PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 764 PRINTER'S NO. 1663
No. 698 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY ARMSTRONG, TOMLINSON, MADIGAN, WAGNER, HOLL,
THOMPSON AND MOWERY, MARCH 14, 1997
SENATOR ARMSTRONG, LABOR AND INDUSTRY, AS AMENDED,
FEBRUARY 10, 1998
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 LISTED minimum qualifications, thereby protecting the <--
15 public health and safety from harm.
16 Section 3. Definitions.
17 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
1 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
2 context clearly indicates otherwise:
3 "Accredited college or university." A college or university
4 accredited by one of the following accrediting agencies:
5 (1) Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.
6 (2) New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
7 (3) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
8 (4) Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.
9 (5) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
10 (6) Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
11 (7) ANY COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY OFFERING A DEGREE THAT IS <--
12 ACCREDITED BY AN ACCREDITING ORGANIZATION THAT IN TURN IS
13 RECOGNIZED BY THE COUNCIL ON HIGHER EDUCATION ACCREDITATION
14 (CHEA).
15 A college or university that is located outside the United
16 States will be considered on the basis of its accreditation
17 status in the education system that has jurisdiction.
18 "ACCREDITED PROGRAM." A PROGRAM THAT IS ACCREDITED BY THE <--
19 ACCREDITATION BOARD OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (ABET).
20 "American Board of Industrial Hygiene." A nonprofit
21 corporation established to improve the practice and educational
22 standards of the profession of industrial hygiene by certifying
23 individuals who meet its educational, experience and examination
24 requirements.
25 "Associate Safety Professional" or "ASP." A person who has
26 been recognized as an ASP by the Board of Certified Safety
27 Professionals and whose recognition has not lapsed or been
28 revoked.
29 "Board of Certified Safety Professionals" or "BCSP." A
30 nonprofit corporation established to improve the practice and
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1 educational standards of the profession of safety by certifying
2 individuals who meet its educational, experience and maintenance
3 requirements.
4 "Certified Industrial Hygienist" or "CIH." A person who has
5 been certified as a CIH by the American Board of Industrial
6 Hygiene and whose certification has not lapsed or been revoked.
7 "Certified Safety Professional" or "CSP." A person who has
8 been certified as a CSP by the Board of Certified Safety
9 Professionals and whose certification has not lapsed or been
10 revoked.
11 "CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY TECHNOLOGIST" OR "CHST." A <--
12 PERSON WHO BY VIRTUE OF EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE AND EXAMINATION IS
13 JOINTLY CERTIFIED AS SUCH BY THE BOARD OF CERTIFIED SAFETY
14 PROFESSIONALS (BCSP) AND THE AMERICAN BOARD OF INDUSTRIAL
15 HYGIENE (ABIH).
16 "Education." A baccalaureate degree from an accredited
17 college or university in industrial hygiene, safety,
18 engineering, chemistry, physics or a closely related physical or
19 biological science; or a baccalaureate degree from an accredited
20 college or university that contains at least 60 semester hours
21 in undergraduate or graduate level courses in science, <--
22 mathematics, engineering and technology, with at least 15 of
23 those hours at the junior, senior or graduate UPPER level. A <--
24 degree that is heavily comprised of only one of those subject
25 areas, in the absence of others, may be judged unacceptable. An
26 unacceptable bachelors degree may be remedied by additional
27 science coursework from an accredited college or university or
28 by completion of a related graduate degree from an accredited
29 college or university.
30 "Experience." The individual has demonstrated work <--
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1 experience, including the ability to:
2 (1) anticipate and recognize workplace environmental
3 factors and stresses such as chemical, physical, biological
4 or ergonomic, and understand their effects on people and
5 their well-being;
6 (2) evaluate, through sampling and testing, the
7 magnitude of these factors and stresses;
8 (3) prescribe controls to mitigate safety and health
9 hazards and the potential for injury or illness; or
10 (4) prescribe methods or devices, including, but not
11 limited to, engineering, administrative, personal protective
12 equipment or training, to eliminate, control or reduce such
13 factors, hazards and stresses to alleviate the effects.
14 "FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL SAFETY EXPERIENCE." EXPERIENCE IN <--
15 WHICH SAFETY ACCOUNTS FOR AT LEAST 50% OF THE POSITION'S
16 ACTIVITIES. SAFETY SHALL INCLUDE EXPERIENCE IN CONDUCTING
17 EVALUATIONS, PROVIDING RECOMMENDATIONS, PROBLEM RESOLUTION,
18 TRAINING PROGRAMS, CONSULTATIONS, ANALYSES OF ACCIDENT CAUSES,
19 SYSTEM ANALYSIS, ERGONOMICS AND OTHER SIMILAR SAFETY/HEALTH
20 SERVICES. THE INDIVIDUAL SHALL HAVE DEMONSTRATED WORK
21 EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO:
22 (1) ANTICIPATE, IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE HAZARDOUS
23 CONDITIONS AND PRACTICES.
24 (2) DEVELOP HAZARD CONTROL DESIGNS, METHODS, PROCEDURES
25 AND PROGRAMS.
26 (3) IMPLEMENT, ADMINISTER AND ADVISE OTHERS ON HAZARD
27 CONTROLS AND HAZARD CONTROL PROGRAMS.
28 (4) MEASURE, AUDIT AND EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
29 HAZARD CONTROLS AND HAZARD CONTROL PROGRAMS.
30 "Industrial hygiene profession." The science and art <--
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1 DISCIPLINE devoted to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation <--
2 and control of those environmental factors and stresses arising
3 in or from the workplace that may cause sickness, impaired
4 health and well-being or significant discomfort and inefficiency
5 among workers and the citizens of the community.
6 "Industrial Hygienist In Training" or "IHIT." A person who
7 has been certified as an Industrial Hygienist In Training by the
8 American Board of Industrial Hygiene and whose certification has
9 not lapsed or been revoked.
10 "Occupational Health and Safety Technologist" or "OHST." A
11 person who by virtue of education, experience and examination is
12 jointly certified as such by the American Board of Industrial
13 Hygiene (ABIH) and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals
14 (BCSP).
15 "Safety profession." That science and art DISCIPLINE <--
16 concerned with the preservation of human and material resources
17 through the systematic application of principles drawn from the
18 disciplines of engineering, education, CHEMISTRY, THE PHYSICAL <--
19 AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, ERGONOMICS, psychology, physiology,
20 enforcement and management for anticipating, identifying and <--
21 evaluating hazardous conditions and practices; developing hazard
22 control designs, methods, procedures and programs; implementing,
23 administrating and advising others on hazard controls and hazard
24 control programs and measuring, auditing and evaluating the
25 effectiveness of hazard controls and hazard control programs.: <--
26 (1) ANTICIPATING, IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING POTENTIALLY
27 HAZARDOUS SYSTEMS, CONDITIONS AND PRACTICES.
28 (2) DEVELOPING HAZARD CONTROL DESIGNS, METHODS,
29 PROCEDURES AND PROGRAMS.
30 (3) IMPLEMENTING, ADMINISTRATING AND ADVISING OTHERS ON
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1 HAZARD CONTROLS AND HAZARD CONTROL PROGRAMS.
2 (4) MEASURING, AUDITING AND EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS
3 OF HAZARD CONTROLS AND HAZARD CONTROL PROGRAMS.
4 "SAFETY PROFESSIONAL." A PERSON WHO BY VIRTUE OF HIS OR HER
5 KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, EDUCATION AND TRAINING HAS ACQUIRED ACCEPTED
6 COMPETENCY IN SAFETY AS DEMONSTRATED BY MEETING ONE OF THE
7 FOLLOWING CRITERIA:
8 (1) POSSESS CERTIFICATION FROM A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED
9 PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL
10 COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES OR THE COUNCIL OF
11 ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY BOARDS.
12 (2) A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PE) REGISTERED IN THE
13 SAFETY DISCIPLINE FROM A STATE WHICH OFFERS SPECIFIC
14 EXAMINATIONS IN SAFETY ENGINEERING THROUGH THE STATE BODY
15 CONTROLLING/ISSUING ENGINEERING LICENSING AND MEETING THE
16 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF A
17 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION
18 ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES
19 OR THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY
20 BOARDS.
21 (3) TEN YEARS OF DOCUMENTED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY
22 EXPERIENCE IN THE SAFETY PROFESSION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
23 DEFINITION OF "FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL SAFETY EXPERIENCE" AND
24 MEETING THE CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS
25 OF A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION
26 ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES
27 OR THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY
28 BOARDS.
29 (4) A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, MASTER'S DEGREE OR DOCTORAL
30 DEGREE IN SAFETY FROM AN ACCREDITED PROGRAM, WITH AN
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1 ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY, AND MEETING THE CONTINUING
2 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF A NATIONALLY
3 RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION ACCREDITED BY THE
4 NATIONAL COMMISSION OF CERTIFYING AGENCIES OR THE COUNCIL OF
5 ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY BOARDS.
6 (5) A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, MASTER'S DEGREE OR DOCTORAL
7 DEGREE IN SAFETY WITHIN AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY,
8 18 MONTHS OF PROFESSIONAL SAFETY EXPERIENCE AND MEETING THE
9 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF A
10 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION
11 ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES
12 OR THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY
13 BOARDS.
14 (6) A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, MASTER'S DEGREE OR DOCTORAL
15 DEGREE IN SCIENCE OR ENGINEERING WITHIN AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE
16 OR UNIVERSITY AND MEETING THE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND
17 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF A
18 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION
19 ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES
20 OR THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY
21 BOARDS.
22 (7) ANY BACHELORS DEGREE FROM AN ACCREDITED COLLEGE OR
23 UNIVERSITY AND MEETING THE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AND
24 CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS OF A
25 NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PROFESSIONAL SAFETY ORGANIZATION
26 ACCREDITED BY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON CERTIFYING AGENCIES
27 OR THE COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENTIFIC SPECIALTY
28 BOARDS.
29 Section 4. Professional regulation.
30 An individual shall meet the requirements and qualifications
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1 of Industrial Hygienist In Training, Certified Industrial <--
2 Hygienist, Certified Safety Professional, Associate Safety
3 Professional or Occupational Health and Safety Technologist in
4 accordance with this act AS SET OUT IN THIS ACT before the <--
5 individual may use the title or represent himself to the public
6 as an Industrial Hygienist In Training (IHIT), Certified
7 Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Safety Professional (CSP),
8 Associate Safety Professional (ASP) or, Occupational Health and <--
9 Safety Technologist (OHST), CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY <--
10 TECHNOLOGIST (CHST) OR SAFETY PROFESSIONAL.
11 Section 5. Enforcement.
12 (a) Unfair practice.--It is an unfair practice for any
13 person to represent himself as an Industrial Hygienist In
14 Training (IHIT), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH),
15 Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Associate Safety
16 Professional (ASP) or, Occupational Health and Safety <--
17 Technologist (OHST), CONSTRUCTION HEALTH AND SAFETY TECHNOLOGIST <--
18 (CHST) OR SAFETY PROFESSIONAL unless he complies with the
19 requirements of this act.
20 (b) Penalty.--A person who violates the provisions of this
21 act is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per
22 day for each day that the violation occurs.
23 Section 6. Professional practice.
24 No entity of State or local government shall by rule or
25 otherwise prohibit or restrict the practice of SAFETY, OR <--
26 INJURY/ILLNESS PREVENTION OR industrial hygiene or safety by any <--
27 qualified individual who complies with the provisions
28 established by or pursuant to this act, except where authorized
29 by State law to regulate a specific activity that may include
30 the practice of SAFETY AND/OR INJURY/ILLNESS PREVENTION AND/OR <--
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1 industrial hygiene and/or safety. <--
2 Section 7. Effective date.
3 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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