Investigators with the U.S.
Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration have found
ten serious violations at the Federal Correctional Institution in McDowell
County — violations that reportedly lead to prison workers being exposed to
bloodborne pathogens.
According to OSHA, investigators
determined the operators of the medium-security facility did not do the
following:
-Train employees on the bloodborne
pathogens policy and limitations of personal protective equipment.
- Ensure the person conducting
training was knowledgeable about the subject.
- Use puncture-resistant containers
to transport contaminated shanks and other sharps.
- Provide health care
professionals, who evaluate an employee following an exposure, a copy of the
bloodborne pathogens regulation, the exposed employee’s duties, documentation
of the route of exposure or its circumstances, and medical records relevant to
treatment of the employee.
- Select and require
puncture-resistant gloves while conducting pat-down operations.
Those with the prison facility have
15 days to respond to the findings from investigators with OSHA’s Charleston
