PROVIDENCE — Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse has submitted legislation to the General Assembly that would prohibit food businesses from using latex gloves.
According to the Attorney General’s office, the Latex Gloves Safety Act would ban any person, firm or corporation that operates a food business from using disposable, nonsterile and sterile latex gloves. The bill would also require non-food businesses using latex gloves to post a clear warning of the health risks of latex gloves and instructions to contact a health care provider in the event of an allergic reaction.
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The Attorney General’s office cited “the continued rise in the number of health risks and reports of allergic reactions from the use of latex gloves” as the impetus for the legislation, which would require state agencies that regulate industries using latex gloves to adopt rules and regulations on the use of the gloves.
The General Assembly passed a resolution in 2000 acknowledging the growing latex allergy problem and authorized the Department of Health to issue a proclamation alerting the public to the risk of latex allergies, and established Latex Allergy Awareness Week. There is also an Attorney General Latex Allergy Advisory Task Force which has met on a number of occasions to discuss issues surrounding latex allergies, the Attorney General’s office said.
The Latex Gloves Safety Act is scheduled to be heard by the House Health Education and Welfare Committee this Thursday (March 29). The bill was introduced in the Rhode Island House by Rep. Elizabeth Dennigan — who is also a registered nurse and attorney — of East Providence.
