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HIV-labeled disinfectants for body fluid cleanup

Summary A requester asked whether OSHA would accept disinfectants labeled for HIV-1 when cleaning body fluid spills. OSHA said it planned to amend its enforcement instruction to allow HIV-labeled products for environmental surfaces following EPA's labeling clarification. OSHA now archives the letter as potentially outdated.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1989-06-30-0
Date issued
June 30, 1989
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA archives this letter and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 10, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1910 Bloodborne Pathogens Disinfection
Source
View the official document

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The current status of this document is unclear
OSHA archives this letter and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy. It may no longer reflect the agency's current position. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.
About this page: The full text below is the official document from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

June 30, 1989

Mr. Mark Gindling
The Davies-Young Company
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Gindling:

This is in response to your letter of March 23, regarding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Instruction CPL 2-2.44A which requires a tuberculocidal disinfectant to be used to clean up body fluid spills. Please accept my apology for the delay in responding.

You specifically asked, "if it is the intention of OSHA to accept use of HIV-1 claimed disinfectants". In light of the recent clarification issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its labeling policy for antimicrobial pesticide products, OSHA will be amending the compliance directive to also allow the use of "HIV (AIDS virus)" labeled disinfectants to be used on environmental surfaces.

Should you require any additional information concerning this matter, you may want to directly contact our Regional Office located in Kansas City. The address and telephone number is:

U.S. Department of Labor - OSHA 911 Walnut Street, Room 64106 Kansas City, Missouri 64106

Telephone: 816-426-5861

If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Patricia K. Clark, Acting Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs

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