Blood spills have always seemed to be a cause for alarm. Whether it is a nosebleed that is taking a long time to stop, or a kitchen accident with a knife. OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) regulates the handling and clean-up of blood-borne pathogens. These pathogens include hepatitis B (1. Two million people in the US have it) and hepatitis C (2.4 million people in the Us are infected) and HIV. Although there are treatments for Hep B and HIV, there is no treatment for Hep C. Thus, you can see why it is imperative that a certified biohazardous remediation company like CleanScene remediate and clean up these potentially biohazardous spills.

Workers in many professions such as housekeeping, first responders, health care workers, etc., may all be at risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Companies, where these workers are employed, are required to have an Exposure Control Plan that details employee protection, protective equipment and clothing, training, work, and engineering practice controls, medical surveillance, Hep B vaccinations, and other provisions as required by the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (1910.1030). 

It was in the mid-1980s that the United  States began to focus on the AIDS crisis and occupational exposure to infectious diseases. Using standard and transmission-based precautions in the workplace is recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and protects workers from a wider range of infectious diseases than the BBP standard.

Universal Precautions: (UP) Universal Precautions were instituted in the 1980s as an approach to infection control. It was an effort to protect workers from HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens, many of which could be found in human blood and certain other human bodily fluids. Universal Precautions are also included in the Bloodborne Pathogens standard of OSHA.

Standard Precautions (SP) CDC introduced in 1996, added additional infection prevention standards to UP to protect healthcare workers from pathogens not only in human blood and other bodily fluids where UP does not apply. These precautions cover healthcare workers and patient environments and apply to all patients, even those who are not known to be infectious. 

As you can see, human blood or anything contaminated with human blood can be highly infectious. It is necessary for our technicians to use proper PPE (personal protective equipment) such as haz-mat suits, boots, nitrile gloves, respirators, and face shields to reduce the amount of exposure to infectious diseases that may be found in human blood and bloody fluids as they remediate blood spills.