The last in a series of meetings to consider imposing additionalsafety regulations on adult film sets will be held Tuesday by thestate Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
The public meeting will include discussions and comments byhealth advocates and others who have been lobbying for stricterstandards on adult film sets and for tougher regulations to protectperformers from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Cal-OSHA officials say employers must establish an effective planto limit exposure to blood-borne pathogens, including in semen andother bodily fluids. Currently, the code does not mandate the use ofcondom use.
Three production sites have been cited this year for violatingthe code, each receiving three citations. One of those sites was inCanoga Park and was associated with Hustler Video Productions,according to Cal-OSHA.
But advocates for those with HIV and AIDS say the regulatorsshould mandate and enforce condom use on production sets in theadult entertainment industry.
In the last few years, a handful of actors and actresses havetested positive, prompting the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and theLos Angeles County Commission on HIV to demand legislation thatwould require condom use on production sets.
Tuesday's meeting is merely a discussion of some possiblechanges, although there is no consensus on what those should be,said Deborah Gold, senior safety engineer in research and standardhealth practices with Cal-OSHA.
'Right now, there's not a commitment to bring any kind ofproposal forward by the commission,' Gold said. 'What we have puttogether is a discussion draft to take a look at regulatorylanguage.'
Additional codes may be considered to address the transmission ofdiseases through oral sex, Gold said. The use and disposal ofneedles and personal razors on production sets also will bediscussed.
The meeting follows the recent closure of the Adult IndustryMedical Healthcare Foundation in Sherman Oaks.
The clinic followed a protocal that required performers to betested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases every 30days. Many said that form of self-regulation worked better thangovernment regulation, which could force production to move to otherstates.
AIM shut down as a result of financial issues, but the 30-daytesting for HIV will continue under the auspices of the Canoga Parkbased Coalition for Free Speech, officials said.
Tuesday's Cal-OSHA meeting also comes a few weeks after the LosAngeles City Council in a 10-0 vote planned to ask state and countyofficials to allow Los Angeles to make the use of condoms on adult-film sets a condition of getting a film permit.
Want to go?
An advisory meeting to address health and safety codes on adultfilm sets will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at theCaltrans building, 100 S. Main St., Los Angeles.
