AB 543, as amended, Quirk. Proposition 65: exposure.
(1) The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, an initiative measure approved by the voters as Proposition 65 at the November 6, 1986, statewide general election, prohibits any person, in the course of doing business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without giving a specified warning.
This bill would provide that a person, in the course of doing business, does not knowingly and intentionally expose an individual to a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity if there exists an exposure assessment that meets 3 specified requirements.
(2) Proposition 65 provides that it may be amended by a statute, passed by a 2⁄3 vote of each house of the Legislature, to further its purposes.
This bill would find and declare that it furthers the purposes of Proposition 65.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 25249.6 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:
Required Warning Before Exposure To Chemicals
4Known to Cause Cancer Or Reproductive Toxicity.
5(a) No person in the course of doing business shall knowingly
6and intentionally expose any individual to a chemical known to
7the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first
8giving clear and reasonable warning to such individual, except as
9provided in Section 25249.10.
10(b) A person, in the course of doing business, does not
11knowingly and intentionally expose an individual to a chemical
12known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity if there
13is an exposure assessment that meets all of the
following
14conditions:
15(1) It has been conducted by, or under the direction of, a
16qualified scientist in accordance with the implementing regulations
17adopted by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
18that are relevant to the alleged exposure.
19(2) It evaluates the same chemical in or from the relevant source
20that is the subject of the alleged exposure and concludes that the
21person in the course of doing business is not exposing an individual
22to the chemical at a level that requires abegin delete warning or, alternatively, begin insert warning.end insert
23that no specification of the particular chemical is required for a
24provided warning.end delete
25(3) It is documented, in writing, and has been approved and
26signed by the qualified scientist before the person in the course of
27doing business receives a written notice of an alleged exposure
28pursuant to Section 25249.7.
Section 25249.11 of the Health and Safety Code is
30amended to read:
Definitions.
32For purposes of this chapter:
33(a) “Person” means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock
34company, corporation, company, partnership, limited liability
35company, and association.
36(b) “Person in the course of doing business” does not include
37any person employing fewer than 10 employees in his or her
38business; any city, county, or district or any department or agency
P3 1thereof or the state or any department or agency thereof or the
2federal government or any department or agency thereof; or any
3entity in its operation of a public water system as
defined in Section
4116275.
5(c) “Qualified scientist” means a person who meets all of the
6following requirements:
7(1) He or she has completed a masters, doctoral, or medical
8doctor degree and has experience in an area specializing in any of
9the following:
10(A) Epidemiology.
11(B) Oncology.
12(C) Pathology.
13(D) Medicine.
14(E) Public health.
15(F) Statistics.
end delete16 (G)
end delete17begin insert(F)end insert Biology.
18(H)
end delete19begin insert(G)end insert Toxicology.
20(I)
end delete21begin insert(H)end insert Developmental toxicology.
22(J)
end delete23begin insert(I)end insert Reproductive toxicology.
24(K)
end delete25begin insert(J)end insert Teratology.
26(L)
end delete27begin insert(K)end insert Environmental chemistry.
28(M)
end delete
29begin insert(L)end insert Fields related to subparagraphs (A) tobegin delete (L),end deletebegin insert (K),end insert inclusive.
30(2) He or she demonstrates ongoing expertise in the conduct of
31work relevant to the evaluation of exposure to chemicals, including
32carcinogenic chemicals or chemicals that pose reproductive or
33developmental hazards, using generally accepted and scientifically
34valid principles and methodologies.
35(d) “Significant amount” means any detectable amount except
36an amount which would meet the exemption test in
subdivision
37(c) of Section 25249.10 if an individual were exposed to such an
38amount in drinking water.
39(e) “Source of drinking water” means either a present source of
40drinking water or water which is identified or designated in a water
P4 1quality control plan adopted by a regional board as being suitable
2for domestic or municipal uses.
3(f) “Threaten to violate” means to create a condition in which
4there is a substantial probability that a violation will occur.
5(g) “Warning” within the meaning of Section 25249.6 need not
6be provided separately to each exposed individual and may be
7provided by general methods such as labels on consumer products,
8inclusion of notices in mailings to water customers, posting of
9notices,
placing notices in public news media, and the like,
10provided that the warning accomplished is clear and reasonable.
11In order to minimize the burden on retail sellers of consumer
12products including foods, regulations implementing Section
1325249.6 shall to the extent practicable place the obligation to
14provide any warning materials such as labels on the producer or
15packager rather than on the retail seller, except where the retail
16seller itself is responsible for introducing a chemical known to the
17state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into the consumer
18product in question.
The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers
20the purposes of the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement
21Act of 1986.
O
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