RICHMOND, Va. -- The Commonwealth of Virginia found Richmond Public Schools in violation of multiple workplace safety violations during an inspection into what went wrong after teachers and staff walked into a school to find blood covering the halls.
During the early morning hours of Saturday, May 14, an intruder broke into Richmond Community High School, injured himself on shattered glass, and left a trail of blood across the hallways, floors, stairs, lockers, and a water fountain.
But his dried blood wasn't immediately cleaned up. It sat there all weekend long until Monday, May 16 when the mess was discovered by custodians who blocked off the impacted areas and quickly started sanitizing. However, students and teachers still saw and smelled the blood that was left behind, describing it as"disgusting" and "traumatizing" to have to experience in a place of learning.
Night security personnel responded to the school on May 14 when the break-in occurred, but Superintendent Jason Kamras said security failed to alert school administrators or the RPS central office of the blood. Therefore, no one knew that it needed to be cleaned up before school opened the following Monday.
“We had a hallway that looked like the scene of a massacre," said Vice Chair of the Richmond School Board Kenya Gibson, whose 3rd district includes RCHS. “It would not be accepted in any place of work that I've ever been a part of, and it certainly should not be accepted in our school district.”
CBS 6's initial reporting led the state's Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) to launch a Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) investigation. CBS 6 obtained the case files through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The state cited RPS with three safety violations considered "serious" that could've put employees at risk of acute or chronic illness. Exposure to bodily fluids can cause diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV. The city's health district said at the time that the exposure presented a "low health risk."
The violations found by the state include:
- RPS did not ensure that contaminated personal protective equipment (PPE) was placed in an appropriate container for disposal.
- RPS did not ensure that contaminated cleaning materials and PPE were disposed of in accordance with Virginia regulations since materials were thrown away in a non-regulated dumpster.
- RPS did not establish a written exposure control plan to eliminate or minimize exposure to bloodborne pathogens for employees required to interact with blood and other potentially infectious materials.
At the time, RPS did have a bloodborne pathogen cleaning protocol, but a VOSH inspector said it did not meet the state requirements of an exposure control plan. When asked to provide one, RPS' Director of Risk Management Michael Bourne said such a policy did not exist.
“Clearly, something did not go right, and we didn't need OSHA to tell us, but seeing those violations is highly alarming," Gibson said.
She added the administration "unfortunately" did not brief the board about the VOSH investigation and only became aware of the violations when asked about them by CBS 6,
"I understand that no one wants to admit when things don't go the way that they should, but we can only improve if we acknowledge where our shortfalls are and move forward," Gibson said.
The report showed the school followed proper protocol by restricting access to the bloody areas as they were being cleaned. Investigators said no employees experienced injuries or illnesses due to the incident.
In August, Bourne submitted a corrective action plan to the state detailing how the district would fix the issues detailed by the citations which included:
- Developing and implementing a new detailed blood exposure control plan for staff
- Storing and labeling PPE in every facility with custodial services
- Requiring contaminated materials to be thrown away in red bio-hazard bags and designated trash bins
The state approved RPS' solutions and closed the case in September.
Still, Gibson said she remains concerned over the state of RPS operations and facilities and said the district must be prepared to better handle emergencies that may arise in the future.
"I will continue to push and make sure that there are procedures in place to keep both staff and our students safe, and we must do better," Gibson said. "This isn't something that we can simply say, 'Oops, our bad' and think that's okay."
Gibson added, "When it comes to facilities, I know this is a department that needs additional staff and additional resources. As a board member, I have been very clear that as far as our budget goes, this should be a priority. We need more ground to make sure that these things don't fall through the cracks."
The calculated fines for the violations were about $20,000, but since local government agencies are exempt from monetary penalties for these types of citations, RPS did not have to pay.
When asked for comment, a spokesperson for RPS said, "Our top priority is the health and safety of our students and staff, and we are grateful to all who have helped us address this issue."
