Archive for: May, 2009
Cal/OSHA fines Wal-Mart for hepatitis blue light special
You might expect reports of needlesticks in healthcare but not so with retail sales clerks.
That Cal/OSHA is fining a Yuba City, CA, Wal-Mart for alleged bloodborne pathogens violations with a contaminated price-tagging gun instructs on how businesses must be diligent in identifying hazards in the workplace.
Weekly Poll: OSHA enforcement
In a testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee regarding influenza preparedness, acting assistant secretary of OSHA, Jordan Barab said that OSHA is prepared to us its authority to enforce safe work practices during a pandemic.
On the other hand, a pandemic puts an incredible strain on a facility’s resources, and in some cases improvisation is the best option.
What do you think? Should OSHA continue stringent enforcement during a pandemic?
Ask the expert: Post-exposure costs and employment termination
Q: We have an employee who left our practice before all his needlestick post-exposure follow-up work could be completed. Now he has been rehired, and he wants us to pay for testing. Are we obligated under OSHA to resume the testing and pay for it?
Finding metrics for preparedness
OSHA Healthcare Advisor blogger Steve MacArthur presents some cogent observations on the need to be able to measure preparedness if healthcare facilities want to manage and improve responses to emergencies such as the current influenza A (H1N1) pandemic.
Updated flu safety guidelines for lab workers
Two weeks ago, you may have seen the CDC guidelines concerning lab workers dealing with the novel influenza A H1N1 virus (swine flu).
Yesterday, they updated it, to include interim guidelines for using FDA-cleared rapid tests, lab diagnostic work, and viral isolation. The guidelines also address laboratory waste, which should already be outlined at your facility. The CDC notes that steam autoclaving is the preferred method of decontamination.
Employer respirator policy: You can’t have your cake and eat it too
Employers who want it both both ways from employees on respiratory protection are getting under my skin…better make that under my N95 respirator.
It wasn’t so long ago that when I explained to healthcare employers that the use of disposable N95 respirators required a written respiratory protection plan that included, among other things, medical evaluation and fit testing they responded as if I were crazy: “That’s ridiculous. They’re throwaway masks; why would you need fit testing much less evaluations?”
Think outside the box when disposing of broken slides
For those of you concerned about how to dispose of contaminated microscope slides, here’s some guidance on what not to do.
A Phoenix veterinary laboratory faces civil penalties totaling $80,000 for routinely disposing of glass microscope slides and cover slips that contained animal tissue specimens into a dumpster, according to NAZ Today.
Arizona law states that slides and cover slips are classified as biohazardous medical sharps, and must be stored in a container that is “rigid, puncture-resistant, leakproof, and fitted with a locking cap.” The container must also be labeled with a biohazardous medical symbol and disposed of at a biohazardous medical waste facility.
Notes From the field: Why can’t I re-use the vacutainer tube holder?
During my OSHA inspections last week, I witnessed several phlebotomists removing contaminated needles from vacutainer tube holders. The OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard [29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(2)(vii)(A)] addresses the “prohibition against the removal of contaminated needles from blood tube holders following a blood drawing procedure.”
A new way to prevent hepatitis C?
It seems almost too good to be true, and it very well may be in the long run, but scientists at the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have developed a human monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to a press release.
OSHA: Be prepared to protect employees from flu or face enforcement
In testimony before the House Education and Labor Committee Hearing on ensuring preparedness against the flu virus at school and work on May 7, Jordan Barab, acting assistant secretary of OSHA, made three observations:
- There are plenty of OSHA resources to help employers protect workers who are at high-risk from the new strain of Influenza A (2009-H1N1) virus.
- Because of these resources OSHA expects most healthcare facilities to be fully prepared to provide training, equipment and protection.
- OSHA stands prepared to use its existing authority to aggressively enforce safe work practices to ensure employees receive appropriate protection.
