147.2
. (a) As used in this section, "Hazard Evaluation System and
Information Service" or "HESIS" means the repository established
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) In accordance with Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 6350) of
Part 1 of Division 5 of this code and Section 105175 of the Health
and Safety Code, the Department of Industrial Relations, by
interagency agreement with the State Department of Public Health,
shall establish a repository of current data on toxic materials and
harmful physical agents in use or potentially in use in places of
employment in the state, known as the Hazard Evaluation System and
Information Service, or HESIS.
(c) HESIS shall fulfill all of the following functions:
(1) Provide reliable information of practical use to employers,
employees, representatives of employees, and other governmental
agencies on the possible hazards to employees of exposure to toxic
materials or harmful physical agents.
(2) Collect and evaluate toxicological and epidemiological data
and any other information that may be pertinent to establishing
harmful effects on health of exposure to toxic materials or harmful
physical agents. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as
authorizing HESIS to require employers, other than chemical
manufacturers, formulators, suppliers, distributors, importers, and
their agents, to report any information not otherwise required by
law.
(3) When there is new scientific or medical information and the
Chief of HESIS, in consultation with the Director of Industrial
Relations and the Chief of the Division of Environmental and
Occupational Disease Control in the State Department of Public
Health, determines that a substance may be in use in a place of
employment, may pose a hazard under a reasonable anticipated
condition of use, and potentially poses a serious new or unrecognized
health hazard to an employee, including, but not limited to, cancer,
reproductive or developmental harm, organ system impairment, or
death, chemical manufacturers, formulators, suppliers, distributors,
importers, and their agents, as specified in subparagraph (A), shall
provide to HESIS the names and addresses of their customers who have
purchased certain chemicals, as specified by HESIS, or commercial
products containing those chemicals and information related to those
shipments, including the quantities and dates of shipments, and the
proportion of a specified chemical within a mixture containing the
specified chemical, upon written request by HESIS, for every product
the final destination of which may be a place of employment in
California. This paragraph shall not apply to a retail seller of the
substance, whether sold individually or as part of a commercial
product to the public. The following shall apply to this paragraph:
(A) On or after January 1, 2016, the information requested shall
include current and past customers for not more than a one-year
period prior to the date the request is issued. The information shall
be provided within a reasonable timeframe, not to exceed 30 calendar
days from the date the request is issued. The information shall be
provided in a format specified by the State Department of Public
Health but consistent with the responding entity's current data
system.
(B) Unless, pursuant to other law or regulation the following
persons, any other person, or any governmental entity is required to
publicly disclose the following information, the names and addresses
of customers, the quantities and dates of shipments, and the
proportion of a specified chemical within a mixture provided by
chemical manufacturers, formulators, suppliers, distributors,
importers, and their agents pursuant to this paragraph shall be
considered confidential and, except as specified in this
subparagraph, exempt from public disclosure under the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code). HESIS may disclose
that information to officers or employees of the State Department of
Public Health, to officers or employees of the state who are
responsible for carrying out the purposes of Division 5 (commencing
with Section 6300), or to the state agencies of the state officers
specified in paragraphs (5) and (6). Any officer, employee, or agency
to which the information is disclosed shall be subject to this
subparagraph.
(C) The State Department of Public Health shall be entitled to
reimbursement of attorney's fees and costs incurred in seeking an
injunction to enforce this paragraph.
(4) Recommend to the Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety
and Health Administration that an occupational safety and health
standard be developed whenever it has been determined that a
substance in use or potentially in use in places of employment is
potentially toxic at the concentrations or under the conditions used.
(5) Notify the Director of Pesticide Regulation of any information
developed by HESIS that is relevant to carrying out his or her
responsibilities under Chapters 2 (commencing with Section 12751) and
3 (commencing with Section 14001) of Division 7 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.
(6) Notify the Secretary for Environmental Protection of any
information developed by HESIS that is relevant to carrying out his
or her responsibilities.
(d) The Director of Industrial Relations shall appoint an advisory
committee to HESIS. The advisory committee shall consist of four
representatives from labor, four representatives from management,
four active practitioners in the occupational health field, and three
persons knowledgeable in biomedical statistics or information
storage and retrieval systems. The advisory committee shall meet on a
regular basis at the request of the director. The committee shall be
consulted by, and shall advise the director at each phase of the
structuring and functioning of the repository and alert system with
regard to, the procedures, methodology, validity, and practical
utility of collecting, evaluating, and disseminating information
concerning hazardous substances, consistent with the primary goals
and objectives of the repository.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
ability of the State Department of Public Health to propose
occupational safety and health standards to the Occupational Safety
and Health Standards Board.
(f) Policies and procedures shall be developed to assure, to the
extent possible, that HESIS uses and does not duplicate the resources
of the federal government and other states.
(g) On or before December 31 of each year, the Department of
Industrial Relations shall submit a report to the Legislature
detailing the implementation and operation of HESIS including, but
not limited to, the amount and source of funds allocated and spent on
repository activities, the toxic materials and harmful physical
agents investigated during the past year and recommendations made
concerning them, actions taken to inform interested persons of the
possible hazards of exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical
agents, and any recommendations for legislative changes relating to
the functions of HESIS.