Bloodborne Pathogens

Summary

How to protect people at Harvard who may be exposed to bloodborne pathogens (BBP) at work.

All students, faculty, and staff who may be exposed to BBP during their work at Harvard.

Harvard employees must follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) BBP Standard if they may have occupational exposure to:

Human blood, body fluids, or unfixed tissue as defined in the BBP Standard.
Human cells or cell lines.
Pathogenic microorganisms transmitted by human blood, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Each group must establish a written exposure control plan (ECP) and make it available to their employees.

If you may be exposed to any of these materials during work, you must meet OSHA BBP Standard requirements by:

Completing initial and annual BBP refresher training.
- Researchers: Complete BBP training included in your online lab biosafety training in the Harvard Training Portal (HTP).
- Non-researchers: Complete BBP training in HTP or in-person.
Complete a HBV vaccination offer (even if you decline vaccination). Harvard must retain a copy of your vaccination offer.

Find documents and online tools to manage BBP.

Form to document reviewing or updating a chemical hygiene plan (CHP) or exposure control plan (ECP)

Template to develop an exposure control plan (ECP)

Form to request vaccination against potential exposure to bloodborne pathogens (BBP) during work

Contact biosafety@harvard.edu or your Biosafety Officer (BSO) for more information about BBP at Harvard, including:

To learn more about BBP, review OSHA resources about BBP and prevention measures.

If you have questions or concerns about environmental health and safety at Harvard, please contact us.

We welcome your suggestions for improving the Harvard EHS website.