PRINTER'S NO. 764
No. 698 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG, TOMLINSON, MADIGAN, WAGNER AND HOLL,
MARCH 14, 1997
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MARCH 14, 1997
AN ACT
1 Relating to the industrial hygiene and safety professions;
2 providing protection to the professions of industrial hygiene
3 and safety.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Protection
8 Act for Industrial Hygiene and Safety Professions.
9 Section 2. Purpose.
10 The purpose of this act is to provide legal recognition to
11 the industrial hygiene and safety professions as well as provide
12 assurance to the public that individuals representing themselves
13 as practicing professionals of industrial hygiene and/or safety
14 have met minimum qualifications, thereby protecting the public
15 health and safety from harm.
16 Section 3. Definitions.
17 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
18 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
1 context clearly indicates otherwise:
2 "Accredited college or university." A college or university
3 accredited by one of the following accrediting agencies:
4 (1) Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.
5 (2) New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
6 (3) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
7 (4) Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.
8 (5) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
9 (6) Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
10 A college or university that is located outside the United
11 States will be considered on the basis of its accreditation
12 status in the education system that has jurisdiction.
13 "American Board of Industrial Hygiene." A nonprofit
14 corporation established to improve the practice and educational
15 standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by certifying
16 individuals who meet its educational, experience and examination
17 requirements.
18 "Associate Safety Professional" or "ASP." A person who has
19 been recognized as an ASP by the Board of Certified Safety
20 Professionals and whose recognition has not lapsed or been
21 revoked.
22 "Board of Certified Safety Professionals" or "BCSP." A
23 nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and
24 educational standards of the profession of safety by certifying
25 individuals who meet its educational, experience and maintenance
26 requirements.
27 "Certified Industrial Hygienist" or "CIH." A person who has
28 been certified as a CIH by the American Board of Industrial
29 Hygiene and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.
30 "Certified Safety Professional" or "CSP." A person who has
19970S0698B0764 - 2 -
1 been certified as a CSP by the Board of Certified Safety
2 Professionals and whose certification has not lapsed or been
3 revoked.
4 "Education." A baccalaureate degree from an accredited
5 college or university in industrial hygiene, safety,
6 engineering, chemistry, physics or a closely related physical or
7 biological science; or a baccalaureate degree from an accredited
8 college or university that contains at least 60 semester hours
9 in undergraduate or graduate level courses in science,
10 mathematics, engineering and technology, with at least 15 of
11 those hours at the junior, senior or graduate level. A degree
12 that is heavily comprised of only one of those subject areas, in
13 the absence of others, may be judged unacceptable. An
14 unacceptable bachelors degree may be remedied by additional
15 science coursework from an accredited college or university or
16 by completion of a related graduate degree from an accredited
17 college or university.
18 "Experience." The individual has demonstrated work
19 experience, including the ability to:
20 (1) anticipate and recognize workplace environmental
21 factors and stresses such as chemical, physical, biological
22 or ergonomic, and understand their effects on people and
23 their well-being;
24 (2) evaluate, through sampling and testing, the
25 magnitude of these factors and stresses;
26 (3) prescribe controls to mitigate safety and health
27 hazards and the potential for injury or illness; or
28 (4) prescribe methods or devices, including, but not
29 limited to, engineering, administrative, personal protective
30 equipment or training, to eliminate, control or reduce such
19970S0698B0764 - 3 -
1 factors, hazards and stresses to alleviate the effects.
2 "Industrial hygiene profession." The science and art devoted
3 to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of
4 those environmental factors and stresses arising in or from the
5 workplace that may cause sickness, impaired health and well-
6 being or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers
7 and the citizens of the community.
8 "Industrial Hygienist In Training" or "IHIT." A person who
9 has been certified as an Industrial Hygienist In Training by the
10 American Board of Industrial Hygiene and whose certification has
11 not lapsed or been revoked.
12 "Occupational Health and Safety Technologist" or "OHST." A
13 person who by virtue of education, experience and examination is
14 jointly certified as such by the American Board of Industrial
15 Hygiene (ABIH) and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals
16 (BCSP).
17 "Safety profession." That science and art concerned with the
18 preservation of human and material resources through the
19 systematic application of principles drawn from the disciplines
20 of engineering, education, psychology, physiology, enforcement
21 and management for anticipating, identifying and evaluating
22 hazardous conditions and practices; developing hazard control
23 designs, methods, procedures and programs; implementing,
24 administrating and advising others on hazard controls and hazard
25 control programs and measuring, auditing and evaluating the
26 effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.
27 Section 4. Professional regulation.
28 An individual shall meet the requirements and qualifications
29 of Industrial Hygienist In Training, Certified Industrial
30 Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, Associate Safety
19970S0698B0764 - 4 -
1 Professional or Occupational Health and Safety Technologist in
2 accordance with this act before the individual may use the title
3 or represent himself to the public as an Industrial Hygienist In
4 Training (IHIT), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified
5 Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety Professional (ASP)
6 or Occupational Health and Safety Technologist (OHST).
7 Section 5. Enforcement.
8 (a) Unfair practice.--It is an unfair practice for any
9 person to represent himself as an Industrial Hygienist In
10 Training (IHIT), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH),
11 Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety
12 Professional (ASP) or Occupational Health and Safety
13 Technologist (OHST) unless he complies with the requirements of
14 this act.
15 (b) Penalty.--A person who violates the provisions of this
16 act is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per
17 day for each day that the violation occurs.
18 Section 6. Professional practice.
19 No entity of State or local government shall by rule or
20 otherwise prohibit or restrict the practice of industrial
21 hygiene or safety by any qualified individual who complies with
22 the provisions established by or pursuant to this act, except
23 where authorized by State law to regulate a specific activity
24 that may include the practice of industrial hygiene and/or
25 safety.
26 Section 7. Effective date.
27 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
A9L63JLW/19970S0698B0764 - 5 -