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 employees were exposed to the following conditions which increase the risk of employees contracting bloodborne diseases: a) Dental care workers such as Dental Assistants, Dental Lab Technicians, and Dental Hygienists were exposed to the hazard of being infected by bloodborne pathogens such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) through possible direct contact with patient blood or other body fluids. Feasible and useful abatement methods for reducing this hazard, among others, are the provision of training concerning the matters listed below: (1) Exactly what procedures must be followed if an employee experiences a percutaneous, mucous membrane, or non-intact skin exposure to patient blood or other potentially infectious body fluids; (2) Exactly what procedures must be followed if permeable clothing being worn by an employee becomes contaminated with a significant amount of patient blood or other potentially infectious body fluids; (3) The epidemiology and modes of transmission of HIV and HBV; and (4) The contents of "Recommendations for Prevention of HIV Transmission in Health-Care Settings" prepared by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), and the Universal Precautions Concept.