HB2933 INTR

H. B. 2933

(By Delegate Hatfield)

[Introduced February 26, 1999; referred to the

Committee on Health and Human Resources then Government

Organization.]

A BILL to amend chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article thirty-six, relating to requiring the director of the division of health to establish a blood borne pathogen standard governing occupational exposure of public employees to blood and other potentially infectious materials; and requiring that a list be maintained and made available specifying existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article thirty-six, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 36. BLOOD BORNE PATHOGEN LABOR SAFETY STANDARDS.
§16-36-1. Definitions.

As used in this article:

(1) "Blood borne pathogens" means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus;

(2) "Engineered sharps injury protection" means either:

(A) A physical attribute built into a needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids, which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident by a mechanism such as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal, retraction, destruction or other effective mechanisms; or

(B) A physical attribute built into any other type of needle device, or into a nonneedle sharp, which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident;

(3) "Needleless system" means a device that does not utilize needles for:

(A) The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established;

(B) The administration of medication or fluids; and

(4) "Public employer" means each employer having a public employee with occupational exposure to blood or other material potentially containing blood borne pathogens;

(5) "Public employee" means an employee of the state or a local governmental unit or agency of the state or a local governmental unit employed in a public or private health care facility, home health care organization or other facility providing health care related services;

(6) "Sharp" means any object used or encountered in a health care setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin or any other part of the body, and to result in an exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle devices, scalpels, lancets, broken glass, broken capillary tubes, exposed ends of dental wires and dental knives, drills and burs;

(7) "Sharps injury" means any injury caused by a sharp, including, but not limited to, cuts, abrasions, needlesticks or human bites; and

(8) "Sharps injury log" means a written or electronic record satisfying the requirements of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section two of this article.
§16-36-2. Blood borne pathogen standard.

(a) The director of the division of health, with the cooperation of the commissioner of labor, shall propose rules for legislative approval, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine of this code, establishing a blood borne pathogen standard governing occupational exposure of public employees to blood and other potentially infectious materials. The rules shall be proposed no later than the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine. The standard shall be at least as prescriptive as the standard promulgated by the federal occupational safety and health administration and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) A requirement that needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection be implemented in all facilities employing public employees, as defined in section one of this article, except in cases where an evaluation committee, established by the employer, at least half the members of which are front-line health care workers, determines by means of objective product evaluation criteria that use of the devices will jeopardize patient or employee safety with regard to a specific medical procedure; and

(2) A requirement that information concerning exposure incidents be recorded in a sharps injury log, including, but not limited to:

(A) Date and time of the exposure incident;

(B) Type and brand of sharp involved in the exposure incident; and

(i) Job classification of the exposed employee;

(ii) Department or work area where the exposure incident occurred;

(iii) The procedure that the exposed employee was performing at the time of the incident;

(iv) How the incident occurred;

(v) The body part involved in the exposure incident;

(vi) If the sharp had engineered sharps injury protection, whether the protective mechanism was activated, and whether the injury occurred before the protective mechanism was activated, during activation of the mechanism or after activation of the mechanism, if applicable;

(vii) If the sharp had no engineered sharps injury protection, the injured employee's opinion as to whether and how the mechanism could have prevented the injury, as well as the basis for the opinion; and

(viii) The employee's opinion about whether any other engineering, administrative or work practice control could have prevented the injury, as well as the basis for the opinion.

(b) The director of the division of health shall consider additional provisions as part of the blood borne pathogen standard to prevent sharps injuries or exposure incidents including, but not limited to, training and educational requirements, measures to increase vaccinations, strategic placement of sharps containers as close to the work area as practical and increased use of personal protective equipment.

§16-36-3. Maintenance of list of systems with engineered sharps injury protection.

The director of the division of health shall compile and maintain a list of existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection, which the director shall make available to assist employers in complying with the requirements of the blood borne pathogen standard adopted pursuant to this section. The list may be developed from existing sources of information, including but not limited to, the federal food and drug administration, the federal centers for disease control, the national institute of occupational safety and health and the United States department of veterans affairs.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the director of the division of health to establish a blood borne pathogen standard governing occupational exposure of public employees to blood and other potentially infectious materials. It also requires that a list be maintained and made available specifying existing needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.