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                            SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1567

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State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Prentice, Heavey, Cole, Belcher, R. King, Franklin, Jones, Wineberry, Wang, Dellwo, Jacobsen and Leonard).

 

Read first time March 1, 1991.Establishing protections for agricultural employees.


     AN ACT Relating to protections for agricultural employees; adding new sections to chapter 49.17 RCW; and creating a new section.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.      (1) An employer shall, at no cost to the employees, furnish agricultural employees with any protective clothing or protective device that is required by a pesticide label or by department rule, and that is in addition to the standard long-sleeved shirt, long pants, boots or shoes, and socks normally provided by the employee.

     (2) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.  In adopting rules, the department shall:

     (a) Consider the protective clothing or protective devices recommended by the pesticide's material safety data sheet, and the acute, chronic, and subchronic effects of both active and inert ingredients of pesticides;

     (b) Consider and require appropriate measures to prevent risks to agricultural employees presented by contamination, insufficient maintenance, misuse, and nonuse of personal protective equipment;

     (c) Require properly maintained mechanical controls, such as closed systems for mixing and loading pesticides, where feasible; and

     (d) Prohibit employers from allowing or directing agricultural employees to perform any task requiring the use of a chemical-resistant suit if specified conditions such as temperature, humidity, and length of time required to complete the task involve a risk of heat-induced illness.

     (3) Under the circumstances required by department rules, an employer shall provide facilities for agricultural employees to change clothes and shower and to separately launder pesticide-contaminated clothing.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.      (1) For all activities involving actual or potential exposure of an agricultural employee to pesticides, including pesticide residues, the employer shall make prior arrangements for emergency medical care and shall post in a prominent place at the work area, or on the application vehicle if there is no appropriate designated work area, the name, address, and telephone number of the physician, clinic, or hospital emergency room providing care.

     (2) When the employer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an agricultural employee has a pesticide illness or when an exposure to a pesticide has occurred that might reasonably be expected to lead to an employee's illness, the employer shall ensure that the employee is taken to a physician immediately.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.      (1) An employer shall provide monitoring and medical supervision for the categories of agricultural employees to be specified by department rules as requiring medical supervision. The rules shall state the circumstances under which agricultural employees are to be monitored and supervised and the type and frequency of medical examinations or other tests that shall be made available by the employer or at the employer's expense.

     (2) If medical supervision is required by department rule:

     (a) The employer shall follow the recommendations of the medical professional supervising the employees' health in all matters concerning the employees' occupational health;

     (b) The employer shall post the name, address, and telephone number of the medical professional supervising the employees' health in a prominent place at the work area, or on an application vehicle if there is no appropriate designated work area; and

     (c) The medical professional supervising the employees' health shall be required to inform employees of any test results that indicate adverse effects from pesticides.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.      The department of labor and industries shall adopt rules necessary to implement this act.  The rules shall take effect no later than July 1, 1992.

 

     NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.      Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 49.17 RCW.