BILL NUMBER: SCR 25	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  105
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 30, 2005
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  MAY 23, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 11, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Speier

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2005

   Relative to safety in employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 25, Speier  Employer safety practices.
   This measure would urge employers to ensure that their injury
prevention programs and other systems for identifying and correcting
workplace hazards consider the effects of ultraviolet radiation and
ensure that skin cancer prevention policies for outdoor workers are
put into operation.
   The measure would also urge the appropriate state agencies to
utilize existing means of communication with employers to advise
employers of the importance of sun safety and skin cancer protections
in the workplace.




   WHEREAS, The chief cause of skin cancer is exposure to ultraviolet
rays (UV) from natural sunlight and artificial sources and UV rays
in sunlight cause 90 percent of all skin cancer; and
   WHEREAS, According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is
the most common cancer in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in his or
her lifetime and one American every hour dies from the disease; and
   WHEREAS, Unprotected exposure to sunlight over time is pathologic
in some cases, as demonstrated by reputable sources including the
California Department of Health Services, the United States Army
Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Medicine, the United
States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States
Department of Health and Human Services, the United States National
Institutes of Health, the United States Occupational Health and
Safety Administration, and the World Health Organization; and
   WHEREAS, During April 2000, the United States Department of Health
and Human Services in its Ninth Report on Carcinogens, classified
solar radiation as a "known human carcinogen" or cancer-causing
agent; and
   WHEREAS, Building on this declaration, the federal Office of
Safety and Health Administration, in July 2000, released formal
sun-safety protection guidelines for outdoor workers, which are
summarized in a pocket card entitled, "Projecting Yourself Against
Harmful Sunlight"; and
   WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World
Health Organization, and the California Department of Health
Services Skin Cancer Prevention Program have published guidelines for
sun safety and skin cancer prevention for outdoor workers; and
   WHEREAS, The Labor Code requires employers to establish an
effective system to identify and correct unsafe and unhealthy work
practices; and
   WHEREAS, According to the Occupational Health and Safety
Administration created in the United States Department of Labor,
"unprotected employees working in sunlight risk exposure to UV
radiation, which can cause eye damage, premature aging of the skin,
and skin cancers, such as melanoma, the most serious type of skin
cancer, which accounts for more than seventy-five percent (75%) of
the deaths due to skin cancer"; and
   WHEREAS, Skin cancer is highly preventable when specific sun
safety behaviors such as the use of wide-brimmed hats, UV-protective
sunglasses, long clothing, and sunscreen are adopted, supplemented by
environmental supports such as the provision of shade and the
adoption and implementation of sun protection guidelines and
policies; and
   WHEREAS, Businesses, organizations, and individuals need to
understand why and how to guard against unprotected exposure to
sunlight; and
   WHEREAS, Safety and health precautions add value to business, the
workplace, and human life; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That employers are urged to ensure that their
injury prevention programs and other systems for identifying and
correcting workplace hazards consider the pathologic effects of UV
radiation and ensure, as appropriate, that skin cancer prevention
policies for outdoor workers are put into operation; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges the appropriate state
agencies to utilize existing means of communication with employers on
workplace safety issues to advise employers of the importance of sun
safety and skin cancer protections in the workplace.