For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
AFSCME Outraged by Department of Labor Decision to Drop OSHA Tuberculosis Standard
Regulation That Has Been 10 Years in the Making Would Also Protect Workers from SARS
WASHINGTON —The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, expressed outrage today at Labor Secretary Elaine Chao over her decision to drop long overdue Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) tuberculosis (TB) standards. The standards would protect high-risk workers from TB and also provide protections against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
"For more than 10 years AFSCME has been calling on OSHA to issue a TB standard. Secretary Chao and OSHA cannot stall any longer; they must take action now. It is outrageous how little regard this Administration has for workers and their safety," AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee said.
Although the total number of TB cases in the United States has fallen, tuberculosis still poses a serious risk. The number of tuberculosis cases increased in 20 states between 2000 and 2001. Meanwhile, workers are faced with an emerging threat. According to the latest reports from the World Health Organization, there have been over 8,000 cases and 587 deaths worldwide, including health care workers who cared for patients with SARS. In the United States there have been 345 known or suspected SARS cases under investigation in over 38 states.
In a letter to Secretary Chao on April 14, 2003 AFSCME reiterated its decade-long call for an OSHA TB Standard. An OSHA standard would protect workers from tuberculosis by requiring isolation rooms to be kept under negative pressure, the use of N-95 filtering respirators, and other airborne disease control measures. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization are recommending many of the same precautions to protect against SARS that would be included in a tuberculosis rule.
