Contaminated Laundry OSHA Standard

Contaminated Laundry

Contaminated Laundry, as outlined in the Blood-borne Pathogen Standard definitions, as: laundry which has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious material or may contain sharps.

Potential Hazard 

Exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials through contaminated laundry that was improperly labeled, or handled.

Possible Solutions 

Follow the procedures outlined in the Blood-borne Pathogens Standard handling contaminated laundry such as:

• Handle contaminated laundry as little as possible with minimal agitation.
• Bag contaminated laundry at the location of use. Do not sort or rinse laundry at the location where it was used.
• Place wet contaminated laundry in leak-proof, and color-coded or labeled containers, at the location where it was used.

Whenever contaminated laundry is wet and presents a reasonable likelihood of soak-through of or leakage from the bag or container, the laundry shall be placed and transported in bags or containers which prevent soak-through and/or leakage of fluids to the exterior.

Contaminated laundry must be placed and transported in bags or containers labeled with the bio-hazard symbol or put in red bags.

In a facility that utilizes universal precautions in the handling of all soiled laundry-alternative labeling or color-coding is sufficient if it permits all employees to recognize the containers as requiring compliance with universal precautions.

Use red bags or bags marked with the bio-hazard symbol, if the facility where items are laundered does not use universal precautions for all laundry.

Contaminated laundry bags should not be held close to the body or squeezed when transporting to avoid punctures from improperly discarded syringes.

Normal laundry cycles should be used according to the washer and detergent manufacturer's recommendations.

Are Your Disinfecting & Sterilizing Procedures OSHA Compliant?

OSHA Standard Disinfection and Sterilization

According to OSHA standards, disinfection and sterilization procedures should be used for all reusable instruments, devices and other items that are contaminated with blood and/or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).

Your practice should use the following definitions as guidelines for appropriate sterilization and/or disinfection procedures:

Disinfection levels and sterilization

High level disinfection:

Must be used on all semi-critical care items that could be damaged by heat sterilization. Use a product labeled “disinfectant/sterilant” and leave the items immersed for the shorter time recommended by the manufacturer. (The longer time is used for “cold sterilization”.)

Intermediate level disinfection:

Must not be used on semi-critical care items. Use it for disinfection of non-critical care items that are contaminated with blood or OPIM. A bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) is strong enough but must be mixed fresh daily. Wipe the item to be cleaned with the bleach solution (or a commercial disinfectant) and allow it to air dry.

Low level disinfection:

Not necessary for non-critical care items that have not been contaminated with blood or OPIM. Proper cleaning is usually sufficient. To use a low-level disinfection, wipe or spray an EPA registered disinfectant on the surfaces of the cleaned items and let them air dry.

Sterilization:

Destroys all microorganisms (including viruses) and their spores. Sterilization can be accomplished by the use of steam (steam autoclave), dry heat, chemicals under pressure (chemical autoclave) or an EPA registered product that is labeled “disinfectant/sterilant” (sometimes referred to as “cold sterilization”).

Critical Care Items

Critical care items:

All instruments and/or devices that are introduced directly into the bloodstream. They touch bone or penetrate tissue. All of these items must be sterilized.

Semi-critical care items:

Instruments that touch mucous membranes but do not touch bone or penetrate tissue. Sterilize them or, if the items are damaged by heat, use a high-level disinfection process following the manufacturer’s guidelines.

Non-critical care items:

Equipment and environmental surfaces that will come into contact with intact skin only. Floors, exam tables, crutches, and countertops are examples of non-critical care items. Use intermediate-level disinfection for non-critical care items. (Cleaning alone is sufficient unless the items are visibly contaminated with blood.)

Biological monitoring is a “spore test” and is the only way to ensure that heat sterilization is effectively killing all types of microorganisms. Check with the manufacturer of sterilizer for the proper spore test. Mail the exposed test spores to an appropriate microbiology lab for testing or check them in a special incubator designed for that purpose. 

Would Your Office Pass the Top 10 OSHA Citations?

Top 10 OSHA Citations in Medical Offices

OSHA recently fined a New York medical practice almost $45,000 for inadequate worker safeguards against blood-borne pathogen hazards. The citations included the lack of a written exposure control program outlining the protective measures used to eliminate or minimize workers’ exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials, failing to provide employees properly fitted protective wear and training in its use, failing to offer the Hepatitis B vaccine to at-risk employees, allowing sharps containers to overfill and allowing employees to recap non-engineered contaminated needles.

Listed below are the most common violations for medical practices, many of which the New York practice was cited for, as indicated by asterisks.

1.      Failure to implement and maintain an exposure control under the Blood-borne Pathogen Standard (BBP);**

2.      Failure to train under the BBP Standard;**

3.      Failure to engineer out hazards/ensure hand washing under the BBP Standard;**

4.      Poor housekeeping under the BBP Standard;**

5.      Failure to implement and maintain a written a Hazard Communication Program;

6.      Failure to make the Hepatitis B vaccination available under the BBP Standard;**

7.      Failure to prepare exposure determinations under the BBP Standard;

8.      Failure use personal protective equipment under the BBP Standard;**

9.      Failure to provide post exposure Hepatitis B vaccinations under the BBP Standard; and

10.  Failure to train employees under the Hazard Communications Standard.**

To avoid potential areas of non-compliance, you should regularly audit your practice for safety and health hazards.  Employee training and periodic refresher training is also essential, especially regarding the Blood-borne Pathogen and Hazard Communication Standards.

(FHC website)