CDC/NIOSH published a Federal Register Request for Information (RFI) seeking stakeholder input to help refine priorities for the NIOSH Center for Firefighter Safety, Health, and Well-Being research and service portfolio. The notice states it does not propose new regulations, requirements, or policies, but it is an official docketed action that can influence NIOSH priority-setting and downstream guidance, research, and program emphasis relevant to firefighter occupational safety and health. Compliance teams and affected stakeholders (fire departments, unions, PPE/respirator stakeholders, researchers) may wish to submit comments by the stated deadline and monitor follow-on outputs.
CDC/NIOSH published a Federal Register notice announcing a public meeting of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH), including a deadline for submission of written comments for inclusion in the meeting record. The ABRWH supports NIOSH activities related to EEOICPA radiation dose reconstruction and related Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petition processes. While not a binding rule change, the notice is a formal, docketed governance action relevant to stakeholders tracking EEOICPA/SEC developments and program administration.
NIOSH published an updated/revised CBRN Respiratory Protection Handbook (Publication 2025-111). The update expands the CBRN APR Protection List (described as increasing from 139 to 286 hazards) and includes corrections/clarifications regarding fit testing references (clarifying OSHA’s continued acceptance of qualitative fit testing for positive pressure tight-fitting respirators and NFPA’s identification of quantitative fit testing for positive pressure respirator wearers). This matters for emergency response and CBRN respiratory protection program planning, hazard coverage assumptions, and fit-testing communications aligned to NIOSH/OSHA/NFPA expectations.
NIOSH posted a notice dated July 17, 2025 stating that three drugs with manufacturer’s special handling information (MSHI) are considered included in Table 1 of the NIOSH List of Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings, 2024: datopotamab deruxtecan (Datroway®), treosulfan (Grafapex™), and telisotuzumab vedotin (Emrelis™). Healthcare organizations and entities aligning hazardous drug handling programs (e.g., under USP <800>) should evaluate whether these agents are handled onsite and update inventories, risk assessments, SOPs, training, engineering controls/PPE, labeling, and waste procedures accordingly.
CDC/NIOSH finalized revisions to 42 CFR Part 88 (WTC Health Program) to align program regulations with statutory changes, expanding eligibility for responders at the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania sites by adding additional eligible responder classes (including certain Department of Defense/other federal agency employees, certain federal contractor employees, and members of regular/reserve uniformed services). The final rule also implements a statutory cap of 500 total enrollees under the expanded eligibility criteria at any time and makes conforming/definition updates. Organizations that support potentially eligible populations and program administrators should update eligibility screening, outreach, and enrollment procedures consistent with the revised regulatory text and cap mechanics.
NIOSH published an official science policy update recommending employers use individual, quantitative fit testing to evaluate the actual attenuation achieved by workers using hearing protection devices. The policy states it supersedes NIOSH’s earlier hearing protector derating guidance in the 1998 Criteria for a Recommended Standard—Occupational Noise Exposure. This guidance is relevant for occupational hearing conservation programs that previously relied on NRR-based derating assumptions and may drive updates to internal program practices (e.g., adoption of Personal Attenuation Rating (PAR)-based verification).