WAC 246-280-010   Definitions.  (1) Abbreviations:

     (a) "ml" means milliliter; and

     (b) "PSP" means paralytic shellfish poisoning.

     (2) "Beach evaluation" means the examination of the sanitary conditions of recreational shellfish beaches through water quality testing, shellfish tissue testing, PSP testing, and sanitary surveys.

     (3) "Beach inventory" means the department's list of recreational shellfish beaches governed by chapter 246-280 WAC.

     (4) "Closed classification" means a beach exceeds the standards for safe shellfish harvest.

     (5) "Conditionally open classification" means a recreational shellfish beach meets the standards for safe shellfish harvest during well-defined time periods, such as dry weather months, and is closed to shellfish harvest when the standards are exceeded.

     (6) "Department" means the Washington state department of health (DOH).

     (7) "Emergency closure" means temporary closure of a recreational shellfish beach when a contamination event is suspected of impacting an open or conditionally open beach.

     (8) "Geometric mean value" means a statistical calculation giving a mean value of data points. Geometric mean value is a term used in state water quality standards. The calculation is:

     (a) a X b X c X d = y; and

     (b) nth root of y = geometric mean value. N= number of data points which determines the power of the root.

     (9) "Health officer" means the health officer or an authorized representative of the city, county, city-county health department or district.

     (10) "Local board of health" means the city, town, county, city-county, or district board of health as defined under chapters 70.05, 70.08, and 70.46 RCW.

     (11) "Open classification" means a recreational shellfish beach which complies with WAC 246-280-030 standards for safe shellfish harvest without any restrictions due to health hazards.

     (12) "Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP)" means a human illness caused by eating shellfish that contain high levels of toxin which results from the shellfish consuming large amounts of toxin-producing microscopic marine organism called Gonyaulax catenella.

     (13) "Public ownership" means owned by the federal government, state government, a county, a city, or a port district.

     (14) "Recreational shellfish beach" means any beach under public ownership available to the public and any privately owned beach where the general public has unlimited access to recreationally harvest shellfish.

     (15) "Recreational shellfish harvest" means to harvest shellfish for personal consumption with no intention for sale or barter.

     (16) "Sanitary survey" means an evaluation of the sanitary conditions of the shoreline and uplands of a recreational shellfish beach.

     (17) "Shellfish" means, for the purposes of chapter 246-280 WAC, all varieties of oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops.

     (18) "Unclassified" means a recreational shellfish beach which does not have an initial classification because the department has incomplete sanitary survey data.

     (19) "Water quality study" means an evaluation of the sanitary conditions of the marine water of a recreational shellfish beach described under WAC 246-280-030 and 246-280-040.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20.050. 92-02-019 (Order 225B), § 246-280-010, filed 12/23/91, effective 1/23/92; 91-02-051 (Order 124B), recodified as § 246-280-010, filed 12/27/90, effective 1/31/91. Statutory Authority: Chapter 90.70 RCW. 89-20-020 (Order 335), § 248-52-005, filed 9/27/89, effective 10/28/89.]