Page 264 - AIDSBK23C

Page 264

4. Personal protective clothing and equipment must be appropriate and fit properly and must be
readily available at all times. The employer shall clean, launder, repair, or replace all such
items as necessary. Disposable gloves may not be disinfected or washed for re-use but must
be removed immediately upon leaving the work area and placed in an appropriate container
for disposal. Masks, eye protection, or face shields must be worn whenever there are
splashes, sprays, spatter, droplets, or aerosol of blood or other potentially infectious
materials and the possibility of eye, nose, or mouth contamination.

Fluid resistant clothing must be worn in the event of splashing or spraying. Fluid-proof
clothing, including shoe covers, must be worn if there is the potential for soaking with blood
or other infectious material.

5. No work area with the potential for occupational exposure will be exempt from following
universal precautions.

Used needles and other sharp objects shall not be sheared, bent, broken, recapped, or
resheathed by hand. Used needles shall not be removed from disposable syringes. Mouth
pipetting is prohibited.

Work areas where there is the potential for exposure to infectious material must be free of
food or drink. Smoking, cosmetics or lip balm, and handling contact lenses in work areas
are prohibited.

6. Signs and warning labels--including the name of the infectious agent, requirements for
entering the area, and the name and telephone number of the responsible person--must be
posted at entrances to work areas that contain biohazards.

Warning labels shall be placed on all storage containers, refrigerators, freezers, and disposal
facilities used to store or transport potentially infectious fluids or materials.

7. All at risk employees shall participate in an annual training program that provides
information regarding risks of exposure, transmission, and necessary precautions. An
explanation of the employer's infection control plan, meaning of all signs and warnings, and
the appropriate actions to take and person to contact in an emergency must also be provided.

A training program must be provided for employees inexperienced in the handling of human
pathogens or tissue cultures. Persons without such training or experience shall be prohibited
from working with HIV or HBV materials.

8. Employers shall maintain individual medical records that include vaccinations,
circumstances of exposure incidents, results of medical testing and follow-up procedures,
and any copies of physicians' written opinions. These records must be kept confidential
except where reporting is required by law.

Training records must also be maintained that include dates of sessions, summary of
contents, persons conducting the training, and attendance of all personnel.