In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1.    “AMA guides” means the “Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment”, American medical association, (6th edition).

2.    “Asbestos action” means the same as that term is defined in section 32-46.1-01.

3.    “Asbestosis” means bilateral diffuse interstitial fibrosis of the lungs caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

4.    “Board-certified in internal medicine” means a licensed physician who is certified by the American board of internal medicine or the American osteopathic board of internal medicine.

5.    “Board-certified in occupational medicine” means a licensed physician who is certified in the specialty of occupational medicine by the American board of preventive medicine or the specialty of occupational/environmental medicine by the American osteopathic board of preventive medicine.

6. “Board-certified in oncology” means a licensed physician who is certified in the subspecialty of medical oncology by the American board of internal medicine or the American osteopathic board of internal medicine.

7.    “Board-certified in pathology” means a licensed physician who holds primary certification in anatomic pathology or clinical pathology from the American board of pathology or the American osteopathic board of pathology and whose professional practice is principally in the field of pathology and involves regular evaluation of pathology materials obtained from surgical or postmortem specimens.

8.    “Board-certified in pulmonary medicine” means a licensed physician who is certified in the specialty of pulmonary medicine by the American board of internal medicine or the American osteopathic board of internal medicine.

9.    “Certified B-reader” means an individual who is certified as a national institute for occupational safety and health final or B-reader of x-rays under title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, part 37.51(b).

10.    “Chest x-ray” means chest films taken in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulatory standards and taken in the posterior-anterior view.

11.    “DLCO” means diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide, which is the measurement of carbon monoxide transfer from inspired gas to pulmonary capillary blood.

12.    “Exposed individual” means an individual whose exposure to asbestos is the basis for an asbestos action.

13.    “FEV1” means forced expiratory volume in the first second, which is the maximal volume of air expelled in one second during performance of simple spirometric tests.

14.    “FEV1/FVC” means the ratio between the actual values for FEV1 over FVC.

15.    “FVC” means forced vital capacity, which is the maximal volume of air expired with maximum effort from a position of full inspiration.

16.    “ILO system” and “ILO scale” mean the radiological ratings and system for the classification of chest x-rays of the international labour office provided in “Guidelines for the Use of ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses” (2011).

17.    “Nonmalignant condition” means any condition that may be caused by asbestos other than a diagnosed cancer.

18.    “Official statements of the American thoracic society” means the lung function testing standards set forth in the technical standards of the American thoracic society, including “Standardization of Spirometry” (2019), “Standardisation of the Measurement of Lung Volumes” (2005), “Standards for Single-breath Carbon Monoxide Uptake in the Lung” (2017), and “Interpretive Strategies for Lung Function Tests” (2005).

19.    “Pathological evidence of asbestosis” means a statement by a board-certified pathologist that more than one representative section of lung tissue uninvolved with any other disease process demonstrates a pattern of peribronchiolar or parenchymal scarring in the presence of characteristic asbestos bodies graded 1(B) or higher under the criteria published in “Asbestos-Associated Diseases”, 106 Archive of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 11, Appendix 3 (October 8, 1982).

20.    “Plaintiff” means the same as that term is defined in section 32-46.1-01.

21.    “Plethysmography” means the test for determining lung volume in which the exposed individual is enclosed in a chamber equipped to measure pressure, flow, or volume change.

22.    “Predicted lower limit of normal” means the test value that is the calculated standard convention lying at the fifth percentile, below the upper ninety-five percent of the reference population, based on age, height, and gender, according to the recommendations by the American thoracic society and as referenced in the AMA guides.

23.    “Product liability action” means the same as defined in section 28-01.3-01.

24.    “Pulmonary function test” means spirometry, lung volume testing, and diffusion capacity testing, including appropriate measurements, quality control data, and graphs, performed in accordance with the methods of calibration and techniques provided in the AMA guides and all standards provided in the official statements of the American thoracic society.

25.    “Qualified physician” means a licensed physician who is board-certified in internal medicine, pathology, pulmonary medicine, occupational medicine, or oncology, as may be appropriate to the diagnostic specialty in question, and who:

a.    Conducted a physical examination of the exposed individual and has taken a detailed occupational, exposure, medical, smoking, and social history from the exposed individual, or if the exposed individual is deceased, has reviewed the pathology material and has taken a detailed history from the individual most knowledgeable about the information forming the basis of the asbestos action; b.    Treated or is treating the exposed individual, and has a doctor-patient relationship with the exposed individual at the time of the physical examination, or in the case of a board-certified pathologist, examined tissue samples or pathological slides of the exposed individual at the request of the treating physician; c.    Has not relied on any examinations, tests, radiographs, reports, or opinions of any doctor, clinic, laboratory, or testing company that performed an examination, test, radiograph, or screening of the exposed individual in violation of any law, regulation, licensing requirement, or medical code of practice of the state in which the examination, test, or screening was conducted; and

d.    Prepared or directly supervised the preparation and final review of any medical report under this chapter.

26.    “Radiological evidence of asbestosis” means a quality 1 chest x-ray under the ILO system, or a quality 2 chest x-ray in a death case when no pathology or quality 1 chest x-ray is available, showing bilateral small, irregular opacities (s, t, or u) occurring primarily in the lower lung zones graded by a certified B-reader as at least 1/1 on the ILO scale.

27.    “Radiological evidence of diffuse bilateral pleural thickening” means a quality 1 chest x-ray under the ILO system, or a quality 2 chest x-ray in a death case when no pathology or quality 1 chest x-ray is available, showing diffuse bilateral pleural thickening of at least b2 on the ILO scale and blunting of at least one costophrenic angle as classified by a certified B-reader.

28.    “Spirometry” means a test of air capacity of the lung through a spirometer to measure the volume of air inspired and expired.

29.    “Supporting test results” means B-reading and B-reader reports, reports of x-ray examinations, diagnostic imaging of the chest, pathology reports, pulmonary function tests, and all other tests reviewed by the diagnosing physician or a qualified physician in reaching the physician’s conclusions.

30.    “Timed gas dilution” means a method for measuring total lung capacity in which the subject breathes into a spirometer containing a known concentration of an inert and    insoluble gas for a specific time, and the concentration of that inert and insoluble gas in the lung is compared to the concentration of that type of gas in the spirometer.

31.    “Total lung capacity” means the volume of gas contained in the lungs at the end of a maximal inspiration.