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Construction exclusion from bloodborne pathogens standard

Summary An electrical contractor asked whether construction workers were covered by OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard. OSHA said it planned to clarify that construction work as defined in 29 CFR 1910.12 was outside that standard, while maintenance work with actual or potential blood exposure was covered. OSHA archives this page and warns it may no longer represent policy.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Document number
1992-05-29-1
Date issued
May 29, 1992
Status
Archived by the agency
OSHA marks this page as an archive document and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy.
Status last verified October 9, 2026
Topics
Workplace Safety OSHA 1910 Bloodborne Pathogens Construction Maintenance
Source
View the official document

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OSHA marks this page as an archive document and says it may no longer represent OSHA policy.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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance, and verify current law before relying on anything here.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NOTICE: This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only.

May 29, 1992

Mr. Arthur Ashley President
Ferndale Electric Company, Inc.
[Recipient address omitted]
Dear Mr. Ashley:

This is in response to your letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) concerning coverage of construction employees under 29 CFR 1910.1030, "Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens". Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this important issue.

In response to numerous inquiries, we will be changing OSHA Instruction CPL 2-2.44C, "Enforcement Procedures for the Occupational Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens Standard", to state that the recently promulgated standard on bloodborne pathogens (29 CFR 1910.1030) does not apply to construction work as defined in 29 CFR 1910.12. Please be advised that maintenance operations with actual or potential exposure to blood or other potentially infectious material are general industry activities, not construction work and, consequently, are covered by all the provisions of 29 CFR 1910.1030.

Sincerely,
Patricia K. Clark, Director
Directorate of Compliance Programs

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