Section 26105 Of Article 1. General Provisions From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 20. >> Chapter 18. >> Article 1.
26105
. (a) The department, in consultation with the task force
convened pursuant to Section 26101.7, shall adopt practical standards
to assess the health threat posed by the presence of mold, both
visible and invisible or hidden, in an indoor environment.
(b) The department shall adopt assessment standards for molds that
do the following:
(1) Protect the public's health.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), balance the protection of
public health with technological and economic feasibility when it
adopts assessment standards.
(3) Utilize and include the latest scientific data or existing
standards for the assessment of molds adopted by authoritative
bodies.
(4) Develop standards that target the general population.
(5) The department shall ensure that air or surface testing is not
required to determine whether the presence of mold constitutes a
health threat posed by the presence of mold, both visible and
invisible or hidden, in an indoor environment.
(c) The department shall consider all of the following criteria
when it adopts standards for the assessment of molds in indoor
environments:
(1) The adverse health effects of exposure to molds on the general
population, including specific effects on members of subgroups that
comprise a meaningful portion of the general population, which may
include infants, children age 6 years and under, pregnant women, the
elderly, asthmatics, allergic individuals, immune compromised
individuals, or other subgroups that are identifiable as being at
greater risk of adverse health effects than the general population
when exposed to molds.
(2) The standards for assessment of molds, if any, adopted by
authoritative bodies.
(3) The technological and economic feasibility of compliance with
the proposed permissible exposure limit for molds. For the purposes
of determining economic feasibility pursuant to this paragraph, the
department shall consider the costs of compliance to tenants,
landlords, homeowners, and other affected parties.
(4) Any toxicological studies or additional scientific evidence.
(d) The department shall report to the Legislature on its progress
in developing the assessment standards for molds by July 1, 2003.