00HOUSE BILL NO. 149                                                                                                      
01 "An Act relating to workers' compensation for a fire fighter and for a person                                           
02 volunteering as a fire fighter; and providing for an effective date."                                                   
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  FINDINGS.  The legislature finds that fire fighters are                                                
05   (1)  required to work in conditions that result in exposure to smoke, fumes, and                                      
06 chemicals that are carcinogenic, poisonous, or toxic;                                                                   
07   (2)  continually exposed to a vast and expanding field of hazardous substances;                                       
08   (3)  constantly entering uncontrolled environments to save lives and reduce                                           
09 property damage;                                                                                                        
10   (4)  frequently not aware of the potential toxic and carcinogenic substances that                                     
11 they may be exposed to;                                                                                                 
12   (5)  often exposed simultaneously to multiple carcinogens, unlike other workers;                                      
13   (6)  experiencing a rise in occupational heart disease, circulatory or respiratory                                    
14 problems, and cancer related to the rapid proliferation of thousands of toxic substances;                               

01   (7)  being exposed to agents that can result in the development of heart disease,                                     
02 circulatory or respiratory problems, or cancer very slowly over a period of five to 40 years;                           
03   (8)  experiencing heart disease, circulatory or respiratory problems, and cancer                                      
04 that arise out of and in the course of employment.                                                                      
05    * Sec. 2.  AS 23.30.120 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                               
06           (d)  In a proceeding under this chapter, a preliminary link between the                                      
07 employment and the injury may not be required of a claimant before the presumption                                      
08 of compensability established in (a) of this section applies if (1) the injury consists of                              
09 heart disease, circulatory disease, respiratory disease, or cancer; (2) the claimant was                                
10 employed as a fire fighter for 10 or more years before the onset of the disease; (3)                                    
11 within 90 days after the claimant's first employment as a fire fighter, the claimant had                                
12 a physical examination and the examination revealed no evidence of heart disease,                                       
13 circulatory disease, respiratory disease, or cancer; and (4) the claim is filed against an                              
14 employer who employs the claimant as a fire fighter.  In this subsection, "cancer"                                      
15 means cancer of a type caused by exposure to heat, radiation, or a known carcinogen,                                    
16 as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer; and "fire fighter"                                       
17 includes a volunteer fire fighter.                                                                                      
18    * Sec. 3.  This Act takes effect July 1, 1993.