What OSHA says about contact with blood spills.
Employers can avoid the legal liabilities associated with violation
of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Rules and State Health and Safety Code. OSHA
requires that a company Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control Plan be
in place if ONE employee can reasonably be expected to be exposed
ONCE PER YEAR. Federal Regulation 29CFRI910.1030 states that no
employee can be placed in a position to be exposed to blood spills
without first:
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Receiving bloodborne pathogen (BBP) training.
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Having a written BBP exposure control plan.
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Having been provided appropriate personal protective equipment.
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Having been offered the Hepatitis B vaccine with exposure
evaluation and medical follow-up.
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Being provided with a method to remove and properly store the
bio-hazardous waste in properly marked containers for disposal
at an approved site.
Only after these five steps have been met can an employee be
required by his or her employer to clean a biohazardous / crime
scene. The costs of meeting these requirements can become very high
especially if there is a high employee turnover rate.
The penalties imposed by government agencies will be almost
certainly dwarfed by the costs of any lawsuit filed by the aggrieved
employee or tenant. OSHA is very strict and responds rapidly to
reported violations. OSHA has imposed fines
ranging from $7,000 to
$70,000 for serious and willful violations of the Bloodborne
Pathogen Training Standard. If the employee has been exposed or
injured during the attempted cleanup of bloodborne pathogens, the
employer is responsible for:
-
Medical follow-up (required initial exposure testing and
examination, three additional follow-up procedures) Average cost
for these medical visits is now about $1,600.
-
Reporting the violation and the remedy efforts to various
Federal and State Agencies.
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Maintenance of records for duration of employee's employment
plus 30 years.
-
Costs of lost production or replacement worker during testing
periods.
If the collected body fluids/tissues are not properly destroyed, the
Texas Administrative Code has provisions for the imposition of fines and imprisonment
for improper storage and disposal of infectious or physically
dangerous medical or biological waste.