LOS ANGELES, Sept 17 (AFP) - California health authorities have slapped heavy fines on two pornography studios accused of allowing actors to perform unsafe sex, in the first such crackdown on the industry, officials said Friday.
The fines were imposed six months after an outbreak of HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, among four porn actors that prompted a temporary shutdown of adult film production in the world's biggest adult film hub.
The California Occupation Safety and Health Administration said it had imposed penalties of 30,560 dollars each on two San Fernando Valley producers that allegedly exposed actors to the risk of HIV.
"We received a complaint which stated that at least three employees working for these companies had been exposed to HIV on production," said the organisation's Susan Gard.
"(Our fines) are based on a safety regulation that states that law requires employers to protect workers who are exposed to blood or bodily fluids on the job," she said.
"Any bodily fluid could be infectious, this means employers have to protect employees."
The two companies targeted were Evasive Angles and TTB Productions, which have 15 days to appeal the eight citations.
The citations also accuse the companies of failing to notify authorities about actors who contracted HIV on the job, as the law requires.
Health officials have been urging adult film producers to force actors to practice safe sex during filming by wearing condoms, but most of the 200 or so adult film companies in southern California have been loath to comply.
"We started an investigation then and we will go on investigating," Gard warned the porn industry.
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