Advisory Meeting for Occupational Exposure to Plume in Health Care
General Industry Safety Orders
Chapter 4, subchapter 7, new section
To be notified of updates to advisory meetings, you can add your email address to the Research and Standards mailing list by visiting DIR Email Notices and checking the box labeled "DOSH Research and Standards Stakeholders."
The Division is seeking input on a discussion draft of possible regulatory language regarding AB 1007 (2023-2024; Occupational safety and health standards: plume). Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by September 30, 2025 to rs@dir.ca.gov. An advisory committee will be scheduled at a later date.
All stakeholders are invited to submit written comments on the discussion draft presented at the November 8, 2018 Advisory Meeting by January 15, 2019 to rs@dir.ca.gov
1515 Clay St., 2nd Floor, Room 2
Oakland, CA
In response to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board's decision on February 15, 2018 to GRANT Petition No. 567, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) will convene an advisory meeting to consider development of a rulemaking proposal to protect employees from surgical plume and smoke. Cal/OSHA is holding an advisory meeting in Oakland.
At this advisory meeting, stakeholders and the public will have an opportunity to provide input on information and scientific data on surgical plume and smoke hazards, control measures, feasibility, or costs.
A discussion draft, meeting agenda and additional meeting documents are provided below.
Meeting Documents
- Minutes
- Comments
- Agenda
- Draft Regulatory Text for Discussion
- Presentation by Dr. Bradley King, CDC/NIOSH Western States Division
Background Documents
Resources on Occupational Exposure to Surgical Plume
- American National Standard for Safe Use of Lasers in Health Care (ANSI Z136.3-2018), Section 7.4 Laser Generated Airborne Contaminants (LGAC); Plume and Airborne Contaminants (PAC)
- New South Wales Ministry of Health Guideline, Work Health and Safety – Controlling Exposure to Surgical Plume (2015)
- NIOSH. Control of smoke from laser/electric surgical procedures
- NIOSH Study Finds Healthcare Workers' Exposure to Surgical Smoke Still Common
- NIOSH HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATION REPORT #2001-0066-3019
- "NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2008-0224-3328 (2018), Evaluation of Surgical Plume Particle Exposures in a Hospital and Private Medical Office Suite" by Bradley S. King, PhD, CIH
- OSHA Laser/Electrosurgery Plume
- Rhode Island General Laws 23-17-49.1, Workplace and patient safety - evacuation of surgical smoke plume required in operating rooms
August 2025