Chapter 3. Pesticide Poisoning of California Health And Safety Code >> Division 103. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 3.

Any physician and surgeon who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that a patient is suffering from pesticide poisoning or any disease or condition caused by a pesticide shall promptly report that fact to the local health officer by telephone within 24 hours and by a copy of the report required pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6409 of the Labor Code within seven days, except that the information which is available to the physician and surgeon is all that is required to be reported as long as reasonable efforts are made to obtain the information. Each local health officer shall immediately notify the county agricultural commissioner and, at his or her discretion, shall immediately notify the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of each report received and shall report to the Director of Pesticide Regulation, the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Director of Industrial Relations, on a form prescribed by the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, each case reported to him or her pursuant to this section within seven days after receipt of the report. The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall designate a phone number or numbers for use by local health officers in the immediate notification of the office of a pesticide poisoning report. The office shall from time to time establish criteria for use by the local health officers in determining whether the circumstances of a pesticide poisoning warrants the immediate notification of the office. In no case shall the treatment administered for pesticide poisoning or a condition suspected as pesticide poisoning be deemed to be first aid treatment. Any physician and surgeon who fails to comply with the reporting requirements of this section or any regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250). For the purposes of this section, failure to report a case of pesticide poisoning involving one or more employees in the same incident shall constitute a single violation. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health of the Department of Industrial Relations shall enforce these provisions by issuance of a citation and notice of civil penalty in a manner consistent with Section 6317 of the Labor Code. Any physician and surgeon who receives a citation and notice of civil penalty may appeal to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in a manner consistent with Section 6319 of the Labor Code. Each local health officer shall maintain the ability to receive and investigate reports of pesticide poisoning at all times pursuant to Section 12982 of the Food and Agricultural Code.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall develop and implement, in cooperation with local health officers and state and local medical associations, a program of medical education to alert physicians and other health care professionals to the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of pesticide poisoning.

(a) A laboratory that performs cholinesterase testing on human blood drawn in California for an employer to enable the employer to satisfy his or her responsibilities for medical supervision of his or her employees who regularly handle pesticides pursuant to Section 6728 of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations or to respond to alleged exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors or known exposure to cholinesterase inhibitors that resulted in illness shall report the information specified in subdivision (b) to the Department of Pesticide Regulation. Reports shall be submitted to the Department of Pesticide Regulation on, at a minimum, a monthly basis. For the purpose of meeting the requirements in subdivision (d), the reports shall be submitted via electronic media and formatted in a manner approved by the director. The Department of Pesticide Regulation shall share information from cholinesterase reports with the OEHHA and the State Department of Public Health on an ongoing basis, in an electronic format, for the purpose of meeting the requirements of subdivisions (e) and (f).
  (b) The testing laboratory shall report all of the following information in its possession in complying with subdivision (a):
  (1) The test results in International Units per milliliter of sample (IU/mL).
  (2) The purpose of the test, including baseline or other periodic testing, pursuant to the requirements of Section 6728 of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations, or evaluation of suspected pesticide illness.
  (3) The name of the person tested.
  (4) The date of birth of the person tested.
  (5) The name, address, and telephone number of the health care provider or medical supervisor who ordered the analysis.
  (6) The name, address, and telephone number of the analyzing laboratory.
  (7) The accession number of the specimen.
  (8) The date that the sample was collected from the patient and the date the result was reported.
  (9) Contact information for the person tested and his or her employer, if known and readily available.
  (c) The medical supervisor ordering the test for a person pursuant to subdivision (a) shall note in the test order the purpose of the test, pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), and ensure that the person tested receives a copy of the cholinesterase test results and any recommendations from the medical supervisor within 14 days of the medical supervisor receiving the results.
  (d) All information reported pursuant to this section shall be confidential, as provided in Section 100330, except that the OEHHA, the Department of Pesticide Regulation, and the State Department of Public Health may share the information for the purpose of surveillance, case management, investigation, environmental remediation, or abatement with the appropriate county agricultural commissioner and local health officer.
  (e) The OEHHA shall review the cholinesterase test results and may provide an appropriate medical or toxicological consultation to the medical supervisor. In addition to the duties performed pursuant to Section 105210, the OEHHA, in consultation with the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the local health officer, may provide medical and toxicological consultation, as appropriate, to the county agricultural commissioner to address medical issues related to the investigation of cholinesterase inhibitor-related illness.
  (f) By December 31, 2015, the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the OEHHA, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health, shall prepare a report on the effectiveness of the medical supervision program and the utility of laboratory-based reporting of cholinesterase testing for illness surveillance and prevention. The joint report may include recommendations to the Legislature that the Department of Pesticide Regulation and the OEHHA deem necessary. The Department of Pesticide Regulation and the OEHHA shall make the report publicly available on their Internet Web sites.
  (g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.

After consultation with the county agricultural commissioner or the Director of Agriculture, the local health officer may, upon his determination that pesticide poisoning is serious and that an outbreak in pesticide poisoning or any disease or condition caused by pesticide poisoning has occurred in his county, request assistance by the state department. Upon such request, the director shall provide the local health officer with the necessary staff and technical assistance to conduct an epidemiologic investigation of the outbreak, and where appropriate, shall make recommendation to control or prevent such poisoning outbreaks.

(a) Any public employee, as defined in Section 811.4 of the Government Code, whose responsibilities include matters relating to health and safety, protection of the environment, or the use or transportation of any pesticide and who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that a pesticide has been spilled or otherwise accidentally released, shall promptly notify the local health officer or the notification point specified in the local hazardous materials response plan, where the plan has been approved by the Office of Emergency Services and is in operation. The operator of the notification point shall immediately notify the local health officer of the pesticide spill report.
  (b) The local health officer shall immediately notify the county agricultural commissioner and, at his or her discretion, shall immediately notify the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of each report received. Within seven days after receipt of any report, the local health officer shall notify the Director of Pesticide Regulation, the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the Director of Industrial Relations, on a form prescribed by the Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, of each case reported to him or her pursuant to this section.
  (c) The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall designate a telephone number or numbers for use by local health officers in the immediate notification of the office of a pesticide spill report. The office shall from time to time establish criteria for use by the local health officers in determining whether the circumstances of a pesticide spill warrants the immediate notification of the office.

The Director of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment shall maintain a file of all the reporting forms received from local health officers pursuant to Section 105215 at the repository of current data on toxic materials established pursuant to Section 147.2 of the Labor Code. The file shall be open to the public and shall be indexed at least to the extent of the following:
  (a) The county of the accidental release.
  (b) The type of pesticide involved.

Each public employer of a public employee subject to Section 105215 shall post in one or more prominent places frequented by such employee a notice informing such employee of the responsibility imposed by Section 105215.