[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 42, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 42CFR85a.8]

[Page 540]
 
                         TITLE 42--PUBLIC HEALTH
 
    CHAPTER I--PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 
                                SERVICES
 
PART 85a--OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH INVESTIGATIONS OF PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 85a.8  Reporting of results of investigations of places of employment.

    (a)(1) Specific reports of investigations of each place of 
employment under this part, with identification of the place of 
employment, will be made available by NIOSH to the employer, owner, 
operator or agent in charge at the place of employment, with copies to 
the appropriate officials and Agencies notified pursuant to 
Sec. 85a.4(a). Prior to release of such reports, a preliminary report 
will be sent by NIOSH to the employer, owner, operator or agent for 
review for trade secret information and technical inaccuracies that may 
inadvertently be presented in the report. If requested in writing, the 
data used to compile the reports will be made available by NIOSH to the 
employer, owner, operator or agent in charge at the place of employment, 
except that data will not be released in a form that is individually 
identifiable.
    (2) All specific reports of investigations of each place of 
employment under this part will be available to the public from the 
NIOSH Regional Consultant for Occupational Safety and Health in the 
appropriate NIOSH Regional Office.
    (3) In certain instances, specific reports of investigations of each 
place of employment will not be prepared. In such instances, a closing 
conference at the place of employment will be conducted by the NIOSH 
authorized representatives and those individuals participating in the 
site visit to discuss the findings of the site visit and appropriate 
recommendations.
    (b)(1) Any specific findings of individual employee medical 
examinations, anthropometric measurements and functional tests will be 
released by NIOSH authorized representatives to the company physician, 
private physician, or other person only pursuant to the written 
authorization of the employee; otherwise, the specific findings and 
other personal records concerning individuals will be maintained in 
accordance with 45 CFR part 5b and section 3 of the Privacy Act of 1974 
(5 U.S.C. 552a). Notice of all NIOSH systems of records as defined in 45 
CFR 5b.1(n) as a result of the investigations of places of employment 
pursuant to this part will be published in the Federal Register under 
Notices of Systems of Records for the Department of Health and Human 
Services.
    (2) In cases where an employee shows positive significant medical 
findings, the employee and the physician(s) designated by the employee 
under Sec. 85a.8(b)(1) will be immediately notified by NIOSH.
    (3) A summary of the findings of the examinations for each employee 
will be sent by NIOSH to the individual.
    (c) The findings of a total investigation generally will be 
disseminated as part of NIOSH criteria documents, NIOSH technical 
reports, NIOSH information packets, scientific journals, presentations 
at technical meetings, or in other similar manners. These findings of a 
total investigation will be presented in a manner which does not 
identify any specific place of employment; however, it should be noted 
that the specific reports of investigations of each place of employment 
under this part are subject to mandatory disclosure, upon request, under 
the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).

[41 FR 45002, Oct. 14, 1976]