BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2146
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 23, 2014

                     ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
                               Roger Hernández, Chair
                   AB 2146 (Skinner) - As Amended:  March 28, 2014
           
          SUBJECT  :   Occupational safety: firefighters.

           SUMMARY  :   Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards  
          Board (Standards Board) to review standards for firefighters'  
          personal protective equipment, as specified.  Specifically,  this  
          bill  :  

          1)Requires the Standards Board, within 30 days of the adoption  
            by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) of new  
            standards for firefighters' personal protection equipment, to  
            commence a review of existing regulations for personal  
            protective clothing and equipment for firefighters to  
            determine if the new standards provide a greater degree of  
            protection to a firefighter.

          2)Provides that if the Standards Board determines that the  
            standards adopted by NFPA provide a greater degree of  
            protection, it shall consider modifying existing regulations  
            to reflect the NFPA standards as a new safety standard for all  
            employers of firefighters in the state. 

           EXISTING LAW  establishes the California Occupational Safety and  
          Health Act of 1973 for the framework of the state plan.   
          Existing regulations establish standards for the minimum  
          requirements of personal protective clothing and equipment for  
          firefighters when exposed to the hazards of firefighting  
          activities and training activities involving a hazardous  
          environment.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   This bill is sponsored by the California  
          Professional Firefighters, who argues that it is necessary to  
          ensure that firefighter personal protective clothing and  
          equipment (PPE) standards are up-to-date, thereby resulting in a  
          direct and critical effect of reducing the number of job-caused  
          injuries and illnesses sustained by firefighters due to  
          outdated, inadequate PPE.









                                                                  AB 2146
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           National Fire Protection Association PPE Standards
           
          The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is an  
          international nonprofit organization established in 1896  
          comprised of firefighter professionals, industry  
          representatives, and others concerned with fire safety.   
          According to the NFPA website, the organization's mission is to  
          reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the  
          quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and  
          standards, research, training, and education.
           
          NFPA publishes over 300 codes and standards that are designed to  
          minimize the risk and effects of fire by establishing criteria  
          for building, processing, design, service, and installation in  
          the United States, as well as many other countries.  It also  
          establishes minimum requirements related to fire prevention and  
          suppression activities, including PPE standards.


          According to NFPA, its PPE standards are nationally recognized  
          consensus standards updated at least every five years, which  
          firefighter employers may choose to adopt and ascribe to  
          voluntarily.  Many employers currently purchase PPE that meet or  
          exceeds the minimum NFPA standards.

          According to NFPA, in order to ensure the optimum protection of  
          firefighters, regardless of condition, PPE should be updated at  
          least every five years and pulled from the field after ten  
          years, which equates to two NFPA standard cycles.  Adherence to  
          the NFPA standards, as well as to a PPE retirement criteria is  
          crucial to ensuring that the clothing and equipment used by  
          firefighters is as up-to-date as possible.  NFPA states that  
          fire protection entities that ascribe to such criteria  
          ultimately are able to better protect their first responders by  
          reducing or eliminating altogether those on-the-job injuries  
          that can otherwise be attributed to the use of outdated or  
          inadequate PPE.

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :

          The sponsor of this measure, the California Professional  
          Firefighters, states the following:

               "Under current law, all employers in California who employ  
               firefighters are required to provide, at minimum, PPE for  








                                                                  AB 2146
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               their employees who engage in firefighting activities,  
               which meet specified standards adopted by the CalOSHA  
               Board.  

               With respect to some of the firefighting PPE standards,  
               however, such as firefighter head, hand and wrist  
               protections, the CalOSHA standards have not been updated by  
               the Board in over 25 years.  Other state firefighting PPE  
               standards, such as respiratory and body protections have  
               not been updated by the Board in roughly 15 years.   
               Meanwhile, technological advances have brought to market  
               many safer and more effective alternatives for firefighter  
               PPE?.
                
               ?While the concept of firefighter PPE has been in existence  
               nearly as long as most fire protection entities, the  
               evolution of these protective garments and equipment -- and  
               their manufacturing standards -- has ultimately been shaped  
               by field experience. For example, after assessing the  
               devastation of the 2007 southern California firestorms, the  
               Blue Ribbon Fire Commission's Task Force (an 18-member  
               independent panel of fire service professionals) published  
               its report, which, among other things, confirmed a key  
               recommendation identified three years prior by the Blue  
               Ribbon Fire Commission after the 2003 southern California  
               fire siege: For those California fire agencies charged with  
               responding to wildland urban interface incidents, the  
               CalOSHA-approved Title 8 requirements governing PPE for  
               firefighters needed to adequately reflect firefighter PPE  
               needs when responding to wildland urban emergencies.

               Whether mitigating a fire, emergency medical situation,  
               hazardous materials incident or terrorist attack, a  
               firefighter's only means of protection is their PPE,  
               including their turnout coats, pants, helmets, boots,  
               gloves and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), to  
               name a few.  The PPE worn by firefighters is intended to  
               encapsulate them and provide protection from the harmful  
               and often deadly outside environment."





           PRIOR RELATED LEGISLATION :








                                                                  AB 2146
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          AB 2148 (De León) of 2008 would have required the Standards  
          Board to review and adopt revised state regulations that are at  
          a minimum in conformance with the NFPA PPE standards by December  
          31, 2009.  AB 2148 was held in the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
          
          California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
          California Nurses Association
          California Professional Firefighters (sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091