SB2075

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

Industrial hygiene, SAFETY, and health physics

§ -1 Title. This chapter may be cited as the "Industrial Hygiene, Safety, and Health Physics Profession Act".

§ -2 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to provide legal recognition to the professions of industrial hygiene, safety, and health physics, as well as provide assurance to the public that individuals representing themselves as being involved in the professions of industrial hygiene, safety, and health physics have met minimum qualifications, thereby protecting the public health and safety from harm.

§ -3 Definitions. Unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

"Accredited college or university" is one that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education.

"Accredited program" is one that is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards.

"American Academy of Health Physics" is a not-for-profit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of health physics by certifying individuals through the American Board of Health Physics who meet the education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements.

"American Board of Industrial Hygiene" is a nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by certifying individuals who meet its education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements.

"Board of Certified Safety Professionals" is a nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of safety by certifying individuals who meet its education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements.

"Certified health physicist" is a person who has received the designation certified health physicist by the American Board of Health Physicists and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Certified industrial hygienist" is a person who has received the designation certified industrial hygienist by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Certified safety professional" is a person who has been certified by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and whose certification has not lapsed.

"Construction health and safety technician" is a person who, by virtue of education, experience and examination recognized by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and Board of Certified Safety Professionals Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologist.

"Education" means a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in industrial hygiene, safety, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, health physics, radiation safety, radiation protection, or a closely related physical or biological science.

"Experience" means the individual has demonstrated professional level work experience including the ability to:

(1) Anticipate and recognize workplace environmental factors and stresses (i.e., chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic) and to understand their effects on people and their well-being;

(2) Evaluate, through observation, sampling and testing, the magnitude of these factors and stresses; and

(3) Prescribe methods (i.e., engineering, administrative, personal protective equipment, training) to prevent, eliminate, control, or reduce such factors and stresses and their effects.

"Full-time professional safety experience" is experience in which safety accounts for, at least fifty per cent of the position's activities. Safety shall include experience in conducting evaluations, providing recommendations, problem resolution, training programs, consultations, analyses of accident causes, system analysis, ergonomics, and other similar safety or health services. The individual shall have demonstrated work experience including the ability to:

(1) Anticipate, identify, and evaluate hazardous conditions and practices;

(2) Develop hazard control designs, methods, procedures, and program;

(3) Implement, administer, and advise others on hazard controls and hazard control programs; and

(4) Measure, audit, and evaluate the effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.

"Health physics" is that science and art devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of radioactive material releases and potential radiation hazards in or from the workplace that may cause impaired health and well-being, or injury among workers, and may also impact the general community and the environment.

"Health physicist" is a person having education or experience equivalent to a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in health physics, radiation safety, radiation protection, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, or a closely related physical or biological science, who, by virtue of special studies and training, has acquired competence in health physics. The special studies and training must have been sufficient in the above cognate sciences to provide the ability and competency to:

(1) Anticipate and recognize the interactions of radiation with matter and to understand the effects of radiation on animals, people and the environment;

(2) Evaluate, on the basis of training and experience and with the aid of quantitative measurement techniques, the magnitude of radiological factors in terms of their ability to impair human and environmental health and well-being; and

(3) Prescribe methods to prevent, eliminate, control, or reduce radiation exposure to workers, patients, the public and the environment.

"Industrial hygiene" is that science and practice devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of those environmental factors and stresses arising in or from the workplace that may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort among workers and may also impact the general community.

"Industrial hygiene certification organization" is a nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by certifying individuals who meet its education, experience, and examination requirements. The organization shall maintain criteria at least equivalent to that of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene.

"Industrial hygienist" is a person having a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited college or university in industrial hygiene, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, or a closely related physical or biological science who, by virtue of special studies and training, has acquired competence in industrial hygiene. Such special studies and training must have been sufficient in the above cognate sciences to provide the ability and competency to:

(1) Anticipate and recognize the environmental factors and stresses associated with work and work operations and to understand their effects on people and their well-being;

(2) Evaluate, on the basis of training and experience and with the aid of quantitative measurement techniques, the magnitude of these factors and stresses in terms of their ability to impair human health and well-being; and

(3) Prescribe methods to prevent, eliminate, control, or reduce such factors and stresses and their effects.

"National registry of radiation protection technologists" is a not-for-profit corporation established to promote the education and training of radiation protection technologists and, by so doing, promotes and advances the science of health physics.

"Occupational health and safety technologist" is a person who, by virtue of special studies and training, has acquired proficiency in one or more areas of occupational health and safety recognized by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and Board of Certified Safety Professionals Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologist.

"Registered radiation protection technologist" is a person who has received the designation registered radiation protection technologist from the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists, whose registration has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Safety profession" is that science and discipline concerned with the preservation of human and material resources through the systematic application of principles drawn from disciplines as engineering, education, chemistry, the physical and biological sciences, ergonomics, psychology, physiology, enforcement, and management for anticipating, identifying, and evaluating potentially hazardous systems, conditions, and practices; developing, implementing, administering, and advising others on hazard control design, methods, procedures, and programs.

§ -4 Professional representation. (a) Individuals shall meet the requirements and qualifications as set out in this chapter before the individuals may use the title or represent themselves to the public as an industrial hygienist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, occupational health and safety technologist, certified health physicist, or registered radiation protection technologist.

(b) An individual shall not use the title "certified industrial hygienist", the initials "CIH" or "C.I.H.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides industrial hygiene services as a certified industrial hygienist, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as a certified industrial hygienist by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics that are at least equivalent to that of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals; and

(2) The certified industrial hygienist designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

(c) An individual shall not use the title "certified safety professional", the initials "CSP" or "C.S.P.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides safety services as a certified safety professional, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as a certified safety professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics that are at least equivalent to that of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals; and

(2) The certified safety professional designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

(d) An individual shall not use the title "occupational health and safety technologist", the initials "OHST" or "O.H.S.T.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides industrial hygiene or safety services as an occupational health and safety technologist, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as an occupational health and safety technologist by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists, or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics; and

(2) The occupational health and safety technologist designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

(e) An individual shall not use the title "construction health and safety technician", the initials "CHST" or "C.H.S.T.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides industrial hygiene or safety services as a construction health and safety technician, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as a construction health and safety technician by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and the American Board of Industrial Hygiene Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists, or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics; and

(2) The construction health and safety technician designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

(f) An individual shall not use the title "industrial hygienist", the initials "IH" or "I.H.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides industrial hygiene services as an industrial hygienist, unless the individual meets the definition of industrial hygienist.

(g) An individual shall not use the title "certified health physicist", the initials "CHP" or "C.H.P.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides health physics services as a certified health physicist, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as a certified health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics that are at least equivalent to that of the American Board of Health Physics; and

(2) The certified health physicist designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

(h) An individual shall not use the title "registered radiation protection technologist", the initials "RRPT" or "R.R.P.T.", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent, by any means of communication that the individual provides radiation protection services as a registered radiation protection technologist, unless:

(1) The individual is designated as a registered radiation protection technologist by the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists or another organization that maintains certification eligibility, examination requirements, and a code of ethics that are at least equivalent to that of the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists; and

(2) The registered radiation protection technologist designation has not lapsed or been revoked.

§ -5 Commercial representation. (a) A business entity shall not identify, advertise, or represent itself as a provider of industrial hygiene services furnished by certified industrial hygienists unless the industrial hygiene services are provided by or under the direct supervision of an individual who is qualified under this chapter to use the title "certified industrial hygienist".

(b) A business entity shall not identify, advertise, or represent itself as a provider of safety services furnished by certified safety professionals unless the safety services are provided by or under the direct supervision of an individual who is qualified under this chapter to use the title "certified safety professional".

(c) A business entity shall not identify, advertise, or represent itself as a provider of industrial hygiene and safety services furnished by occupational health and safety technologists unless the industrial hygiene and safety services are provided by or under the direct supervision of an individual who is qualified under this chapter to use the title "occupational health and safety technologist".

(d) A business entity shall not identify, advertise, or represent itself as a provider of industrial hygiene and safety services furnished by construction health and safety technicians unless the industrial hygiene and safety services are provided by or under the direct supervision of an individual who is qualified under this chapter to use the title "construction health and safety technicians".

§ -6 Enforcement. It shall be an unfair business practice under section 480-2 for persons to represent themselves as an industrial hygienist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, occupational health and safety technologist, certified health physicist, or registered radiation protection technologist, unless they comply with the requirements of this chapter.

§ -7 Professional practice. No entity of state or local government shall by rule or otherwise prohibit or restrict the practice of industrial hygiene or safety by any qualified individual who complies with this chapter, unless otherwise authorized by law to regulate a specific activity that may include the practice of industrial hygiene, safety, or health physics.

§ -8 Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to:

(1) A person employed as an apprentice under the supervision of a certified associate industrial hygienist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, occupational health and safety technologist, or certified health physicist;

(2) A student studying industrial hygiene, safety, or health physics engaging in supervised activities related to industrial hygiene or safety;

(3) Any person legally regulated in this State under any other licensing law from engaging in the activities permitted under the person's license; provided that the person does not represent oneself to the public as an industrial hygienist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, occupational health and safety technologist, certified health physicist, or registered radiation protection technologist; or

(4) Individuals practicing within the scope of the meaning of industrial hygiene, safety, or health physics, so long as the individual does not use the title, initials, or represent themselves to the public as an industrial hygienist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, occupational health and safety technologist, certified health physicist, or registered radiation protection technologist.

§ -9 Certification mark. No person shall mislead or deceive anyone by the unauthorized use of any industrial hygiene, safety, or health physics certification mark that has been awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office."

SECTION 2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2075
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII