October 20, 2000

Bloodborne Pathogens
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030

Summary of Key Provisions

Purpose

This regulation limits occupational exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials since any exposure could result in transmission of bloodborne pathogens which could lead to disease or death.

Scope

Covers all employees who could be "reasonably anticipated" as the result of performing their job duties to face contact with blood and other potentially infectious materials.  OSHA has not attempted to list all occupations where exposures could occur.  "Good Samaritan" acts such as assisting a co-worker with a nosebleed would not be considered occupational exposure. 

Infectious materials include semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid visibly contaminated with blood and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids.  They also include any unfixed tissue or organ other than intact skin from a human (living or dead) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures and HIV or hepatitis B (HBV)-containing culture medium or other solutions as well as blood, organs or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.

Exposure Control Plan

Requires employers to identify, in writing, tasks and procedures, as well as job classifications, where occupational exposure to blood occurs--without regard to personal protective clothing and equipment.  It must also set forth the schedule for implementing other provisions of the standard and specify the procedure for evaluating circumstances surrounding exposure incidents.  The plan must be accessible to employees and available to OSHA.  Employers must review and update it at least annually--more often if necessary to accommodate workplace changes. 

Methods of Compliance

Mandates universal precautions, (treating body fluids/materials as if infectious) emphasizing engineering and work practice controls. The standard stresses hand-washing and requires employers to provide facilities and ensure that employees use them following exposure to blood.  It sets forth procedures to minimize needlesticks, minimize splashing and spraying of blood, ensure appropriate packaging of specimens and regulated wastes and decontaminate equipment or label it as contaminated before shipping to servicing facilities. 

Employers must provide, at no cost, and require employees to use appropriate personal protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, masks, mouthpieces and resuscitation bags and must clean, repair and replace these when necessary.

The standard requires a written schedule for cleaning, identifying the method of decontamination to be used in addition to cleaning following contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials. lt specifies methods for disposing of contaminated sharps and sets forth standards for containers for these items and other regulated waste. Further, the standard includes provisions for handling contaminated laundry to minimize exposures.

HIV and HBV Research Laboratories and Production Facilities

The Standard calls for these facilities to follow standard microbiological practices and specifies additional practices intended to minimize exposures of employees working with concentrated viruses and reduce the risk of accidental exposure for other employees at the facility.  These facilities must include required containment equipment and an autoclave for decontamination of regulated waste and must be constructed to limit risks and enable easy clean up.  Additional training and experience requirements apply to workers in these facilities.

Hepatitis B Vaccination

This Standard requires vaccinations to be made available to all employees who have occupational exposure to blood within 10 working days of assignment, at no cost, at a reasonable time and place, under the supervision of licensed physician/licensed healthcare professional and according to the latest recommendations of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS).  Prescreening may not be required as a condition of receiving the vaccine. Employees must sign a declination form if they choose not to be vaccinated, but may later opt to receive the vaccine at no cost to the employee. Should booster doses later be recommended by the USPHS, employees must be offered them.

Post-Exposure Evaluation and Follow-Up

Specifies procedures to be made available to all employees who have had an exposure incident plus any laboratory tests must be conducted by an accredited laboratory at no cost to the employee. Follow-up must include a confidential medical evaluation documenting the circumstances of exposure, identifying and testing the source individual if feasible, testing the exposed employee's blood if he/she consents, post-exposure prophylaxis, counseling and evaluation of reported illnesses. Healthcare professionals must be provided specified information to facilitate the evaluation and their written opinion on the need for hepatitis B vaccination following the exposure. Information such as the employee's ability to receive the hepatitis B vaccine must be supplied to the employer. All diagnoses must remain confidential.

Hazard Communication

Requires warning labels including the orange or orange-red biohazard symbol affixed to containers of regulated waste, refrigerators and freezers and other containers which are used to store or transport blood or other potentially infectious materials.  Red bags or containers may be used instead of labeling. When a facility uses universal precautions in its handling of all specimens, labeling is not required within the facility.  Likewise, when all laundry is handled with universal precautions, the laundry need not be labeled.  Blood which has been tested and found free of HIV or HBV and released for clinical use, and regulated waste which has been decontaminated, need not be labeled. Signs must be used to identify restricted areas in HIV and HBV research laboratories and production facilities.

Information and Training

This Standard mandates training within 90 days of the effective date, initially upon assignment and annually--employees who have received appropriate training within the past year need only receive additional training in items not previously covered.  Training must include making accessible a copy of the regulatory text of the standard and explanation of its contents, general discussion on bloodborne diseases and their transmission, exposure control plan, engineering and work practice controls, personal protective equipment, hepatitis B vaccine, response to emergencies involving blood, how to handle exposure incidents, the post-exposure evaluation and follow-up program, signs/labels/color-coding. There must be opportunity for questions and answers, and the trainer must be knowledgeable in the subject matter.  Laboratory and production facility workers must receive additional specialized initial training.

Recordkeeping

Calls for medical records to be kept for each employee with occupational exposure for the duration of employment plus 30 years, must be confidential and must include name and social security number; hepatitis B vaccination status (including dates); results of any examinations, medical testing and follow-up procedures; a copy of the healthcare professional's written opinion; and a copy of information provided to the healthcare professional.  Training records must be maintained for three years and must include dates, contents of the training program or a summary, trainer's name and qualifications, names and job titles of all persons attending the sessions. Medical records must be made available to the subject employee, anyone with written consent of the employee, OSHA and NIOSH--they are not available to the employer.  Disposal of records must be in accord with OSHA's standard covering access to records.

Dates

Effective date: March 6 1992. Exposure control plan: May 5, 1992. Information and training requirements and recordkeeping: June 4, 1992. And the following other provisions take effect on July 6, 1992: engineering and work practice controls, personal protective equipment, housekeeping, special provisions covering HIV and HBV research laboratories and production facilities, hepatitis B vaccination and post-exposure evaluation and follow-up and labels and signs.

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