Occupational Safety and Infection Control Administration
The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) requires a written exposure control plan, reviewed and updated at least annually. The plan identifies tasks and employees with occupational exposure, outlines standard precautions, engineering controls (sharps containers, safer devices), work-practice controls, PPE, housekeeping, and hepatitis B vaccination. HBV vaccination must be offered within 10 working days of initial assignment at no cost; an employee may decline in writing. Labels and signs must mark regulated waste and contaminated equipment.
Training, records, and post-exposure
Train employees at initial assignment and annually thereafter. Training records are kept for 3 years; medical records for the duration of employment plus 30 years, and they are confidential. Report needlesticks and other exposures immediately: wash the site, report, and obtain source evaluation and post-exposure prophylaxis as indicated. Maintain a sharps injury log for percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. The Hazard Communication Standard requires SDS access and labeling for chemicals.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Questions confuse the exposure control plan with a policy manual that can sit on a shelf; it must be reviewed annually and accessible. Another trap: the HBV vaccine is offered, not mandatory, and the declination must be documented. Training records are 3 years, not 30. Worked example: an assistant sustains a needlestick from a used anesthetic needle. She washes with soap and water, reports immediately, and the employer arranges confidential medical evaluation and follow-up. Do not squeeze or scrub the wound. Rule of thumb: if OSHA asks, the answer is written, dated, trained, and documented.