As a business owner, it is one's responsibility to ensure that their employees are well trained and well informed. Within certain industries, such as the medical industry, training has to go beyond simple cleaning duties. This involves covering the hazards that accompany working in areas that are conducive to occupational exposure. Failure to do so could be disastrous, resulting in fines, sickness, or even death. Therefore it is critical to have an approach that is consistent with OSHA and CDC regulations to conduct business in a safe and legal manner.

OSHA defines "occupational exposure" in 'OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen Standard' 29 CFR 1910.1030(b) as "reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee's duties." Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens can result in the contraction of certain illnesses, especially hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). These are life threatening illnesses.

Fortunately, organizations such as OSHA and the CDC have standards in place to help us navigate occupational exposure in a safe manner. Following the standards they list (such as those in 29 CFR 1910.1030) is critical to ensuring the safety of one's employees. Common practices include, but are not limited to: universal precaution, use of PPE, needlestick prevention training, offering vaccines to employees, medical logs, among others.

This cannot be stressed enough - companies that put their employees in situations of occupational exposure need to properly train and equip them to handle their jobs safely and effectively.