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October 3, 2000
(House)
H.R. 5178 - Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act
(Rep. Ballenger (R) North Carolina and 83 cosponsors)
The Administration supports House passage of H.R. 5178, which would amend
OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard by setting forth in greater detail its
requirement that employers identify, evaluate, and make use of effective
safer medical devices. The principles of this bill closely follow OSHA's
1999 revised compliance directive on bloodborne pathogens. The
Administration will work during implementation of this bill to minimize
recordkeeping burdens on employers.
The Administration believes enactment of this bill will raise awareness of
the bloodborne pathogens standard's requirements and make it clearer to
employers that they have a responsibility to use commercially available
safer medical devices that can lessen the risk of percutaneous injuries
from contaminated sharps. The Administration also believes that this
legislation will encourage manufacturers of medical sharps and needle
devices to improve and bring to the market more of these safer devices.
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