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OSHA Regulations for Ambulances

Every day, there are a plethora of Americans who serve as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and ride in ambulances to help those in need of medical assistance. The EMTs experience new things every day in the field and need to be prepared. That is why ambulance services need to follow the specific guidelines and regulations laid out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect those that serve the community.

  1. Personal Protective Equipment

    • According to OSHA's safety regulation standard 1910.120, employers are required to provide the necessary personal protective equipment to employees so that they may be able to safely carry out the duties for their jobs. For ambulances, this equipment includes, but is not limited to, latex gloves, masks, contamination suits, safety goggles, hard hats, self-contained breathing apparatus, coveralls and boots.

    Hazardous Substances

    • Because EMTs are typically the first to respond to a hazardous scene, they need to be equipped with appropriate gear. Just having the personal protective equipment sometimes isn't enough during a hazardous material situation. So OSHA put a number of requirements in place to protect EMTs during the treatment and transport of victims of hazardous material exposure, including exposure to chemicals during explosions, chemical leaks, biochemical weapons or industrial accidents. EMTs must be provided with masks, gas masks, radiation suits and quarantine suits, in addition to all the personal protective equipment, to avoid exposure themselves.

    Blood-borne Pathogens

    • Because blood-borne pathogens can pose a serious or even life-threatening threat to EMTs and other ambulance workers, OSHA has provided certain standards to protect them. Under the standard 1910.103, EMTs must be able to have access to gear to protect them against blood exposure and have access to sanitation stations in the ambulance or hospital.

      Required equipment can include, but is not limited to, gloves, gowns, laboratory coats, face shields or masks, eye protection and mouthpieces, as well as resuscitation bags, pocket masks or other ventilation devices. The protective equipment is only appropriate for blood-borne pathogen protection if it guards against the potentially infectious material from passing through to the EMTs clothing, undergarments, skin, eyes, mouth, etc. OSHA also requires that EMTs are provided with standard vaccines for diseases that are common in the field, such as tuberculosis and hepatitis.

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