Chapter 72

2003 -- S 0884

Enacted 6/27/03

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LABORATORIES

Introduced By: Senators Roberts, and Blais

Date Introduced: February 26, 2003

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 23-16.2-2, 23-16.2-3, 23-16.2-4, 23-16.2-7 and 23-16.2-8 of the

General Laws in Chapter 23-16.2 entitled "Laboratories" are hereby amended to read as follows:

23-16.2-2. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter:

(1) "Analytical laboratory" means a facility for the biological, microbiological, chemical,

physical, and radiochemical examination of ~~food, surface water, recreational water, air,~~

~~wastewater, sewage, swimming pools, solid waste, hazardous waste, minerals, soil, sediment,~~

potable water, nonpotable water or other environmental matrices.

(2) "Clinical laboratory" means a facility for the biological, microbiological, serological,

chemical, immunohematological, hematological, radiobioassay, cytological, pathological, or

other examination of materials derived from the human body for the purposes of providing

information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease or impairment of or the

assessment of the health of human beings.

(3) "Director" means the director of the department of health.

(4) "Persons" means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company,

association, or joint stock association.

(5) "Station" means a facility for the collection, processing, and transmission of the

materials described in subdivisions (1) and (2) for the purposes described in subdivisions (1) and

(2).

(6) "Certification" means the determination by the department of health that an analytical

laboratory is capable of performing specific tests or analyses of environmental samples in

accordance with the requirements of the regulations promulgated pursuant to this chapter.

23-16.2-3. Application of law -- Exceptions. -- The provisions of this chapter shall

apply to all laboratories and stations performing analytical or clinical laboratory services or

specimens in this state except:

(1) A laboratory maintained by a hospital licensed under chapter 17 of title 23, ~~or by~~

~~food preparation or processing establishments performing analysis to determine the quality of~~

~~their own products,~~ or by a licensed physician or group of licensed physicians who make the tests

referred to in section 23-16.2-2 personally and solely in connection with the treatment of their

own patients; however, an independent laboratory which makes the tests on its own responsibility

for a single physician or group of physicians is subject to this chapter~~; and~~.

(2) Any temporary or ad hoc health promotion or screening program conducted for the

general public which offers generally accepted mass screening procedures; provided the health

promotion or screening program is conducted pursuant to a permit issued by the department of

health.

(3) Any person performing only limited function tests as defined in regulation by the

director.

23-16.2-4. ~~License required -- Term of license -- Application -- Fee.~~ License

required for clinical laboratories –Term of license -- Application -- Fee. -- (a) It shall be

unlawful for any persons, corporation, or other form of business entity to perform clinical or

analytical laboratory services on specimens collected in this state or to own or maintain a

laboratory or station in this state without having a license issued by the department of health

pursuant to this chapter. A license, unless sooner suspended or revoked under the provisions of

this chapter, shall expire on the thirtieth (30th) day of December of every other year following the

date of license. This will be determined on an odd-even basis with respect to the license number.

Each license shall be issued only to conduct the tests approved and for the premises and persons

named in the application, and shall not be transferable or assignable. The fee for a clinical

laboratory license shall be five hundred dollars ($500) for each specialty for which the laboratory

is approved. The fee for a station license shall be five hundred dollars ($500). ~~The fee for an~~

~~analytical laboratory shall be five hundred dollars ($500) for each category for which the~~

~~laboratory is approved.~~ The fees shall be made payable to the general treasurer, state of Rhode

Island, and submitted with the application to the department of health.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any persons, corporations, or other form of entity to own,

operate, maintain, conduct, or sponsor a temporary or ad hoc screening program without having

obtained a permit from the director of health. The fee for any permit shall be fifty dollars

($50.00). It is within the director's discretion to waive the fee. All fees shall be made payable to

the general treasurer, state of Rhode Island. Nothing contained in this section shall require any

licensed persons, corporations, or other entity to pay the permit fee, if the screening program is

provided free of charge to the public by the licensed persons, corporation, or entity.

23-16.2-7. Suspension and revocation of license. -- (a) The department of health may

revoke or suspend the license or specific certification of any laboratory or station for conduct by

or chargeable to the laboratory or stations as follows:

(1) Failure to observe any term of the license or specific certification issued under

authority of this chapter by the department of health;

(2) Failure to observe any order made under authority of this chapter or under the

statutory authority vested in the department of health;

(3) Engaging in, aiding, abetting, causing, or permitting any action prohibited under this

chapter;

(4) Failing to observe any regulations promulgated by the department of health.

(b) Whenever the director shall have reason to believe that any laboratory or station, for

the maintenance of which the director has issued a license or specific certification as provided for

in section 23-16.2-4, is being maintained in violation of the rules and regulations provided in

section 23-16.2-5, the director may, pending an investigation and hearing, suspend for a period

not exceeding thirty (30) days, any license or specific certification issued under authority of this

chapter and may, after due notice and hearing, revoke the license or specific certification if the

director finds that the laboratory or station is being maintained in violation of the rules and

regulations. The holder of a license shall upon its revocation promptly surrender the license or

specific certification to the director.

23-16.2-8. Judicial review of license action. -- Any person aggrieved by a decision of

the director refusing to grant an application for a license to maintain a laboratory or station or

suspending or revoking a license or specific certification already issued, may appeal the decision

to the superior court which shall have power to review the entire proceedings of any hearing

before the department of health in the manner provided in chapter 35 of title 42.

SECTION 2. Section 23-24.5-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-24.5 entitled

"Asbestos Abatement" is hereby amended to read as follows:

23-24.5-14. Training, curricula, and certification. -- (a) (1) The director shall establish

procedures and regulations for the following procedures:

(i) For the certification of a competent person, of designated public maintenance

employees, of designated teacher and parent representatives, of ~~in-state~~ laboratories performing

analysis of asbestos in air or building materials, and of private consultants or inspectors;

(ii) Establish standards and specifications for training courses based upon, but not

limited to, those included in this chapter and to certify that training;

(iii) To train directly or by contract maintenance personnel or competent persons;

(iv) To certify and train designated public maintenance personnel and workers in the

private sector, including but not limited to electricians, contractors, plumbers, in safe techniques

of spot asbestos repair.

(2) Each trained and certified person shall be issued an "asbestos certified" photo identity

card, and only those carded persons shall be permitted to do spot repairs on asbestos in the

buildings of their jurisdiction. Any person certified for spot repair but not as an asbestos

"contractor" shall not undertake any asbestos abatement project larger than the size limits of a

spot repair as defined by the director and shall follow all safe work practices for spot repair work

as required by the director. Those employees in violation of these provisions and/or their

employer shall be subject to a fine of no more than five hundred dollars ($500) per violation.

(b) As a guideline for approval of a certified training program for asbestos contractors,

the director shall give due consideration to a course of thirty-two (32) hours of instruction

covering the following topics:

(1) The nature of asbestos hazards and a review of improper abatement procedures such

as dry removal, lack of protective barriers, and poor respirator fit problems;

(2) The medical effects of asbestos exposure, the mechanics of human respiration, the

nature of asbestos disease conditions, their diagnosis and evaluation, and medical asbestos

surveillance methods in exposed populations;

(3) Federal and state asbestos regulations including OSHA and EPA regulations, Right-

to-Know laws, and this chapter;

(4) Current protection standards, including the role of respirators, appropriate

housekeeping procedures, appropriate hygiene, the synergism effects of asbestos with smoking,

and the importance of decontamination procedures;

(5) The proper preparation of the work area including, but not limited to, the proper

repair and removal abatement techniques, sealing and isolation methods in the work environment,

the use of negative pressure air filtration barriers, the avoidance of power tools, the need for

wetting down of asbestos materials, bagging and labeling of asbestos materials, proper waste

storage, and removal of material;

(6) Identifying asbestos containing materials, study of decision protocol for evaluation

and prioritizing of abatement, air sampling and other monitoring techniques, negative air pressure

filtration system and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter systems.

regulations promulgated pursuant to the authority conferred by this section, provided that those

fees are assessed only after procedures in accordance with chapter 35 of title 42 have been

followed.

(d) Notwithstanding the requirements contained in subsections (a) and (b) of this section,

the director may also establish procedures or regulations for reciprocal recognition of training

courses and/or certification programs for asbestos contractors, site supervisory personnel and/or

asbestos abatement workers. The director may assess fees for reciprocal recognition of training

courses and/or certification programs for asbestos contractors, site supervisory personnel and/or

asbestos abatement workers issued in accordance with rules or regulations promulgated pursuant

to the authority conferred by this section, provided that these fees are assessed only after

procedures in accordance with chapter 35 of title 42 have been followed.

SECTION 3. Sections 23-24.6-12 and 23-24.6-21 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-

24.6 entitled "Lead Poisoning Prevention Act" are hereby amended to read as follows:

23-24.6-12. Comprehensive environmental lead inspections. [Effective until July 1,

2007.] -- The department shall develop and promulgate regulations for:

(1) Conducting comprehensive environmental lead inspections, which regulations shall,

at a minimum, include procedures for:

(i) Inspecting, testing, and/or sampling of drinking water, household dust, painted

surfaces, soil, and/or other appropriate fixed surfaces that may contain lead;

(ii) Notification of owners, occupants, and mortgagees and lienholders and/or the posting

of warnings when unacceptable environmental lead levels are identified during an inspection; and

(iii) Notifying the department of the results of inspections; ~~and~~

(2) For other inspections necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.; and

(3) Collection of environmental media samples, including, but not limited to, dust, soil,

paint, pewter, pottery, and water, and field analysis of their lead content.

23-24.6-12. Comprehensive environmental lead inspections. [Effective July 1, 2007.]

-- The department shall develop and promulgate regulations for conducting comprehensive

environmental lead inspections. These regulations shall, at a minimum, include procedures for:

(1) Inspecting, testing, and/or sampling of drinking water, household dust, painted

surfaces, soil, and/or other appropriate fixed surfaces that may contain lead;

(2) Notification of owners, occupants, and mortgagees and lienholders and/or the posting

of warnings when unacceptable environmental lead levels are identified during an inspection; ~~and~~

(3) Notifying the department of the results of inspections.; and

(4) Collection of environmental media samples, including, but not limited to, dust, soil,

paint, pewter, pottery, and water, and field analysis of their lead content.

23-24.6-21. ~~Laboratory certification.~~ Laboratory testing and reporting requirement

certification. -- (a) ~~The department shall develop and promulgate regulations for analysis of lead~~

~~in blood and in environmental media including but not limited to dust, soil, paint, pewter, pottery,~~

~~and water.~~ Laboratory analyses of all clinical and environmental media samples collected to

demonstrate compliance with this act or with regulations promulgated pursuant to this act shall

only be conducted by a laboratory which has been licensed or certified (as appropriate) by the

director pursuant to chapter 16.2 of title 23 entitled "Laboratories."

(b) ~~The department shall certify laboratories performing lead analyses under the~~

~~department's laboratory improvement program to ensure that the laboratories comply with the~~

~~regulations for analysis of lead in blood and in environmental media.~~ All laboratories performing

blood lead analyses on samples taken from children under six (6) years of age shall report the

results of such analyses to the department in accordance with regulations promulgated by the

department.

~~(c) All certified laboratories shall report blood lead testing results to the department as~~

~~required by department regulations.~~

SECTION 4. Section 23-61-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-61 entitled "Radon

Control" is hereby amended to read as follows:

23-61-5. Licensing and certification. -- (a) All persons providing or offering to provide

the following services must be certified or licensed in accordance with regulations adopted

pursuant to the authority conferred by this chapter:

(1) Screening sampling/testing of air ~~or water~~ for radon/radon progeny;

(2) Diagnostic sampling/testing of air ~~or water~~ for radon/radon progeny;

(3) Mitigation planning services for radon/radon progeny;

(4) Training courses offered for the purpose of meeting any of the licensing and/or

certification requirements mandated by this chapter.

(b) The director may assess fees for licenses and certifications issued in accordance with

regulations promulgated pursuant to the authority conferred by this section, provided that those

fees are assessed only after procedures in accordance with chapter 35 of title 42 have been

followed. The fees collected shall be deposited in a restricted receipt account as provided for

under section 23-61-8 of this chapter.

SECTION 5. Chapter 23-16.2 of the General Laws entitled "Laboratories" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following section:

23-16.2-4.1. Certificate required for analytical laboratories -- Term of certificate --

Fee. – It shall be unlawful for any analytical laboratory to perform testing or analyses of samples

originating in this state, for which the department of health requires certification, without having

a certificate issued by the department of health pursuant to this chapter. Certificates for specific

analyses and methods for laboratory testing of potable water, nonpotable water, and

environmental samples for lead content are hereby required. The department is authorized to

require certification for other types of environmental testing and to set fees for certificates in

regulation. Certificates, unless sooner suspended or revoked under the provisions of this chapter,

shall expire on the thirtieth (30th) day of December of every year following the date of the

certificate.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2005.

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LC02149

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