H-317                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1089

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Prentice, Patrick, Vekich, Braddock, Wang, Cantwell, Cole, Rust, Leonard, Jones, Nelson, R. Fisher, P. King and R. King

Read first time 1/16/89 and referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor. Referred 1/25/89 to Committee on Appropriations.

AN ACT Relating to reporting of pesticide-related illness; adding new sections to chapter 70.104 RCW; prescribing penalties; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     (1)  Any physician, or other health care provider who is a member of a profession listed in RCW 18.130.040, who knows of or is in attendance on a case or suspected case of pesticide poisoning or any disease or condition caused by pesticide exposure, shall:

          (a) Report the case to the department of social and health services within twenty-four hours by telephone; and

          (b) Within seven days, file a written report as required by the department of social and health services including, at a minimum:  The name of the attending physician or health care provider; the diagnosed or suspected condition; the date of pesticide exposure, the pesticide involved, and the route of entry, if known; the date of onset of the condition; and the patient's name, age, sex, occupation, residence, and telephone number.

          (2)  The department of social and health services shall notify the local health officer, the department of agriculture, and the department of labor and industries, as appropriate, by telephone within twenty- four hours of receiving the notification required in subsection (1)(a) of this section.  The department of social and health services shall investigate the report to confirm the diagnosis and identify the source of the pesticide exposure. The department shall initiate appropriate measures under this chapter, in cooperation with other affected state and local agencies where appropriate, to prevent exposure of other persons by the identified source.

          (3) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or rules adopted to implement this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars.  The civil penalty shall be assessed by the secretary of the department of social and health services after a hearing conducted in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW and all penalties paid shall be deposited in the general fund to be used solely for the administration of this chapter.  For the purposes of this subsection, failure to report a case of pesticide poisoning involving one or more persons in the same incident shall constitute a single violation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The department of social and health services, in cooperation with the state board of health, local health officers, and state and local medical associations, shall develop and implement a program of medical education to alert physicians and other health care providers to the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of pesticide poisonings.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The department of social and health services shall adopt regulations in compliance with chapter 34.05 RCW to implement this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Sections 1 through 3 of this act are each added to chapter 70.104 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     There is appropriated ... dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of this act.