UNDERSTANDING HOARDING

Occupational Safety & Health Standards Definition "Occupational Exposure"

The term "Occupational Exposure" is more narrowly defined to include "reasonably anticipated skin,eye,mucus membrane,or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employees duties"

The term "reasonably anticipated" is Not Defined in the blood Borne Pathogen Standard.

O.S.H.A. has consistently declined to establish a threshold Below which the standard does not apply. Interperation is generally left to enforcement.

After an exposure incident occurs OSHA concludes that the employer should have anticipated the exposure or that the exposure  has now become reasonably anticipated.

State & Federal OSHA Standards have been expanded to apply to ny employer who has reasonable knowledge of a health hazard exposure and intentionally disregards that hazard.

If such an incident results in injury or death, civil as well as criminal penalties can be levied.

Assembly Bill AB1127 signed into law in 1999 changes California Labor Code.
Labor Code Section 6434 change # 11 is amended to

Delete the longstanding statutory exemption for governmental entities from imposition of  Ca. OSAH civil penalties.

Effective January 2000 Governmental entities will no longer be exempt from civil penalties, including failure to abate penalties.

" governmental entities are not exempt from the imposition of civil penalties has been added to P &P c10sec.c6 "

www.dir.ca.gov.dosh/ab1127/memo

Essential Definitions from CCR8. 5193
[OSHA Blood Borne Pathogen Standard ]

OPIM " Other Potentially Infectious Materials"

[1] The following human body fluids: semen,vaginal secretions,cerebrospinal fluid,synovial fluid,pleural fluid,perecadrial fluid,peritoneal fluid,amniotic fluid,saliva in dental procedures, any other body fluid that is visibly contaminated with blood such as saliva or vomitus, and all body fluids in situations where it is difficult or impossible to differentate between body fluids, such as  energency response;

[2] Any unfixed tissue or organ [ other than intact skin ] from a human [living or dead ];

[3] HIV- containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV or HVB containing culture medium or other solutions: and blood, organs,or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HVB, needlesticks, human bites, cuts, and abrasions.

" Regulated Waste" means liquid or semi-liquid blood or other potentially infectious materials: Contaminated items that would release blood or other potentially infectious materials in a liqiud or semi-liquid state if compressed: items that are caked with dried blood or other potentially infectious materials ans are capable of releasing there materialsduring handeling: contaminated sharps and pathological and microbiological wastes containint blood or other potentially infectious materials.

Regulated Waste includes "Medical Waste" regulated by Health and Safety code Chapter 6.1 Medical Waste Management Act 117600-118360

Understanding Hoarding
Hoarding is the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. The behavior usually has deleterious effectsemotional, physical, social, financial, and even legalfor a hoarder and family members.

For those who hoard, the quantity of their collected items sets them apart from other people. Commonly hoarded items may be newspapers, magazines, paper and plastic bags, cardboard boxes, photographs, household supplies, food, and clothing.

Hoarding can be related to compulsive buying (such as never passing up a bargain), the compulsive acquisition of free items (such as collecting flyers), or the compulsive search for perfect or unique items (which may not appear to others as unique, such as an old container).

Symptoms and Behavior
Someone who hoards may exhibit the following:

Inability to throw away possessions
Severe anxiety when attempting to discard items
Great difficulty categorizing or organizing possessions
Indecision about what to keep or where to put things
Distress, such as feeling overwhelmed or embarrassed by possessions
Suspicion of other people touching items
Obsessive thoughts and actions: fear of running out of an item or of needing it in the future; checking the trash for accidentally discarded objects
Functional impairments, including loss of living space, social isolation, family or marital discord, financial difficulties, health hazards
Reasons for Hoarding
People hoard because they believe that an item will be useful or valuable in the future. Or they feel it has sentimental value, is unique and irreplaceable, or too big a bargain to throw away. They may also consider an item a reminder that will jog their memory, thinking that without it they wont remember an important person or event. Or because they cant decide where something belongs, its better just to keep it.

Hoarding may be present on its own or as a symptom of another disorder. Those most often associated with hoarding are obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and depression.

Although less often, hoarding may be associated with an eating disorder, pica (eating non-food materials), Prader-Willi syndrome (a genetic disorder), psychosis, or dementia.

Diminished Quality of Life
A lack of functional living space is common among hoarders, who may also live in unhealthy or dangerous conditions. Hoarders often live with broken appliances and without heat or other necessary comforts. They cope with malfunctioning systems rather than allow a qualified person into their home to fix a problem.

Hoarding also causes anger, resentment, and depression among family members, and it can affect the social development of children. Unlivable conditions may lead to separation or divorce, eviction, and even loss of child custody. Hoarding may lead to serious financial problems, as well.