Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-823 - Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens › Section 296-823-099 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
Blood.
Human blood, human blood components and
				products made from human blood. Also included are medications derived from
				blood, such as immune globulins, albumin, and factors 8 and 9.
Bloodborne pathogens.
Pathogenic microorganisms
				that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. Examples of
				these pathogens include:
(a) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
(b) Hepatitis B virus (HBV);
(c) Hepatitis C virus, malaria;
(d) Syphilis;
(e) Babesiosis;
(f) Brucellosis;
(g) Leptospirosis;
(h) Arboviral infections;
(i) Relapsing fever;
(j) Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease;
(k) Human T-lymphotrophic virus Type I;
(l) Viral Hemorrhagic Fever.
Clinical laboratory.
A workplace where diagnostic
				or other screening procedures are performed on blood or other potentially
				infectious materials (OPIM).
Contaminated.
The presence or the reasonably
				anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM)
				on an item or surface.
Contaminated laundry.
Laundry that has been soiled
				with blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) or may contain
				contaminated sharps.
Contaminated sharps.
Any contaminated object that
				can penetrate the skin including, but not limited to, needles, scalpels, broken
				glass, broken capillary tubes, and exposed ends of dental wires.
Decontamination.
The use of physical or chemical
				means to remove, inactivate, or destroy bloodborne pathogens on a surface or
				item to the point where they are no longer capable of transmitting infectious
				particles and the surface or item is rendered safe for handling, use, or
				disposal.
Exposure incident.
A specific eye, mouth, other
				mucous membrane, nonintact skin or parenteral contact with blood or other
				potentially infectious materials (OPIM) that results from the performance of an
				employee's duties. Examples of nonintact skin include skin with dermatitis,
				hangnails, cuts, abrasions, chafing, or acne.
Handwashing facilities.
A facility providing an
				adequate supply of running potable water, soap and single-use towels or air
				drying machines.
Licensed health care professional.
A person whose
				legally permitted scope of practice allows him or her to independently perform
				the activities required by this rule.
Needleless systems.
A device that does not use
				needles for any of the following:
(a) The collection of bodily fluids or withdrawal of body
				fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established;
(b) The administration of medication or fluids;
(c) Any other procedure involving the potential for
				occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens due to percutaneous injuries from
				contaminated sharps.
Occupational exposure.
Reasonably anticipated
				skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM that may
				result from the performance of an employee's duties.
Other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).
Includes all of the following:
(a) Human body fluids: Semen, vaginal secretions,
				cere-brospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid,
				peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid
				that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations
				where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body
				fluids.
(b) Any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a
				human (living or dead).
(c) HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and
				HIV- or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or
				other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.
(d) Blood and tissues of experimental animals infected with
				bloodborne pathogens.
Parenteral contact.
When mucous membranes or skin
				is pierced by needle sticks, human bites, cuts, or abrasions.
Personal protective equipment (PPE).
Specialized
				clothing or equipment worn by an employee for protection against a hazard.
				General work clothes (for example, uniforms, pants, shirts, or blouses) not
				intended to function as protection against a hazard are not considered to be
				PPE.
Production facility.
A facility engaged in
				industrial-scale, large-volume or high-concentration production of HIV or
				HBV.
Regulated waste.
Regulated waste is any of the
				following:
(a) Liquid or semiliquid blood or other potentially infectious
				materials (OPIM);
(b) Contaminated items that would release blood or OPIM in a
				liquid or semiliquid state, if compressed;
(c) Items that are caked with dried blood or OPIM and are
				capable of releasing these materials during handling;
(d) Contaminated sharps;
(e) Pathological and microbiological wastes containing blood or
				OPIM.
Research laboratory.
A laboratory producing or
				using research-laboratory-scale amounts of HIV or HBV. Research laboratories
				may produce high concentrations of HIV or HBV but not in the volume found in
				production facilities.
Safer medical devices.
Medical devices that have
				been engineered to reduce the risk of needle sticks and other contaminated
				sharps injuries. These include not only sharps with engineered sharps injury
				protections and needleless systems but also other medical devices designed to
				reduce the risk of sharps injury exposures to bloodborne pathogens. Examples
				include blunt suture needles and plastic or Mylar-wrapped glass capillary
				tubes.
Secondary duty.
Any job expectation outside the
				primary job duties assigned to that position.
Sharps with engineered sharps injury protections
				(SESIP).
A nonneedle sharp or a needle device used for withdrawing body
				fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other
				fluids, with a built-in safety feature or mechanism that effectively reduces
				the risk of an exposure incident.
Source person.
A person, living or dead, whose
				blood or other potentially infectious materials may be a source (OPIM) of
				occupational exposure to the employee. Examples include:
(a) Hospital and clinic patients;
(b) Clients in institutions for the developmentally
				disabled;
(c) Trauma victims;
(d) Clients of drug and alcohol treatment facilities;
(e) Residents of hospices and nursing homes;
(f) Human remains;
(g) Individuals who donate or sell blood or blood components.
Standard microbiological practices.
Standard
				microbiological practices refer to procedures comparable to those outlined in
				the current edition of the Center for Disease Control "
Biosafety in
				Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories
."
Sterilize.
The use of a physical or chemical
				procedure to destroy all microbial life including highly resistant bacterial
				endospores.
Universal precautions.
An approach to infection
				control. According to the concept of universal precautions, all human blood and
				certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV,
				HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens.
Note:
Universal Blood-Body Fluid Precautions, Body Substance
						  Isolation, and Standard Precautions expand on the concept of universal
						  precautions to include all body fluids and substances as infectious. These
						  concepts are acceptable alternatives to universal precautions.