Protecting employees from bloodborne pathogen hazards in the workplace can be a lot of responsibility. To carry out your duty effectively, there’s a lot you need to know about BBPs.

Bloodborne pathogens (BBPs) are defined by OSHA as microorganisms present in human blood that can cause disease. The three primary pathogens found in the workplace are human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV; the hepatitis B, or HBV, virus; and the hepatitis C, or HCV, virus.Transmission HazardsIn order for transmission of pathogens to occur, the contaminated blood or bodily fluid must make direct contact with your blood. In the work environment, this is most likely to occur in one of three ways: Cuts from contaminated sharp objects or needles, which is the most common form of transmission. Essentially, the contaminated blood or bodily fluid is being injected into the bloodstream through the cut. Examples of sharp objects in a manufacturing environment that could be contaminated include broken glass, a utility knife blade, or the edge of a sheet of metal to name a few. Broken skin, including rashes or abrasions, don’t forget those small splits in the nail cuticle!  These areas becomes a point of transmission if an infected object makes contact with it. Mucous membranes of the eyes, mouth, and nose, which could occur, for example, if blood splashed in the eyes or if an employee with another’s blood on his hand wiped his nose or mouth.

Routes of Exposure

“Routes of exposure” means the different ways employees might be exposed to bloodborne pathogens in the workplace. Any of the following could be a route of exposure on the job:

• Contact with a co-worker who suffers a bleeding injury, such as a cut, abrasion, or amputation
• Contact with blood while administering first aid, such as when applying pressure to a wound or wrapping an injury
• Touching a contaminated surface, such as a table, tool, or control panel, that has been contacted with infected blood
• Being assigned to clean up blood or bodily fluids after an injury
• Contact with contaminated products or equipment in restrooms
• Using a tool covered in dried blood

Exposure Prevention

The best way for employees to avoid contact with BBPs is to:

• Treat all blood and bodily fluids as if they are infectious for HIV, hepatitis, or other bloodborne pathogens (“universal precautions”).
• Use barrier protection—gloves, masks, aprons, protective eyewear—to avoid contact with bodily fluids. Avoiding direct contact means there is no exposure.
• Immediately clean up and decontaminate surfaces and equipment that have been in contact with blood or bodily fluids.
• Decontaminate skin by washing hands after handling any type of bodily fluid, even if you have worn gloves.
• Immediately and properly dispose of contaminated items and materials used to disinfect contaminated items.

Questions to ask yourself: 

Do you know how long HBV lives on a surface?  What do I do when I remove my gloves?  Where do I put the bloody/fluid contained items?  Who do I call when I might have been exposed?  

Don’t know the answers??  Take our course!  Ask for Blood Borne Pathogens training for your employees or yourself NOW!!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 9:21 am and is filed under CPR Training, Customized Training, Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.