On September 30, a US administrative law judge upheld seven citations and $186,000 in fines for a uniform laundry service that exposed workers to hazards from bloodborne pathogens and lead. Read the article to learn where the company went wrong and how you can avoid making the same mistakes.
The initial inspection took place in 2011 in response to a complaint. OSHA inspectors found that workers at the facility picked up and sorted dirty lab coats and other laundry from customers who regularly drew and/or tested blood. The workers were exposed to lab coats and laundry potentially contaminated with blood or improperly disposed contaminated needles or syringes mixed in with the laundry. In spite of this exposure, the company failed to train its employees in OSHA’s bloodborne pathogens standard and to provide Hepatitis B vaccinations to drivers and loading-dock workers.
In the September 2014 ruling, the judge determined that the majority of the company’s employees neither received the Hepatitis B vaccine nor signed the form declining the vaccine. In some cases, employees were not given the option to receive the vaccine for months or years after beginning work at the facility.
The judge also determined that the company did not comply with OSHA standards requiring the use of biohazard bags.
more at: http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/safety-administration/OSHA-and-state-safety-compliance-enforcement/Judge-upholds-six-figure-fines-for-bloodborne-path/?source=RSA&effort=6
Regrettably, this case is unlikely to set any state or national legal precedent. Nor is it likely to prompt for similar proceedings in the UK and Europe where specific bloodborne pathogens legislation does not exist but where existing health and safety legislation would suffice.
The analogy between laundry workers and waste handlers is obvious, and we know only too well that improperly packaged clinical wastes are responsible for blood exposure of ancillary and support staff and of waste handlers. Does the law, guided by regulators from HSE and EA, really care?