PRINTER'S NO. 1914
No. 1570 Session of 1999
INTRODUCED BY O'BRIEN, DAILEY, VAN HORNE, VEON, BEBKO-JONES,
BELARDI, BELFANTI, BISHOP, BUNT, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, CAWLEY,
CLARK, CLYMER, CORNELL, CORRIGAN, COY, CURRY, DeWEESE,
EACHUS, FAIRCHILD, FICHTER, FRANKEL, HALUSKA, HARHAI, HASAY,
HERMAN, JAMES, KIRKLAND, LaGROTTA, LAUGHLIN, McCALL,
McNAUGHTON, MELIO, R. MILLER, MYERS, ORIE, SATHER, SAYLOR,
SERAFINI, SEYFERT, SHANER, SOLOBAY, STEELMAN, STERN,
E. Z. TAYLOR, J. TAYLOR, WALKO, WILLIAMS, WILT, WOJNAROSKI,
YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, JUNE 8, 1999
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JUNE 8, 1999
AN ACT
1 Relating to bloodborne pathogen standards governing exposure to
2 certain persons.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Short title.
6 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Bloodborne
7 Pathogen Standard Act.
8 Section 2. Definitions.
9 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
10 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
11 context clearly indicates otherwise:
12 "Bloodborne pathogens." Pathogenic microorganisms that are
13 present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These
14 pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus
1 (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus
2 (HIV).
3 "Department." The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
4 "Employer." Each employer having public employees with
5 occupational exposure to blood or other material potentially
6 containing bloodborne pathogens.
7 "Engineered sharps injury protection." Either:
8 (1) a physical attribute built into a needle device used
9 for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery or
10 administering medications or other fluids, which effectively
11 reduces the risk of an exposure incident by a mechanism such
12 as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal,
13 retraction, destruction or other effective mechanisms; or
14 (2) a physical attribute built into any other type of
15 needle device or into a nonneedle sharp, which effectively
16 reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
17 "Front-line health care worker." A nonmanagerial employee
18 responsible for direct patient care with potential occupational
19 exposure to sharps-related injuries.
20 "Needleless system." A device that does not utilize needles
21 for:
22 (1) The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous
23 or arterial access is established.
24 (2) The administration of medication or fluids.
25 (3) Any other procedure involving the potential for an
26 exposure incident.
27 "Public employee." An employee of the State or a local
28 governmental unit or agency thereof employed in a health care
29 facility, home health care organization or other facility
30 providing health care-related services.
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1 "Sharp." Any object used or encountered in a health care
2 setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin
3 or any other part of the body and to result in an exposure
4 incident, including, but not limited to, needle devices,
5 scalpels, lancets, broken glass or broken capillary tubes.
6 "Sharps injury." Any injury caused by a sharp, including,
7 but not limited to, cuts, abrasions or needlesticks.
8 "Sharps injury log." A written or electronic record
9 satisfying the requirements of this act.
10 Section 3. Department of Health.
11 (a) Adoption of standard.--The department shall adopt a
12 bloodborne pathogen standard governing public employees to be
13 developed no later than six months from the date of enactment of
14 this act.
15 (b) Standards.--The standard shall be at least as
16 prescriptive as the standard promulgated by the Federal
17 Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and shall
18 include, but not be limited to, the following:
19 (1) A requirement that needleless systems and sharps
20 with engineered sharps injury protection be included as
21 engineering and work practice controls. However, such
22 engineering controls shall not be required if:
23 (i) none is available in the marketplace; or
24 (ii) an evaluation committee, as described in
25 paragraph (2)(iii)(C)(X) determines by means of objective
26 product evaluation criteria that use of such devices will
27 jeopardize patient or employee safety with regard to a
28 specific medical procedure.
29 (2) A requirement that each employer develop and
30 implement an effective written exposure control plan that
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1 includes, but is not limited to, procedures for:
2 (i) identifying and selecting needleless systems and
3 sharps with engineered sharps injury protection through
4 the evaluation committee described in clause (iii)(C)(X);
5 (ii) updating the written exposure control plan when
6 necessary to reflect progress in implementing needleless
7 systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury
8 protection as determined by the evaluation committee
9 described in clause (iii)(C)(X), but in no event less
10 than once every year;
11 (iii) recording information concerning exposure
12 incidents in a sharps injury log, including, but not
13 limited to:
14 (A) Date and time of the exposure incident.
15 (B) Type and brand of sharp involved in the
16 exposure incident.
17 (C) Description of the exposure incident that
18 shall include:
19 (I) Job classification of the exposed
20 employee.
21 (II) Department or work area where the
22 exposure incident occurred.
23 (III) The procedure that the exposed
24 employee was performing at the time of the
25 incident.
26 (IV) How the incident occurred.
27 (V) The body part involved in the exposure
28 incident.
29 (VI) If the sharp had engineered sharps
30 injury protection, whether the protective
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1 mechanism was activated and whether the injury
2 occurred before the protective mechanism was
3 activated, during activation of the mechanism or
4 after activation of the mechanism.
5 (VII) If the sharp had no engineered sharps
6 injury protection, whether and how such a
7 mechanism could have prevented the injury, as
8 well as the basis for the assessment.
9 (VIII) An assessment of whether any other
10 engineering, administrative or work practice
11 control could have prevented the injury, as well
12 as the basis for the assessment.
13 (IX) Ensuring that all front-line health
14 care workers are trained on the use of all
15 engineering controls before they are introduced
16 into the clinical setting.
17 (X) Establishing an evaluation committee, at
18 least half the members of which are frontline
19 health care workers from a variety of
20 occupational classifications and departments,
21 including, but not limited to, nurses, nurse
22 aides, technicians, phlebotomists and physicians,
23 to advise the employer on the implementation of
24 the requirements of this act. Members of the
25 committee shall be trained in the proper method
26 of utilizing product evaluation criteria prior to
27 the commencement of any product evaluation.
28 (c) Additional measures.--The department shall consider
29 additional measures to prevent sharps injuries or exposure
30 incidents, including, but not limited to, training and
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1 educational requirements, increased use of vaccinations,
2 strategic placement of sharps containers as close to the work
3 area as practical and increased use of personal protective
4 equipment.
5 (d) Compilation and maintenance of list.--The department
6 shall compile and maintain a list of needleless systems and
7 sharps with engineered sharps injury protection, which shall be
8 available to assist employers in complying with the requirements
9 of the bloodborne pathogen standard adopted pursuant to this
10 section. The list may be developed from existing sources of
11 information, including, but not limited to, the Federal Food and
12 Drug Administration, the Federal Centers for Disease Control,
13 the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and the
14 United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
15 (e) Fund.--A fund is hereby established in the State
16 Treasury for use of the Department of Health to carry out the
17 purposes of this act to provide for research and development, as
18 well as product evaluations, of needleless systems and sharps
19 with engineered sharps injury protection.
20 Section 4. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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