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Introduced Version House Bill 2327 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted


H. B. 2327


(By Delegates Staton and Mahan)

[Introduced February 19, 2001 ; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]





A BILL to amend and reenact section eighteen, article three, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to hazardous chemical substances; and notice to employees of hazardous chemical substances and lead exposure.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eighteen, article three, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SAFETY AND WELFARE OF EMPLOYEES.

§21-3-18. Hazardous chemical substances; notice to employees; notice to employees of lead exposure; reports to commissioner; penalties.
(a) It is declared the policy of this state to require employers to disclose to employees the hazards of exposure in the work place to hazardous or toxic chemical substances and materials. For this purpose, the commissioner of labor shall adopt the list of toxic and hazardous substances found in 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.1000, Subpart Z, revised as of the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, as amended, and shall establish and maintain, by rule, or regulation a list of chemical substances and materials which have been determined or are suspected to be hazardous or toxic to the health of employees in the state who may be exposed to them in the course of employment. In establishing and maintaining such the list, the commissioner may give consideration to any list made or hereafter made by the secretary of labor of the United States identifying or proposing to identify chemical substances and materials as hazardous or toxic, or setting standard levels of safe exposure thereto, as the same are published from time to time in the federal register. In addition, with regard to employee exposure to lead, the commissioner shall compile information regarding the reasonable and necessary steps required to minimize employee exposure to lead under various levels of exposure. The commissioner shall publish and update, at least annually, such a list of substances and materials and information regarding lead exposure and shall include in the publication thereof, for each listed substance or material, any standard levels of safe exposure published by said secretary in the federal register, giving due consideration to any changes made or proposed by said secretary in the secretary's list of hazardous or toxic chemical substances and materials, or in any standard levels of safe exposure established or proposed from time to time by said secretary, as the same are published in the federal register. The commissioner shall provide a copy of the updated list and lead exposure information to the joint committee on government and finance by the first day of December each year.
(b) The commissioner shall make copies of such the list prepared under this section available to any employer requesting the same: Provided, That the commissioner shall limit such the
list to no more than six hundred such substances and materials to be selected from the lists included in 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1910.1000, Subpart Z, which the commissioner elects to include because of either frequency of use in the state, frequency of exposure or over exposure thereof to workers in the state, the seriousness of the effects of such the exposure or other reason which the commissioner determines to be sufficient.
(c) Any employer of ten or more employees using or producing any such listed hazardous chemical substance or material shall conspicuously post a warning notice in the work area where any such substance or material is used, to read substantially as follows:
WARNING NOTICE

............................................................... (Name of hazardous chemical substance or material) is used at this work site.
Common symptoms of overexposure include the following:
....................
Name of Employer
Any such notice required to be posted with regard to a mobile work site may be posted on the container or containers of the hazardous substance or material or in some other conspicuous place.
The employer shall include in the notice such the
common symptoms of overexposure as: (1) May be published with the standard levels of safe exposure; or (2) certified to the employer by a physician employed for that purpose. Good faith reliance upon either such source of information shall be sufficient notice of such the common symptoms.
(d) Any employer whose employees may come in contact with lead as defined in section three, article thirty-five, chapter sixteen of this code, shall reasonably investigate the possibility of lead exposure to employees. Upon a determination of the presence of lead, the employer shall take all reasonable and necessary steps to minimize exposure to employees, and the employer shall conspicuously post a warning notice in the work area where any lead exposure may occur, to read substantially as follows:
WARNING NOTICE

...............................................................
Lead has been detected at this work site. There is a possibility of lead exposure at this work site and all reasonable and necessary steps must be followed to minimize employee exposure including the following:
..................,
Name of Employer
The commissioner of labor shall provide, at the request of the employer, the reasonable and necessary steps to minimize worker exposure to lead for inclusion on the warning notice above. Any notice required to be posted with regard to a mobile work site may be posted in a conspicuous place where exposure is possible.
The employer shall comply with all requirements of the commissioner and the provisions of article thirty-five, chapter sixteen of this code regarding any known lead hazard.
(d)(e) Any employer having notice of any incident of exposure to a listed hazardous chemical substance or material in excess of its standard level of safe exposure published by the commissioner shall within ten days thereof report to the commissioner the circumstances of such the
incident and provide a copy of the report to the employee.
(e)(f) Any person or corporation that violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each violation.
(f)(g) The provisions of this section shall do not apply to any coal mine, coal mining or coal processing plant, and any agricultural or horticultural activity, and any such mine, plant or activity is hereby exempted from the provisions of this section.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that notice be provided to employees regarding certain hazardous chemical substances and lead exposure.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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