The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Blood--Human blood, human blood components, and products made from human blood.
  (2) Bloodborne pathogens--Pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and that can cause diseases in humans, and include:
    (A) hepatitis B virus (HBV);
    (B) hepatitis C virus (HCV); and
    (C) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
  (3) Contaminated--The presence or reasonably anticipated presence of blood or other potentially infectious material on an item or surface.
  (4) Contaminated equipment--Any equipment used in the workplace that has been soiled with blood or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface.
  (5) Contaminated sharps injury--Any sharps injury that occurs with a sharp used or encountered in a health care setting that is contaminated with human blood or body fluids.
  (6) Device--An instrument, apparatus, implement, machine, contrivance, implant, in vitro reagent, or other similar or related article, including any component, part, or accessory that is:
    (A) recognized in the official United States Pharmacopoeia National Formulary or any supplement to it;
    (B) intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals; or
    (C) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals and that does not achieve any of its principal intended purposes through chemical action within or on the body of man or other animals and is not dependent on metabolization for the achievement of any of its principal intended purposes.
  (7) Employee--An individual who works for a governmental unit or on premises owned or operated by a governmental unit whether or not he or she is directly compensated by the governmental unit.
  (8) Employs--Engages the services of employees.
  (9) Engineered sharps injury protection--A physical attribute that:
    (A) is built into a needle device used for withdrawing body fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids and that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident by a mechanism, such as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal, retraction, destruction, or another effective mechanism; or
    (B) is built into any other type of needle device, into a nonneedle sharp, or into a nonneedle infusion safety securement device that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
  (10) Exposure incident--Eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, non-intact skin, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that results from the performance of an employee's duties.
  (11) Governmental unit--This state and any agency of the state, including a division, section, unit, branch, department, bureau, board, commission, or office and includes:
    (A) a political subdivision of this state, including any municipality, county, or special district; or
    (B) any other institution of government, including an institution of higher education.
  (12) Hepatitis B virus (HBV)--A virus that may be contracted through exposure to blood and/or body fluids and can result in chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular (liver) cancer.
  (13) Hepatitis C virus (HCV)--A virus that may be contracted through exposure to blood and/or body fluids and may result in chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular (liver) cancer.
  (14) Health care professional--A person whose legally permitted scope of practice allows him or her to independently evaluate an employee of a governmental unit and determine the appropriate interventions after an exposure incident; this would include hepatitis B vaccination and postexposure evaluation and follow up.
  (15) Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)--HIV may be contracted through blood and/or body fluids and can result in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which the body is unable to fight infections.
  (16) Needleless system--A device that does not use a needle and that is used:
    (A) to withdraw body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established;
    (B) to administer medication or fluids; or
    (C) for any other procedure involving the potential for an exposure incident.
  (17) Occupational exposure--A reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane, or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee's duties.
  (18) Other potentially infectious materials (OPIMs); include:
    (A) the following human body fluids: semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluid, amniotic fluid, saliva in dental procedures, any body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentiate between body fluids;
    (B) any unfixed tissue or organ (other than intact skin) from a human, living or dead; and
    (C) HIV-, HBV-, or HCV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV, HBV or HCV.
  (19) Personal protective equipment (PPE)--Specialized clothing or equipment worn by an employee for protection against a hazard. General work clothes (e.g., uniforms, pants, shirts, or blouses) not intended to function as protection against a hazard are not considered to be personal protective equipment.
  (20) Regulated waste/special waste from health care-related facilities--Solid waste which if improperly treated or handled may serve to transmit an infectious disease(s) and which is composed of the following:
    (A) animal waste;
    (B) bulk blood, bulk human blood products, or bulk human body fluids;
    (C) microbiological waste;
    (D) pathological waste; or
    (E) sharps.
  (21) Sharp--An object used or encountered in a health care setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin or any other part of the body and to result in an exposure incident and includes but is not limited to:
    (A) needle devices;
    (B) scalpels;
    (C) lancets;
    (D) a piece of broken glass;
    (E) a broken capillary tube;
    (F) an exposed end of a dental wire; or
    (G) a dental knife, drill, or bur.
  (22) Sharps injury--Any injury caused by a sharp, including a cut, abrasion, or needlestick.
  (23) Universal precautions/standard precautions--Approaches to infection control as defined in Title 29 Code of Federal Regulation §1910.1030, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee’s 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings. According to the concept of universal precautions, all human blood and certain human body fluids are treated as if known to be infectious for HIV, HBV, HCV, and other bloodborne pathogens.

Source Note: The provisions of this §96.101 adopted to be effective August 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 7704; amended to be effective July 23, 2006, 31 TexReg 5626; amended to be effective June 21, 2017, 42 TexReg 3147