The US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, for safety and health violations that include failing to fit test temporary workers with the proper respirators or provide training on protocols related to exposures to blood and other potentially infectious materials.

OSHA opened the inspection on Oct. 22, 2015, after a compliance officer investigating a separate complaint reviewed the hospital’s 300 OSHA logs and found there was an unusual amount of needle-stick and blood-borne pathogens exposure.

Inspectors issued serious citations after determining the hospital failed to:

• Provide employee training on the hazards of methylene chloride, a cancer-causing chemical.
• Monitor employees who may be exposed to methylene chloride.
• Immediately discard contaminated sharps in appropriate containers.
• Ensure its blood-borne pathogens program included engineering controls to prevent needle sticks.

The other-than-serious violations include incomplete OSHA 300 logs, the hospital’s failure to fit test temporary workers with the proper respirators or provide training on protocols related to exposures to blood and other potentially infectious materials, and an improperly labeled sharps container.

“We are taking the report seriously and will actively address these issues,” the Courier-Post reported the hospital said in a statement. The statement noted “numerous long-standing initiatives and ongoing education and training with the input of employees, physicians and leadership.”

“The citations and proposed penalties in this case reflect the seriousness of Cooper Hospital’s failure to protect its employees from needle-stick injuries and blood-borne pathogen hazards,” said Paula Dixon-Roderick, OSHA’s area director in Marlton. “The hospital must continue monitoring and investing in sustained efforts to prevent these injuries from jeopardizing worker safety and health.”

Proposed penalties total $55,000.

Cooper University Hospital has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to respond.