SB2310

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, HEALTH PHYSICS, AND SAFETY PROFESSIONS

§ -1 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

"American Board of Health Physics" means an organization that maintains health physics certification eligibility and examination requirements, administers and grades examinations, issues certifications, and maintains a code of ethics.

"American Board of Industrial Hygiene" means a non-profit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by certifying persons who meet its education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements.

"Board of Certified Safety Professionals" means a non-profit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of the profession of safety by certifying persons who meet its education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements.

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of a certified health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

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a certified industrial hygienist by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Certified safety professional" means a person who has received the designation of a certified safety professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Construction health and safety technician" means a person who has received the designation of a construction health and safety technician by the Council on Certification of Health, Environmental, and Safety Technologists and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Council on Certification of Health, Environmental, and Safety Technologists" means an organization established as a joint effort of the American Board of Industrial Hygiene and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals to:

(1) Offer recognition among safety and health practitioners;

(2) Demonstrate competence to employers and others;

(3) Increase employee confidence in occupational health and safety programs;

(4) Help improve company profitability through reduced incidents and losses; and

(5) Enhance company image.

"Department" means the department of commerce and consumer affairs.

"Health physicist" means a person who has the 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, or has acquired by virtue of special studies and training competence in health physics. Special studies and training shall be 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 its 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.

"Health physics" means the 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.

"Industrial hygiene" means the 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 hygienist" means a person who has the education or experience equivalent to 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, or has acquired by virtue of special studies and training competence in industrial hygiene. Special studies and training shall be 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 these factors and stresses and their effects.

"National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologist" means a non-profit corporation established to improve the practice and educational standards of radiation protection services by:

(1) Certifying persons who meet its education, experience, examination, and maintenance requirements;

(2) Promoting and expanding radiation protection education and training; and

(3) Providing incentives and services to encourage employers to maintain radiation protection programs and procedures in the workplace.

"Occupational health and safety technologist" means a person who has received the designation of a occupational health and safety technologist by the Council on Certification of Health, Environmental, and Safety Technologists and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.

"Registered radiation protection technologist" means a person who has received the designation of a registered radiation technologist from the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists, whose registration has not lapsed or been revoked, and who is engaged in providing protection to radiation workers, the general public, and the environment from the effects of ionizing radiation.

"Safety profession" means the science and art concerned with:

(1) The preservation of human and material resources through the systematic application of principles drawn from disciplines such as engineering, education, psychology, physiology, enforcement, and the management for anticipating, identifying, and evaluating hazardous conditions and practices;

(2) The development of hazard control designs, methods, procedures, and programs;

(3) The implementation, administration, and advisement of others on hazard controls and hazard control programs; and

(4) The measurement, audit, and evaluation of the effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.

§ -2 Professional representation; registration. (a) No person shall represent, advertise, or announce oneself, either publicly or privately, as a certified health physicist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, health physicist, industrial hygienist, occupational health and safety technologist, or registered radiation protection technologist, nor use the letters, abbreviations, insignia, or any other words to indicate or imply representation of any of these professions unless the person registers the person's name and business address biennially with the department in a manner established by rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91, and meets the applicable qualifications under section -3.

(b) The department shall maintain and biennially update a list of the names and business addresses of the certified health physicists, certified industrial hygienists, certified safety professionals, construction health and safety technicians, health physicists, industrial hygienists, occupational health and safety technologists, or registered radiation protection technologists who are registered under subsection (a).

(c) A registration granted under this chapter shall mean that the person has met requirements that include minimum practice standards to provide protection to the public and is permitted to use the title and engage in the practice as a certified health physicist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, health physicist, industrial hygienist, occupational health and safety technologist, or registered radiation protection technologist. In the granting of permission to engage in these professions, and consistent with section 436B‑2, the definition for "license" is inclusive of a registration issued under this chapter and an certified health physicist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, health physicist, industrial hygienist, occupational health and safety technologist, or registered radiation protection technologist that holds a registration shall be similarly regarded as one that holds a license.

§ -3 Qualifications. Before using the title or representing oneself to the public as a certified health physicist, certified industrial hygienist, certified safety professional, construction health and safety technician, health physicist, industrial hygienist, occupational health and safety technologist, or registered radiation protection technologist, a person shall meet the following requirements and qualifications:

(1) A person shall not use the title "certified health physicist", the initials "CHP", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides health physics services as a certified health physicist, unless:

(A) The person is designated as a certified health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics; and

(B) The certified health physics designation has not lapsed or been revoked;

(2) A person shall not use the title "certified industrial hygienist", the initials "CIH", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides industrial hygiene services as a certified industrial hygienist, unless:

(A) The person is designated as a certified industrial hygienist by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene; and

(B) The certified industrial hygienist designation has not lapsed or been revoked;

(3) A person shall not use the title "certified safety professional", the initials "CSP", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides safety services as a certified safety professional, unless:

(A) The person is designated as a certified safety professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals; and

(B) The certified safety professional designation has not lapsed or been revoked;

(4) A person shall not use the title "construction health and safety technician", the initials "CHST", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides industrial hygiene or safety services as a construction health and safety technician, unless:

(A) The person is designated as a construction health and safety technician by the Council on Certification of Health, Environmental, and Safety Technologists; and

(B) The construction health and safety designation has not lapsed or been revoked;

(5) A person shall not use the title "health physicist", the initials "HP", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides health physics services as a health physicist, unless the person has the 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, or has acquired by virtue of special studies and training competence in health physics;

(6) A person shall not use the title "industrial hygienist, the initials "IH", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides industrial hygiene services as an industrial hygienist, unless the person has the education or experience equivalent to 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, or has acquired by virtue of special studies and training competence in industrial hygiene;

(7) A person shall not use the title "occupational health and safety technologist", the initials "OHST", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides industrial hygiene or safety services as a occupational health and safety technologist, unless:

(A) The person is designated as an occupational health and safety technologist by the Council of Certification of Health, Environmental, and Safety Technologists; and

(B) The occupational health and safety technologist designation has not lapsed or been revoked; and

(8) A person shall not use the title "registered radiation protection technologist", the initials "RRPT", or any variation of those terms to identify, advertise, or represent by any means of communication that the person provides radiation protection services as a registered radiation protection technologist, unless:

(A) The person is designated as a registered radiation protection technologist by the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists; and

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

§ -4 Commercial representation. (a) A business entity shall not identify, advertise, or represent itself as a provider of health physics services furnished by certified health physicists or health physicists, unless: