Respiratory Protection for M. Tuberculosis

OSHA is revoking "Respiratory Protection for M. Tuberculosis" (29 CFR 1910.139) which is simply a recodification of OSHA's 1971 General Industry Respiratory Protection standard that was revised in 1998. At the time of the revision of the 1971 standard, OSHA decided that, because its proposed standard for occupational exposure to TB, published three months earlier, included a comprehensive respiratory protection provision, the Agency would allow compliance with the previous respirator standard for TB protection until completion of the TB rulemaking. Thus, pending conclusion of the TB rulemaking, OSHA redesignated the old Respiratory Protection Standard in a new section entitled "Respiratory Protection for M. tuberculosis". However, in a document published elsewhere in this separate part of the Federal Register, OSHA is today withdrawing its proposed TB standard. Because this withdrawal concludes the TB rulemaking, OSHA is revoking the redesignated Respiratory Protection Standard, and will begin applying the General Industry Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134) to respiratory protection against TB.