CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada state and local health officials are considering tougher safety rules for porn productions — possibly adopting regulations similar to the Los Angeles County mandatory condom use law after it was reported that a gay performer was infected with HIV after working on a non-compliant set in the state in September.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that concerned officials are looking at stricter regulations since an uptick in porn shoots since 2012.
A joint statement from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said they are reviewing whether to adopt similar rules for porn productions as those governing sex workers in Nevada’s legal brothels, which require condoms and regular testing.
The officials said Nevada’s brothels have never reported case of HIV transmission.
According to the report, Federal workplace safety regulations already call for the use of “personal protective equipment” that requires employers to protect their workers from hazards that can cause bodily injury. Nevada OSHA laws, meanwhile, address the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C by requiring employers to protect workers exposed to blood or “other potentially infectious material” on the job.
The HIV scare was called, “the first well-documented case of occupational HIV transmission among actors in the adult film industry,” by Nevada officials, but they did not confirm that the HIV transmission happened in Nevada — calling it “a confidential investigation being handled by California.”
The Free Speech Coalition in December said that the California Department of Public Health’s alert about the potential HIV transmission was not a “current threat” and stressed that the shoot did not comply with standard adult industry testing protocols or the use of a testing database.
Although there has been a rise in porn production in Nevada since L.A. County adopted Measure B, it is unknown as to how many shoots are being conducted. The report said neither the city of Las Vegas nor unincorporated Clark County have any special rules for producing adult films beyond what’s required for any other production.
Film permits are required for some locations, but there are no restrictions on private property as long as crews obey noise ordinances and avoid disturbing neighbors.
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