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Bloodborne Pathogens for Employees with Occupational Exposure
For employees whose duties can bring them into contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials, such as designated first aid responders and custodial staff: recognize exposure, use work practices and PPE, clean up and contain waste, and know what happens with the hepatitis B vaccine and after an exposure incident.
Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 · about 7 min read
Need proof of training? The full course (25 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.
Bloodborne pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms present in human blood, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Other potentially infectious materials (OPIM)
Besides blood, OPIM includes certain body fluids (semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal, synovial, pleural, pericardial, peritoneal and amniotic fluid, and saliva in dental procedures), any body fluid visibly contaminated with blood, all body fluids when you cannot tell them apart, and unfixed human tissue or organs other than intact skin.
Occupational exposureReasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM that may result from your job duties.
Exposure incidentA specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or OPIM from your job duties. Parenteral means piercing the skin or mucous membranes, as with needlesticks, human bites, cuts and abrasions.
Universal precautions must be observed to prevent contact with blood or OPIM. When you cannot tell which body fluid it is, treat all body fluids as potentially infectious.
Your employer must train each employee with occupational exposure, at no cost to you and during working hours:
At the time of initial assignment to tasks where occupational exposure may take place
At least annually after that
The training must explain your employer's exposure control plan and how you can get a copy of the written plan.
Important: the training must include an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with the person conducting it, and that person must be knowledgeable about the subject as it relates to your workplace. This online course builds your knowledge, but it does not replace that session.
Wash your hands immediately or as soon as feasible after removing gloves or other PPE.
After contact with blood or OPIM, wash hands and any other skin with soap and water, or flush mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) with water, immediately or as soon as feasible.
When antiseptic hand cleansers or towelettes are used, wash your hands with soap and running water as soon as feasible.
Sharps
Never shear or break a contaminated needle.
Contaminated needles and other sharps are not bent, recapped or removed unless the employer shows no alternative is feasible or a specific medical or dental procedure requires it. Then it must be done with a mechanical device or a one-handed technique.
Food and personal habits
Eating, drinking, smoking, applying cosmetics or lip balm, and handling contact lenses are prohibited in work areas where occupational exposure is reasonably likely. Food and drink are not kept in refrigerators, freezers, shelves, cabinets or on counters where blood or OPIM are present.
When there is occupational exposure, your employer must provide appropriate PPE at no cost to you, such as gloves, gowns, face shields or masks and eye protection, and pocket masks or other ventilation devices for rescue breathing. Your employer must ensure you use it. The only exception is rare and extraordinary: a brief, temporary decision by the employee, in professional judgment, that PPE would have prevented delivering care or created a greater hazard, and that decision is then investigated and documented.
Gloves
Wear gloves when you can reasonably anticipate hand contact with blood, OPIM, mucous membranes or non-intact skin, and when handling or touching contaminated items or surfaces.
Replace disposable gloves as soon as practical when contaminated, or as soon as feasible if they are torn, punctured or no longer work as a barrier.
Never wash or decontaminate disposable gloves for re-use.
Face and body
Wear a mask with eye protection (goggles or glasses with solid side shields), or a chin-length face shield, whenever splashes, spray, spatter or droplets may be generated and eye, nose or mouth contamination can be reasonably anticipated. Gowns, aprons or similar outer garments are worn in occupational exposure situations; the type depends on the task and the degree of exposure.
Decontaminate contaminated surfaces with an appropriate disinfectant immediately or as soon as feasible after a spill of blood or OPIM, or when surfaces are overtly contaminated.
Never pick up broken glass that may be contaminated with your hands. Use mechanical means such as a brush and dust pan, tongs or forceps.
Discard contaminated sharps immediately or as soon as feasible in a container that is closable, puncture resistant, leakproof on sides and bottom, and labeled or color-coded.
Keep sharps containers upright during use, and have them replaced routinely. Do not let them overfill.
Regulated waste, such as items caked with dried blood that could release it during handling, goes in containers that are closable, built to prevent leakage, labeled or color-coded, and closed before removal.
Contaminated laundry
Bag or containerize it where it was used. Do not sort or rinse it there. Wear protective gloves and other appropriate PPE when you handle it.
Warning labels
WhereContainers of regulated waste, refrigerators and freezers holding blood or OPIM, and other containers used to store, transport or ship blood or OPIM.
What they look likeFluorescent orange or orange-red, or predominantly so, with lettering and symbols in a contrasting color. Red bags or red containers may be used instead of labels.
Wash or flush right away. Wash skin with soap and water, or flush eyes, nose or mouth with water, immediately or as soon as feasible.
Report it using the method your employer's training explains. The medical follow-up starts with your report.
Get evaluated. After a report, your employer must make a confidential medical evaluation and follow-up immediately available, at no cost to you. It includes at least documentation of how the exposure happened, identification and documentation of the source individual (unless that is infeasible or prohibited by law), collection and testing of your blood after you consent, post-exposure prophylaxis when medically indicated, counseling, and evaluation of reported illnesses.
Get the written opinion. Your employer must give you a copy of the healthcare professional's written opinion within 15 days of the completion of the evaluation.
Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030. It is not an OSHA card or license, and it does not by itself meet the training requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(2). Your employer must still train you at no cost and during working hours, at the time of initial assignment and at least annually, on every element listed in 1910.1030(g)(2)(vii), including its own exposure control plan and an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with the person conducting the training, who must be knowledgeable in the subject matter as it relates to your workplace.
This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.