A dental services provider with offices throughout the Northeast and Midwest faces a $76,500 fine after an employee suffered a needlestick injury.
For a Limited Time receive a
FREE Safety Special Report on the "50 Tips For More-Effective Safety Training." Receive 75 pages of useful safety information broken down into three training sections.
Download NowAccording to OSHA, an inspection found that the office cited did not provide the injured employee with no-cost, post-exposure medical evaluation and follow-up and did not have the blood of the source individual tested as required under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard.
OSHA also charges that the training program did not include the proper method of removing the capped needle from a syringe, did not explain procedures to be followed in the event of an exposure, and did not provide an opportunity for employees to ask questions about the training. The office's exposure control program was also incomplete and not updated annually, says OSHA. OSHA adds that the office did not use needles with engineered safety devices for user protection.
The major portion ($63,000) of the proposed fine is for not testing the source individual's blood for infection even after OSHA notified the office that this was required.
[Source: Environmental Manager's Compliance Advisor. Subscribe today!]