Article 3. Hazardous Substances of California Labor Code >> Division 5. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 3.
For the purposes of this chapter, the director, pursuant to
Section 6382, shall establish a list of hazardous substances and
shall make the list available to manufacturers, employers, and the
public. Substances on the list shall be designated by their chemical
and common name or names. The director shall adopt, amend, and repeal
regulations for the establishment of the list of hazardous
substances pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
(a) Prior to the director's adoption of the list of
hazardous substances, the director shall submit the list to the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for its approval.
Within 90 days of receiving the list from the director, the board,
after holding a hearing and considering the recommendations of the
employers and employees who may be affected, shall do the following:
(1) Determine whether the substances listed are properly listed
as hazardous substances pursuant to the criteria of Section 6382.
(2) Modify the list as necessary to achieve compliance with
Section 6382.
(3) Approve the list of hazardous substances.
Upon receipt of the list approved by the board, the director shall
adopt the list as a regulation pursuant to the procedures set forth
in Section 6380. The inclusion or exclusion of any individual
substance on the list of hazardous substances shall not be subject to
Section 11346.2 or 11346.9 of the Government Code.
(b) Prior to the director's adoption of any additions to the list
of hazardous substances pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6382,
the director shall submit the additions to the board for its
approval. Within 60 days of receiving the additions from the
director, the board, after holding a hearing and considering the
recommendations of the employers and employees who may be affected,
shall do the following:
(1) Determine whether the substances listed are properly listed
as hazardous substances pursuant to the criteria of Section 6382.
(2) Modify the additions as necessary to achieve compliance with
Section 6382.
(3) Approve the list of hazardous substances.
Upon receipt of the additions approved by the board, the director
shall adopt the additions as a regulation pursuant to the procedures
set forth in Section 6380. The inclusion or exclusion of any
individual substance on the list of hazardous substances shall not be
subject to Section 11346.2 or 11346.9 of the Government Code.
Substances not present on the list of hazardous substances
adopted pursuant to Section 6380 shall not be subject to the
provisions of this chapter. However, the absence of designation as a
hazardous substance in the list adopted pursuant to Section 6380
shall not in any way affect any other liability of an employer with
regard to safeguarding the health and safety of an employee or other
persons exposed to a toxic or hazardous substance; nor shall it
affect any other duty or responsibility of a manufacturer, producer,
or other maker to warn ultimate users of a substance pursuant to
other provisions of law.
The director shall prepare and amend the list of hazardous
substances according to the following procedure:
(a) Any substance designated in any of the following listings in
subdivision (b) shall be presumed by the director to be potentially
hazardous and shall be included on the list; provided, that the
director shall not list a substance or form of the substance from the
listings in subdivision (b) if he or she finds, upon a showing
pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6380, that the
substance as present occupationally is not potentially hazardous to
human health; and provided further, that a substance, mixture, or
product shall not be considered hazardous to the extent that the
hazardous substance present is in a physical state, volume, or
concentration for which there is no valid and substantial evidence
that any adverse acute or chronic risk to human health may occur from
exposure.
(b) The listings referred to in subdivision (a) are as follows:
(1) Substances listed as human or animal carcinogens by the
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
(2) Those substances designated by the Environmental Protection
Agency pursuant to Section 307 (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1317) and Section 311
(33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321) of the federal Clean Water Act of 1977 (33
U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) or as hazardous air pollutants pursuant to
Section 112 of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec.
7412) which have known, adverse human health risks.
(3) Substances listed by the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board as an airborne chemical contaminant pursuant to
Section 142.3.
(4) Those substances designated by the Director of Food and
Agriculture as restricted materials pursuant to Section 14004.5 of
the Food and Agricultural Code which have known, adverse human health
risks.
(5) Substances for which an information alert has been issued by
the repository of current data established pursuant to Section 147.2.
(c) The director shall at least every two years review the
listings in subdivision (b) and shall revise the list to include new
substances so listed or exclude substances no longer on the listings,
pursuant to the standards set forth in subdivision (a).
(d) Notwithstanding Section 6381, in addition to those substances
on the director's list of hazardous substances, any substance within
the scope of the federal Hazard Communication Standard (29 C.F.R.
Sec. 1910.1200) is a hazardous substance subject to this chapter.
(a) For the purposes of this chapter, a hazardous substance
is present in any mixture or product if it is present in any of the
following concentrations:
(1) One percent or more of the mixture or product.
(2) Two percent of the mixture or product if the hazardous
substance exists as an impurity in the mixture.
(3) One-tenth of 1 percent of the mixture or product if the
hazardous substance in the mixture or product is designated as a
carcinogen pursuant to the Occupational Carcinogens Control Act of
1976 (Ch. 2 (commencing with Section 24200), Div. 20, H.& S.C.) or
the federal Hazard Communication Standard (29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200).
The director may, by regulation, raise the concentration
requirement for a hazardous substance which the director finds is not
hazardous at the threshold levels; and, lower the concentration
requirement for a hazardous substance for which there is valid and
substantial evidence that the substance is extraordinarily hazardous.
(b) The manufacturer of a hazardous substance shall notify the
director of any valid evidence which indicates that the concentration
requirement for a hazardous substance established pursuant to
subdivision (a) is higher than what is necessary to protect employees
who work with, or may be exposed to, the substance.
This chapter does not apply to impurities which develop as
intermediate materials during chemical processing but are not present
in the final product, and to which employee exposure is unlikely.
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to hazardous
substances contained in either of the following:
(a) Products intended for personal consumption by employees in the
workplace, or consumer products packaged for distribution to, and
use by, the general public.
(b) Retail food sale establishments and all other retail trade
establishments, exclusive of processing and repair work areas.
(a) A laboratory in which a hazardous substance is used by or
under the direct supervision of a technically qualified individual
is not an employer or manufacturer for the purposes of this chapter.
(b) This exemption does not excuse a laboratory from any of the
following duties:
(1) A laboratory employer shall ensure that labels of incoming
containers of hazardous substances are not removed or defaced.
(2) A laboratory employer shall maintain any material safety data
sheets that are received with incoming shipments of hazardous
substances and ensure that they are readily available to laboratory
employees.
(c) This exemption does not include a laboratory that primarily
provides a quality control analysis for a manufacturing process or
produces hazardous substances for commercial purposes.
(d) "Technically qualified individual" means a person who, because
of education, training, or experience, understands the risks
associated with the use of the particular hazardous substance or
mixture involved, and who conveys this knowledge to employees in
terms of safe work practices.