A Collaborative Effort to Improve Occupational Health Surveillance and Outreach, part 1

When new scientific or medical information becomes available on toxic chemicals, state and federal agencies face serious challenges in determining the specific workplaces where these chemicals are used.  Hazard alerts are developed and disseminated broadly but often fail to quickly reach those with the highest potential exposures. As a result, workers can suffer irreversible health effects, as was the recent case with many exposed to diacetyl.

 A California law that will go into effect 2016 is the first in the country to require companies that manufacture or distribute toxic chemicals to provide the state public health agency, upon request, with information on where a specific chemical is being shipped to a California workplace.  SB 193, signed by Governor Brown in fall 2014, will enable HESIS – the Hazard Evaluation System and Information Service – to send timely warnings directly to downstream users when  HESIS learns of a serious new or previously unrecognized health hazard posed by a toxic chemical .

This presentation describes the work undertaken by the state agency to clearly document the need for this new law. It begins with a review of the mandate and functions of the HESIS program, its track record in developing early hazard alerts and other guidance documents, and existing obstacles it faced regarding dissemination. Next, it explains the key elements of the 12-year effort by HESIS and worker health advocates to pass this new law. Finally, it reviews the next steps the agency may take to implement the new law.