AN ACT Relating to
occupational diseases affecting fire fighters; amending RCW 51.32.185; and
creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. (1) The legislature finds
that:
(a) Benzene is detected
in most fire environments and has been associated with leukemia and multiple
myeloma. Given the established exposure to benzene in a fire environment,
there is biologic plausibility for fire fighters to be at increased risk of these
malignancies;
(b) Increased risks of
leukemia and lymphoma have been described in several epidemiologic studies of
fire fighters. The risks of leukemia are often two or three times that of the
population as a whole, and a two-fold risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has also
been found;
(c) Epidemiologic
studies assessing fire fighters' cancer risks concluded that there is adequate
support for a causal relationship between fire fighting and brain cancer;
(d) Fire fighters are
exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as products of combustion and these
chemicals have been associated with bladder cancer. The epidemiologic data
suggests fire fighters have a three-fold risk of bladder cancer compared to the
population as a whole;
(e) A 1990 review of
fire fighter epidemiology calculated a statistically significant risk for
melanoma among fire fighters;
(f) Fire fighters are
exposed to extremely hazardous environments. Potentially lethal products of
combustion include particulates and gases and are the major source of fire
fighter exposures to toxic chemicals; and
(g) The burning of a
typical urban structure containing woods, paints, glues, plastics, and
synthetic materials in furniture, carpeting, and insulation liberates hundreds
of chemicals. Fire fighters are exposed to a wide variety of potential
carcinogens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soots, tars, and
diesel exhaust, arsenic in wood preservatives, formaldehyde in wood smoke, and
asbestos in building insulation.
(2) The legislature
further finds that some occupational diseases resulting from fire fighter
working conditions can develop slowly, usually manifesting themselves years
after exposure.
Sec. 2. RCW 51.32.185 and 1987 c
515 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In the case of fire
fighters as defined in RCW 41.26.030(4) (a), (b), and (c) who are covered under
Title 51 RCW and fire fighters, including supervisors, employed on a
full-time, fully compensated basis as a fire fighter of a private sector
employer's fire department that includes over fifty such fire fighters,
there shall exist a prima facie presumption that: (a) Respiratory
disease ((is an)); (b) heart problems that are experienced within
seventy-two hours of exposure to smoke, fumes, or toxic substances; (c) cancer;
and (d) infectious diseases are occupational diseases under RCW
51.08.140. This presumption of occupational disease may be rebutted by a
preponderance of the evidence ((controverting the presumption)). ((Controverting))
Such evidence may include, but is not limited to, use of tobacco
products, physical fitness and weight, lifestyle, hereditary factors, and
exposure from other employment or nonemployment activities.
(2) The presumptions
established in subsection (1) of this section shall be extended to an
applicable member following termination of service for a period of three
calendar months for each year of requisite service, but may not extend more
than sixty months following the last date of employment.
(3) The presumption
established in subsection (1)(c) of this section shall only apply to any active
or former fire fighter who has cancer that develops or manifests itself after
the fire fighter has served at least ten years and who was given a qualifying
medical examination upon becoming a fire fighter that showed no evidence of
cancer. The presumption within subsection (1)(c) of this section shall only
apply to primary brain cancer, malignant melanoma, leukemia, non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, bladder cancer, ureter cancer, and kidney cancer.
(4) The presumption
established in subsection (1)(d) of this section shall be extended to any fire
fighter who has contracted any of the following infectious diseases: Human
immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, all strains of
hepatitis, meningococcal meningitis, or mycobacterium tuberculosis.
(5)
Beginning July 1, 2003, this section does not apply to a fire fighter who
develops a heart or lung condition and who is a regular user of tobacco
products or who has a history of tobacco use. The department, using existing
medical research, shall define in rule the extent of tobacco use that shall
exclude a fire fighter from the provisions of this section.
