ANDOVER, Mass. – New England Hematology/Oncology Associates PC, a medical service provider in Newton, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration for an alleged willful and an alleged serious violation of workplace safety standards after an OSHA inspection revealed that workers were being exposed to biohazards. Proposed penalties total $46,900.
OSHA’s Andover Area Office initiated the inspection in April in response to complaints by medical workers that the needles used to treat cancer patients were not safety-engineered devices and that, in removing the needles, workers were at risk of needlestick injuries. OSHA found that the workers were potentially exposed to bloodborne pathogens from needlesticks because safer needle systems, such as automatically sheathing needles, were not used.
