Safety Policies and Procedures Manual
Bloodborne Pathogens
SPPM 2.44
For more information contact:
Environmental Health and Safety
509-335-3041 / ehsweb@wsu.edu
Contents
1.0 Overview
Bloodborne pathogens are pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria, parasites, and/or viruses present in human blood and/or other body fluids that can cause disease in humans. Departments with employees or students likely to be exposed to bloodborne pathogens are to implement a Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan.
1.1 Exposure
Positions/tasks with potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens include:
- Health care providers, learners, and students in clinical health professional programs
- Custodians in health care facilities
- Athletic trainers
- Law enforcement personnel
- Employees who handle or pick-up contaminated sharps or wastes containing human blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM)
- Employees designated to clean-up human blood or OPIM spills
- Researchers working with human blood or OPIM
- Employees whose position description duties include providing first aid
Employees, learners, and students in these positions or performing these tasks may be exposed to bloodborne pathogens through inhalation, ingestion, injection, or absorption of human blood or other potentially infectious materials.
Other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) include:
- Semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, and body fluid visibly contaminated with blood or where it is difficult to differentiate between body fluids.
- Any unfixed human tissue or organ.
- Human cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, culture medium, or other solutions which may contain bloodborne pathogens.
- Blood and tissues of experimental animals infected with bloodborne pathogens.
1.2 Prevention
Prevention of infection can generally be accomplished by eliminating employee and student exposure. In addition, immunization against the Hepatitis B Virus is recommended.
Employees and students are to use “universal precautions” to eliminate or minimize exposure to human bloodborne pathogens. Universal precautions are infection control approaches which require all human blood and OPIM (see Section 1.1) to be treated as infected with bloodborne pathogens.
Specific engineering and work practice controls as well as personal protective equipment are required if human blood or OPIM are present. Contact Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) for information about applicable engineering and work practice controls; telephone 509-335-3041.
2.0 Requirements and Responsibilities
2.1 Departments
EH&S has created a Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan template that departments are required to use for their site-specific plans. Contact EH&S to obtain copies of the template and for assistance with implementing the exposure control plan requirements; telephone 509-335-3041; ehsweb@wsu.edu.
Departments are responsible for:
- Reviewing employee position description duties to determine if the employees are likely to be exposed to bloodborne pathogens.
- Developing a Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan if supervised employees and/ or students may potentially be exposed to bloodborne pathogens.
- Ensuring that a copy of the Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan is accessible to employees and students.
- Reviewing the plan annually or when there is a change in duties that alters bloodborne pathogens exposures.
- Ensuring that employees who have an exposure incident are offered post-exposure evaluation, treatment, and follow-up, as outlined in the department’s Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan. An exposure incident may include incidents such as needlesticks from used needles, or when the eyes, mouth, other mucous membrane, or non-intact skin contacts blood or OPIM.
- Ensuring that students who have an exposure incident are provided with information and resources, as required by and articulated in the department’s Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan.
- Ensuring exposure incident reports are created and submitted in accordance with Section 2.3 and maintained in accordance with the University’s records retention requirements (UPPM 90.01).
- Ensuring that all employees and students covered by the Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan receive initial and annual training.
2.2 Human Resource Services
For employees, Human Resource Services is responsible for:
- Maintaining hepatitis B virus vaccination records and declination forms.
- Assisting with post-exposure evaluation and follow-up.
- Maintaining post-exposure evaluation and follow-up records, if applicable.
2.3 Post-Exposure Investigation and Reporting
For all incidents, employees are required to follow the procedures in SPPM 2.26.
3.0 Vaccinations
3.1 Hepatitis B Virus Vaccination (HBVV)
The Hepatitis B virus vaccination (HBVV) series is to be offered to all employees covered by a Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan. The employing department pays the cost of the vaccination series.
Departments are not required to offer HBVV at time of hire to employees who only provide first aid as a secondary duty, provided vaccinations are made available to all unvaccinated first-aid providers who render assistance in any situation involving the presence of blood or OPIM. Vaccination must be made available as soon as possible, but no later than twenty-four hours after the incident.
Students engaged in programs such as those identified in Section 1.1 with potential BBP exposure are strongly encouraged to complete the HBVV series at their own expense.
3.2 Other Vaccinations
Other bloodborne pathogens of concern include Hepatitis C Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Currently, there are no effective immunizations available for these viruses.
4.0 Training
Employees and students covered by a Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan are to receive training prior to assignments with potential exposure to human blood or OPIM and annually thereafter. Bloodborne Pathogens training is available on Percipio via HRS Learning and Organizational Development. Employees and students must also be trained on the departmental Exposure Control Plan. Training for students is provided by the supervising department.
Contact EH&S for assistance identifying training resources; telephone 509-335-3041; ehsweb@wsu.edu.
5.0 Blood Spill Reporting and Cleanup
5.1 WSU Pullman
Personnel at WSU Pullman report blood spills for cleanup to the following departments:
- Housing Services when the blood spills are in residence halls and/or University housing; telephone 509-335-1541.
- Facilities Services, Operations when the blood spills are in University academic, research, and administrative facilities; telephone 509-335-9000.
- EH&S for outdoor spills and when assistance with blood spill cleanup is needed; telephone 509-335-3041 during business hours and 911 during non-business hours.
- University laboratories cleanup blood spills associated with laboratory research.
- WSU Police cleans up minor blood spills associated with incident response.
- Cougar Health Services (CHS) cleans up spills associated with student medical care at its facilities.
5.2 All Other WSU Locations
At non-Pullman WSU locations, departments are required to develop procedures for reporting and cleaning up blood spills. These procedures must include:
- Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plans; and
- Departmental or campus response teams; or
- Contracts with local clean-up companies. (See also UPPM 10.11 and 70.50.)
6.0 Resources and Assistance
Contact EH&S for assistance:
- WSU Pullman 509-335-3041; ehsweb@wsu.edu
- WSU Spokane: WSUS EH&S; telephone 509-358-7621
- WSU Tri-Cities: WSUTC EH&S: telephone 509-372-7163
- WSU Vancouver: WSUV EH&S; telephone 360-546-9706
- WSU Everett: WSUE Facilities; telephone 425-405-1566
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Revisions: Sept. 2025 (Rev. 149); Reviewed July 2013; May 20212 (Rev. 96); Dec. 2008 (Rev. 77); May 1999 – new section (Rev. 23).