Contaminated Laundry
Potential Hazard
Employee exposure to blood and other potentially infectious agents from handling contaminated laundry during rinsing in utility rooms. Some facilities allow employees to rinse contaminated laundry (i.e., laundry contaminated with blood or Other Potentially Infectious Materials (OPIM) or that might contain sharps, in dirty utility “hopper” rooms, instead of simply containerizing it and then transporting it to the laundry.
Possible Solutions
The Bloodborne Pathogens Standard requires:
Bagging and handling of contaminated laundry, with a minimal amount of agitation, at the location where it was used [29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(4)(iv)(A)].
Contaminated laundry shall not be sorted or rinsed in the location of use [29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(4)(iv)(A)(1)], and must be transported to the laundry for decontamination in bags or containers labeled or color-coded in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1030(g)(1)(i). When universal precautions are used in the handling of all soiled laundry alternative labeling or color-coding is sufficient if it permits all employees to recognize the containers as requiring compliance with universal precautions.
Outstanding Cleaning INC. has the proper cleaning equipment and trained employees to offer you a complete cleaning services.
