Passed by the Senate March 1, 2011 YEAS 49   ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 1, 2011 YEAS 92   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5594 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/14/11.
AN ACT Relating to handling of hazardous drugs; adding new sections to chapter 49.17 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature declares that health care
personnel who work with or near hazardous drugs in health care settings
may be exposed to these agents in the air, on work surfaces, clothing,
and medical equipment or through patient contact. According to the
national institute for occupational safety and health (NIOSH), early
concerns about occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs first
appeared in the 1970s. Antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs may
cause skin rashes, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and have
been linked to a wide variety of cancers. The national institute for
occupational safety and health published an alert on preventing
occupational exposures to antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs in
health care settings in 2004 with an update in 2010. In this alert,
the institute "presents a standard precautions or universal precautions
approach to handling hazardous drugs safely: that is, NIOSH recommends
that all hazardous drugs be handled as outlined in this Alert." It is
the intent of the legislature to require health care facilities to
follow rules requiring compliance with all aspects of the institute's
alert regardless of the setting in order to protect health care
personnel from hazardous exposure to such drugs.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW
to read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through
3 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Antineoplastic drug" means a chemotherapeutic agent that
controls or kills cancer cells.
(2) "Hazardous drugs" means any drug identified by the national
institute for occupational safety and health at the centers for disease
control or any drug that meets at least one of the following six
criteria: Carcinogenicity, teratogenicity or developmental toxicity,
reproductive toxicity in humans, organ toxicity at low doses in humans
or animals, genotoxicity, or new drugs that mimic existing hazardous
drugs in structure or toxicity.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW
to read as follows:
The director of labor and industries shall adopt by rule
requirements for the handling of antineoplastic and other hazardous
drugs in health care facilities regardless of the setting. Rule making
under this section shall consider input from hospitals, organizations
representing health care personnel, other stakeholders and shall
consider reasonable time for facilities to implement new requirements.
The rules will be consistent with and not exceed provisions adopted by
the national institute for occupational safety and health's 2004 alert
on preventing occupational exposures to antineoplastic and other
hazardous drugs in health care settings as updated in 2010. The
department's adoption of the rules may incorporate updates and changes
to the institute's guidelines as made by the centers for disease
control and prevention. Enforcement of these requirements will be
according to all provisions in this chapter.