26100-26107

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
SECTION 26100-26107




26100.  This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the Toxic
Mold Protection Act of 2001.



26101.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
apply:
   (a) "Affect" means to cause a condition by the presence of mold in
the dwelling unit, building, appurtenant structure, common wall,
heating system, or ventilating and air-conditioning system that
affects the indoor air quality of a dwelling unit or building.
   (b) "Authoritative bodies" means any recognized national or
international entities with expertise on public health, mold
identification and remediation, or environmental health, including,
but not limited to, other states, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, the World Health Organization, the American
Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, the New York City
Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
and the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
   (c) "Certified Industrial Hygienist" means a person who has met
the education, experience, and examination requirements of an
industrial hygiene certification organization as defined in Section
20700 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (d) "Code enforcement officer" means a local official responsible
for enforcing housing codes and maintaining public safety in
buildings using an interdepartmental approach at the local government
level.
   (e) "Department" means the State Department of Health Services,
designated as the lead agency in the adoption of permissible exposure
limits to mold in indoor environments, mold identification and
remediation efforts, and the development of guidelines for the
determination of what constitutes mold infestation.
   (f) "Indoor environments" means the affected dwelling unit or
affected commercial or industrial building.
   (g) "Mold" means any form of multicellular fungi that live on
plant or animal matter and in indoor environments. Types of mold
include, but are not limited to, Cladosporium, Penicillium,
Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fuarim, Trichoderma, Memnoniella, Mucor, and
Stachybotrys chartarum, often found in water-damaged building
materials.
   (h) "Person" means an individual, corporation, company,
association, partnership, limited liability company, municipality,
public utility, or other public body or institution.
   (i) "Public health officer" means a local health officer appointed
pursuant to Section 101000 or a local comprehensive health agency
designated by the board of supervisors pursuant to Section 101275 to
carry out the drinking water program.



26101.5.  All standards that the department develops pursuant to
this chapter shall be in accordance with existing administrative law
procedures applicable to the development of regulations.



26101.7.  The department shall convene a task force which shall
advise the department on the development of standards pursuant to
Sections 26103, 26105, 26106, 26120, and 26130. The task force shall
be comprised of representatives of public health officers,
environmental health officers, code enforcement officers, experts on
the health effects of molds, medical experts, certified industrial
hygienists, mold abatement experts, representatives of
government-sponsored enterprises, representatives from school
districts or county offices of education, representatives of
employees and representatives of employers, and affected consumers,
which include, but are not limited to, residential, commercial and
industrial tenants, homeowners, environmental groups, and attorneys,
and affected industries, which include, but are not limited to,
residential, commercial and industrial building proprietors, managers
or landlords, builders, realtors, suppliers of building materials
and suppliers of furnishings, and insurers. Task force members shall
serve on a voluntary basis and shall be responsible for any costs
associated with their participation in the task force. The department
shall not be responsible for travel costs incurred by task force
members or otherwise compensating task force members for costs
associated with their participation in the task force.




26102.  The department shall consider the feasibility of adopting
permissible exposure limits to mold in indoor environments.



26103.  (a) If the department finds that adopting permissible
exposure limits to mold in indoor environments is feasible, the
department, in consultation with the task force convened pursuant to
Section 26101.7, shall:
   (1) Adopt permissible exposure limits to mold for indoor
environments that avoid adverse effects on health, with an adequate
margin of safety, and avoid any significant risk to public health.
   (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), balance the protection of
public health with technological and economic feasibility when it
adopts permissible exposure limits.
   (3) Utilize and include the latest scientific data or existing
standards adopted by authoritative bodies.
   (4) Develop permissible exposure limits that target the general
population.
   (b) The department shall consider all of the following criteria
when it adopts permissible exposure limits for 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 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) Toxicological studies and any scientific evidence as it
relates to mold.
   (c) The department may develop alternative permissible exposure
limits applicable for facilities, which may include hospitals, child
care facilities, and nursing homes, whose primary business is to
serve members of subgroups that comprise a meaningful portion of the
general population and are at greater risk of adverse health effects
from molds than the general population. These subgroups may include
infants, children age 6 years and under, pregnant women, the elderly,
asthmatics, allergic individuals, or immune compromised individuals.
   (d) The department shall report to the Legislature on its progress
in developing the permissible exposure limit for molds by July 1,
2003.



26104.  (a) (1) The department shall, at the time it commences
preparation of the permissible exposure limits to mold, provide
notice electronically by posting on its Internet Web site a notice
that informs interested persons that the department has initiated
work on the permissible exposure limits to mold.
   (2) The notice shall also include a brief description or a
bibliography of the technical documents or other information the
department has identified to date as relevant to the preparation of
the permissible exposure limits.
   (3) The notice shall inform persons who wish to submit information
concerning exposure to molds of the name and address of the person
in the department to whom the information may be sent, the date by
which the information must be received in order for the department to
consider it in the preparation of the permissible exposure limits,
and that all information submitted will be made available to any
member of the public who makes the request.
   (b) The department may amend the permissible exposure limits to
molds to make the limits less stringent if the department shows clear
and convincing evidence that the permissible exposure limits to
molds should be made less stringent and the amendment is made
consistent with Section 26103.
   (c) The department may review, and consider adopting by reference,
any information prepared by, or on behalf of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency or other authoritative bodies, for
the purpose of adopting national permissible exposure limits to
molds.
   (d) At least once every five years, after adoption of permissible
exposure limits to molds, the department shall review the adopted
limits and shall, consistent with the criteria set forth in
subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 26103, amend the permissible
exposure limits if any of the following occur:
   (1) Changes in technology or treatment techniques that permit a
materially greater protection of public health.
   (2) New scientific evidence that indicates that molds may present
a materially different risk to public health than was previously
determined.



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.



26106.  The department may develop alternative assessment standards
applicable for facilities, which may include hospitals, child care
facilities, and nursing homes, whose primary business is to serve
members of subgroups that comprise a meaningful portion of the
general population and are at greater risk of adverse health effects
to molds than the general population. These subgroups may include
infants, children age 6 years and under, pregnant women, the elderly,
asthmatics, allergic individuals, or immune compromised individuals.



26107.  (a) (1) The department shall, at the time it commences
preparation of standards for the assessment of molds, provide notice
electronically by posting on its Internet Web site a notice that
informs interested persons that the department has initiated work on
the assessment standards.
   (2) The notice shall also include a brief description, or a
bibliography, of the technical documents or other information the
department has identified to date as relevant to the preparation of
the assessment standards.
   (3) The notice shall inform persons who wish to submit information
concerning the assessment of molds in indoor environments of the
name and address of the person in the department to whom the
information may be sent, the date by which the information must be
received in order for the department to consider it in the
preparation of the assessment standards, and that all information
submitted will be made available to any member of the public who
makes the request.
   (b) The department may review, and consider adopting by reference,
any information prepared by, or on behalf of, the United States
Environmental Protection Agency or other authoritative bodies, for
the purpose of adopting national assessment standards for molds.
   (c) At least once every five years, after adoption of assessment
standards for molds, the department shall review the adopted
standards and shall, consistent with the criteria set forth in
subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) of Section 26105, amend the standards
if any of the following occur:
   (1) Changes in technology or treatment techniques that permit a
materially greater protection of public health.
   (2) New scientific evidence that indicates that molds may present
a materially different risk to public health than was previously
determined.