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If you’ve got a first aid team then your employees need to be covered by a bloodborne pathogens (BBP) exposure control plan. Keep in mind the BBP standard isn’t limited to the healthcare industry. Preliminary enforcement data from fiscal year 2022 shows that nearly 40 percent of BBP violations went to industries other than healthcare, including manufacturing, warehousing and storage, and retail. You’ll need to consider the jobs and tasks in your workplace to make an exposure determination.
The standard defines occupational exposure as “reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties.” In simpler terms, occupational exposure means that your employees could be exposed to blood or OPIM in the course of their work.
Essentially, the exposure control plan identifies workers with occupational exposure and explains how you’ll protect and train them. It must contain:
OSHA notes that the exposure control plan may be part of another document, such as the facility’s health and safety manual, as long as all components are included. For the plan to be accessible to employees, however, it either must be a cohesive entity by itself or there must be a guiding document that states the overall policy and goals and references the elements of existing separate policies that make up the plan.
For small facilities, the plan’s schedule and method of implementation of the standard may be an annotated copy of 1910.1030 that states on the document how its provisions are implemented. Larger facilities could develop a broad facility program, incorporating provisions from the standard that apply to their establishments.
The exposure control plan must be reviewed and updated at least annually - and whenever changes that could impact the program are made - to reflect:
The review and update must also:
If you have employees with occupational exposure to BBP, you must develop a written exposure control plan.
If you’ve got a first aid team then your employees need to be covered by a bloodborne pathogens (BBP) exposure control plan. Keep in mind the BBP standard isn’t limited to the healthcare industry. Preliminary enforcement data from fiscal year 2022 shows that nearly 40 percent of BBP violations went to industries other than healthcare, including manufacturing, warehousing and storage, and retail. You’ll need to consider the jobs and tasks in your workplace to make an exposure determination.
The standard defines occupational exposure as “reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties.” In simpler terms, occupational exposure means that your employees could be exposed to blood or OPIM in the course of their work.
Essentially, the exposure control plan identifies workers with occupational exposure and explains how you’ll protect and train them. It must contain:
OSHA notes that the exposure control plan may be part of another document, such as the facility’s health and safety manual, as long as all components are included. For the plan to be accessible to employees, however, it either must be a cohesive entity by itself or there must be a guiding document that states the overall policy and goals and references the elements of existing separate policies that make up the plan.
For small facilities, the plan’s schedule and method of implementation of the standard may be an annotated copy of 1910.1030 that states on the document how its provisions are implemented. Larger facilities could develop a broad facility program, incorporating provisions from the standard that apply to their establishments.
The exposure control plan must be reviewed and updated at least annually - and whenever changes that could impact the program are made - to reflect:
The review and update must also:
If you have employees with occupational exposure to BBP, you must develop a written exposure control plan.