Environmental Health and Safety

Precautions for Bloodborne Pathogens

Kansas State University voluntarily complies with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030. In addition, medical services waste is regulated by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) under K.A.R. 28-29-27. The university administration, to insure a safe work environment for all employees, adopts this Kansas State University policy on Work Place Precautions for Bloodborne Pathogens. This policy will minimize work place exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and other bloodborne pathogens. Wherever the term "blood" is found in this policy, it implies blood or other potentially infectious material capable of acting as a vehicle for HIV, HBV, or other bloodborne pathogens.

Each department having an employee or employees with occupational exposure to human blood must establish a written Exposure Control Plan designed to eliminate or minimize employee exposure. Employees considered to have occupational exposure to human blood include:

  • health professionals and paraprofessionals in Lafene Health Center, the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, and Recreational Services;
  • police in the Division of Public Safety;
  • laboratory personnel working with human blood or other human pathogens in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Department of Veterinary Diagnosis, Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Department of Foods and Nutrition and Department of Kinesiology;
  • emergency first-aid responders in any department; and
  • custodians in the Division of Facilities who may be required to clean up spilled human blood.

Methods of compliance including handling, storing and disposing of human blood and medical services waste are published by the Environmental Health and Safety Department is available in hard copy. Additional information concerning HIV research, HBV vaccinations, HIV and HBV exposure incident reporting, hazard communication, training and recordkeeping may be found in the published guideline.

Used sharps such as hypodermic needles and syringes, scalpel blades, suture needles, razor blades, pasteur pipettes, or other sharp objects must be stored in a closed, rigid, puncture proof container. The Environmental Health and Safety Department disposes of medical waste sharps. Contact them to request a pick up. Contaminated sharps generated by KSU activities be not be discarded in the regular trash.

The Environmental Health and Safety Department also manages other medical waste. Materials will be transported in "International Orange" (red) containers to the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility to await disposal. Request a pick up.