Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

In the 1980s, Hepatitis B had long been recognized for its ability to cause serious injury and death, and HIV/AIDS was beginning to receive worldwide attention. OSHA did not have a set of standards dedicated to these and other bloodborne pathogens, but instead had guidelines that currently exist that were applicable to scenarios in which an employee would be exposed to these or other OPIM. Some examples are 29 CFR 1910.132 that mandates that an employer must provide personal protective equipment and 29 CFR 1910.145 (f) that requires accident prevention tags to warn an employee of a biological hazard.

In 1986, several unions petitioned OSHA to take formal action and reduce the risks for employees with occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Initially, the petitions of these unions were all denied; however, the petitions made OSHA take action and begin the required process of further information gathering. By the beginning of the 1990s, a standard had been drawn up and was passed - 29 CFR 1910.1030.

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