Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: BLOODBORNE

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that: Health care workers (such as nurses, surgical technicians, surgical assistants, phlebotomists, medical technologists, environmental personnel, and laundry personnel, were exposed to the hazards of being infected by HBV and/or HIV through possible direct contact with blood or other body fluids. Feasible and useful abatement methods for reducing this hazard, among others, are: a) All employees that may be involved in cleaning up body fluid spills shall receive education and training on the proper procedures to be followed including personal protective equipment, disinfectants used, and proper disposal of wastes. Through employee interviews conducted on 6/12/90, 6/13/90, 6/14/90, 6/19/90, and 6/20/90, there were some employees that were not familiar with the proper procedures required for clean up and disposal of body fluid spills. Education and training have not been provided. Training should include disposal of possible infectious waste into color-coded or biohazard tagged bags or containers. b) Linen soiled with body fluids shall be handled as little as possible and with minimum agitation to prevent contamination of the person handling the linen. On 6/14/90, an employee working in the soiled laundry department was observed throwing soiled laundry while sorting form a yellow bag into laundry carts placed four to fifteen feet away. Minimizing handling and agitation of this laundry will not only reduce contact-acquired contamination of the employee and the work are but will also decrease mechanical injuries such as needlesticks, cuts and scratches from sharps accidentally left in linens.