, and must comply with all applicable OSHA safety and health standards. If there are clinics that your constituent is familiar with that are not in compliance with OSHA regulations it is likely that they have not yet been inspected under one of the above procedures. Your constituent has the right to file a non-formal complaint regarding the alleged hazards. A nonformal complaint is a compliance procedure whereby a compliant can be filed against a facility by someone that does not work there. The complaint is handled by letter with a written response required. An inspection by an OSHA compliance officer can be conducted if the written response is inadequate or if no response is received within the required time period.

If your constituent is interested in filing such a compliant she can contact the local area office at:

U.S. Department of Labor

For your information, the OSHA regulations most commonly violated in the healthcare industry include the bloodborne pathogens and the hazard communication standards. The bloodborne pathogens standard addresses the broad issue of occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials. Covered under this standard are requirements for worker education and training, hepatitis B vaccination, personal protective equipment, engineering and administrative controls, infectious waste disposal, and so forth. The hazard communication standard addresses worker exposure to hazardous chemicals. Covered under this standard are requirements for a written program, chemical labeling, providing material safety data sheets on all hazardous chemicals, and employee training.
We hope this information is responsive to your concerns and the concerns of your constituent. Thank you for your interest in worker health and safety.
Sincerely,
Joseph A. Dear Assistant Secretary

Get your Bloodborne Pathogen centers, binders, posters, handbooks and training materials at Safety Emporium.

October 27, 1994 Ms. Geri Palast
Department of Labor Congressional Affairs
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

Dear Ms. Palast:

Because of my desire to be responsive to all inquiries, I respectfully request your consideration of the enclosed material.

I will appreciate your findings and views, in duplicate form, along with the return of the enclosures by November 28, 1994.

With kindest regards, I am.

Sincerely,
J. Bennett Johnston United States Senator

JBJ/etr Enclosure

This hypermarked and content-enhanced page is copyright by ILPI, all rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication or posting on other web sites is expressly prohibited. For questions, comments and concerns, please contact us at our SDS email address.

The original official public domain version of this document is available from OSHA at XXXOSHAURL.