OAKLAND — Adult star Verta and industry attorney Karen Tynan spoke this morning before the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board in support of a second advisory meeting relative to two proposals that would change rules for bloodborne pathogen exposure on adult film sets.
At its monthly meeting in Oakland today, the Standards Board listened to comments from Verta and Tynan, as well as a representative from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, but did not discuss or act on either of two proposals.
So far, the Standards Board has not yet made a decision over whether to permit another advisory meeting over bloodborne pathogen exposure before voting on two petitions at hand.
The Free Speech Coalition's Petition 560 emphasizes performer control over their bodies and allows the protocols to improve by making use of scientific advancements. FSC's petition would keep current standards like the PASS system, but it would also add options, including the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and vaccines.
The AHF, meanwhile, has pushed for Petition 557, which is similar to an ill-fated amendment that was shot down by the Standards Board in February 2016. That amendment, if it had been greenlighted, would have greatly expanded barrier protection for porn performers and likely would have required performers to wear goggles to avoid ocular infections and dental dams for oral sex.
While Verta and Tynan advocated today for additional meetings (one advisory meeting was held in late January), AHF staffer Suzanne Maria requested an update on the standing of Petition 557.
(Adam Cohen, the AHF's director of advocacy and policy research, who typically attends the monthly meetings, did not show up in front of the board today.)
Today, the board focused primarily on other worker-safety matters, such as hotel housekeeping musculoskeletal injury prevention, which it planned to vote on.
The next monthly Standards Board meeting will be held in Sacramento on June 15.
Pictured: Karen Tynan, left, and Verta inside the Harris State Building Auditorium in Oakland today
