Amendment ID: S3178-15

Amendment 15

Surgical Smoke Protections

Ms. Comerford and Mr. Keenan move that the proposed new text be amended by striking out section 107 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

"SECTION 107. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following 2 sections:-

Section 250. The commissioner of public health shall promulgate regulations for the annual health inspection of food trucks. The commissioner shall prescribe rules and regulations relative to inspection schedules, documentation of inspections, standards for acceptable cleanliness and the costs of such inspections.

Section 251. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

“Smoke evacuation system”, smoke evacuators, laser plume evacuators, or local exhaust ventilators that effectively capture and neutralize surgical smoke at the site of origin and before the smoke can make ocular contact or contact with the respiratory tract of the occupants of the room.

“Surgical smoke”, the by-product, including surgical plume, smoke plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and other lung-damaging dust, that results from contact with tissue by an energy generating device.

(b) All hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgical facilities licensed in the commonwealth under this chapter shall adopt policies to ensure the elimination of surgical smoke by use of a smoke evacuation system for any procedure that generates surgical smoke from the use of energy-based devices including, but not limited to, electrosurgery and lasers.

(c) Any hospital or freestanding ambulatory surgical facility that violates subsection (b) shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 for each violation."; and by adding the following section:-

"SECTION X. Section 251 of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as inserted by section 107 of this act, shall take effect 12 months after the effective date of this act. Not later than 18 months after the effective date of this act, every hospital and freestanding ambulatory surgical center licensed in the commonwealth under said chapter 111 shall report to the department of public health regarding the policies they have adopted to comply with said section 251 of said chapter 111."