Taser Probe Removal Safety Issues
1) Taser Probes (also known as Taser Darts) qualify as a "Sharp" according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) definition of "Sharps". This is important because the proper removal and treatment of a sharp is an OSHA issue in the US.
2) If an individual receives a "needlestick" during the Taser dart removal, or if an individual is exposed to bloodborne diseases during the removal, the incident is called an "exposure incident". The individual subject to the exposure incident may have or have not contracted bloodborne diseases while removing the Taser dart or while having the Taser dart removed. Extensive testing is the next step in the process. This can be an expensive and stressful event. Possible bloodborne diseases that may be contracted include HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and other bloodborne pathogens". Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is also a bloodborne pathogen.
3) Current methods of removal: OSHA does not give clear guidance as to how to remove the probes, the guidelines only state that the removal must be done safely. Current methods of Taser Darts include removing the probes by hand, removing the probe with pliers or similar tools, or using the D.A.R.T. Pro and X-TRACTOR TIP Removal System made by Global Pathogen Solutions. When handling contaminated sharps OSHA guidelines should always be followed.
Special precautions should be taken when a Taser dart is being removed from sensitive areas.
4) Disposal issues: Proper disposal of the contaminated darts includes placing the probes into a puncture resistant, leak-proof container.
5) OSHA requirements and the Bloodborne Pathogen Protocols should be followed when removing a Taser probe. The removal process may also be addressed in an Exposure Control Plan in order to increase aser probe removal safety.
Read more about this topic: Taser Safety Issues
Famous quotes containing the words probe, removal, safety and/or issues:
“The middle years are ones in which children increasingly face conflicts on their own,... One of the truths to be faced by parents during this period is that they cannot do the work of living and relating for their children. They can be sounding boards and they can probe with the children the consequences of alternative actions.”
—Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)
“If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I nightly offer up my prayers to the throne of grace for the health and safety of you all, and that we ought all to rely with confidence on the promises of our dear redeemer, and give him our hearts. This is all he requires and all that we can do, and if we sincerely do this, we are sure of salvation through his atonement.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
“The “universal moments” of child rearing are in fact nothing less than a confrontation with the most basic problems of living in society: a facing through one’s children of all the conflicts inherent in human relationships, a clarification of issues that were unresolved in one’s own growing up. The experience of child rearing not only can strengthen one as an individual but also presents the opportunity to shape human relationships of the future.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)