Bloodborne Standard
29 CFR 1910.1030
Post-Exposure and Follow-Up
Occupational Exposure due to First Aid Administration
An exemption to the Hep B pre-exposure vaccination is applied to those employees that only are in contact with blood would be the result of responding to a workplace related injury and this was a collateral duty of the employee and certain other requirements have been met. In contrast, the exception does not apply to those employees identified as first aid providers and render assistance on a regular basis; first aid station, clinic or location where injured employees routinely go for assistance are examples. This exemption also does not apply to any healthcare, emergency or public safety personnel expected to administer first aid in the course of their work. All of these employees must be offered the vaccine prior to exposure.
In order for the exemption to apply, the employer's control plan must explicitly address the provision of the hepatitis B vaccine to all unvaccinated first aid providers who give assistance in any situation involving the presence of blood or OPIM, (regardless of whether an actual "exposure incident" as defined by the standard occurred). The exposure control plan must also contain the provision that addresses the appropriate post-exposure evaluation, prophylaxis, and follow-up for those employees who experience an "exposure incident." To accomplish this, the employer's control plan must state a reporting procedure that establishes all first aid incidents involving the presence of blood or OPIM will be reported to the employer before the end of the work shift during which the incident occurred.
If you have any questions at any time regarding the information presented in this tutorial, please contact David Sullivan at 910-916-0688.
(North Carolina Department of Labor (2010). A guide to bloodborne pathogens in the workplace.)