Legislature(2019 - 2020)BARNES 124
02/28/2020 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB24 | |
| HB84 | |
| HB91 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 24 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 235 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HB 84 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 84-WORKERS' COMP: POLICE, FIRE, EMT, PARAMED
3:31:03 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced that the next order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 84, "An Act relating to the presumption of
compensability for a disability resulting from certain diseases
for firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and
peace officers."
3:31:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature,
provided a brief review of HB 84, as prime sponsor. He said
providing coverage in the event of exposure to carcinogenic
chemicals is a top priority for state law enforcement. That
exposure, he noted, causes cancer within the limited window that
currently exists in Title 23. Additionally, the bill clarifies
language in the Adamson v. the State of Alaska. Furthermore, HB
24 clarifies that all state firefighters are covered.
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked Representative Josephson to repeat his
last sentence.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON provided a scenario in which a
firefighter at the University of Alaska Fairbanks gets a
respiratory problem from a fire he put out. He explained that
under HB 84, he would not have a presumption that the
respiratory problem he suffered was related to that fire.
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ sought clarification as to who is included in
the bill.
3:34:03 PM
ELISE SORUM-BIRK, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime
sponsor, explained that employees of the state who are
firefighters or peace officers will be covered.
3:34:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN questioned whether the definition of a
peace officer includes tribal police and Village Public Safety
Officers (VPSOs).
MS. SORUM-BIRK noted that there are two definitions of "peace
officer" in Alaska statute, adding that HB 84 uses the broader
definition. She answered yes, it would include those
categories.
3:35:36 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON addressed a question from the previous
bill hearing. He said the current benefit from 2008 is rarely
needed and that approximately one cancer claim and four
respiratory claims are filed per year. He stated that this
should not inflate municipal or state workers' compensation
insurance premiums.
3:37:13 PM
MS. SORUM-BIRK deferred questions regarding the correlation
between female firefighters and breast cancer to Ms.
Throwbridge.
3:39:17 PM
JESSICA THROWBRIDGE informed that committee that she has been
studying the health impact of exposure to toxic chemicals for
the past nine years. She added that for the past six years she
has specifically focused on the cohort of women firefighters.
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked for a high-level summary of her findings.
MS. THROWBRIDGE explained that she is studying exposure to
perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that could be occupationally
related. The study found that women firefighters had higher
levels of three different compounds compared to nonfirefighters
by a statistically significant amount. She noted that everyone
in the study was exposed to multiple different compounds. Other
research has documented high exposure among firefighters in
general to chemicals like PAHs, arsenic, formaldehyde, and
benzene.
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ pointed out that in Alaska, there is a problem
with PFAS water contamination as a result of using it in
firefighting foams. She asked for a description of what
exposure for firefighters or other emergency personnel might
look like.
MS. THROWBRIDGE agreed that PFAS water contamination is a big
problem. She said in California they don't have the same levels
of PFAS in drinking water, which enabled them to exclude that as
a potential source in their study. She explained that common
exposure among firefighters includes aqueous [film forming] foam
(AFFF), which fire fighters frequently use. PFAS is also
suspected to be in the water-resistant and flame-retardant gear
that firefighters wear. Furthermore, the study found that
firefighters' job positions might be associated with PFAS
levels, in that those fighting the fires directly have higher
levels than those who drive the truck or provide backup.
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked what that means in terms of an increase in
cancer rate or causality.
MS. THROWBRIDGE said that's a tough question to answer because
their study is specifically focused on exposure and doesn't
follow the participants over time to look at cancer rates for
several reasons. First, most fire departments don't have enough
women to determine a statistically significant association even
if it exists. Second, looking at cancer outcomes can hinder
prevention efforts because it requires waiting until cancer
cases appear. Nonetheless, she stated that there is a lot of
evidence both in animal and human studies to show that PFAS is
associated with breast cancer.
3:44:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN asked for Ms. Throwbridge's speculative
hypothesis on the time of exposure before the onset of cancer.
MS. THROWBRIDGE asked if Representative Hannan's question is
referring to PFAS specifically.
REPRESENTATIVE HANNAN said that although she has a personal
interest in the PFAS element, HB 84 considers all kinds of
carcinogenic exposure.
MS. THROWBRIDGE explained that the biology is very complicated,
and it would be challenging to establish a timeframe between
exposure and outcome - primarily because there isn't just one
exposure and the biology behind exposure isn't necessarily
straightforward. Furthermore, she pointed out that there are
other exposures beyond occupational, as firefighters have lives
outside of the firehouse. Nonetheless, presumption laws from
different places have cited five years for breast cancer, she
said.
3:47:16 PM
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony. After ascertaining
that no one wished to testify, she closed public testimony. She
announced that HB 84 was held over.