06/20/2024: Advancing Lead Safety: Key Regulatory Updates in California

About this event

Join the AIHA Northern California Section and COEH for a deep dive into lead safety. Discuss upcoming revisions to the lead-related construction standards under Title 17, the requirements of Senate Bill 1076, and opportunities for public comment on proposed changes. Explore the role of California’s Occupational Blood Lead Registry in tracking and managing work-related lead exposure, how the data collected helps prevent lead poisoning, and how data can inform safe work practices. Finally, summarize revisions to Cal/OSHA’s lead standards and the goals of the revisions, and gain familiarity with the revised Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and action level for lead.

This event will take place at the Richmond Field Station. It will also be livestreamed for online participants.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this activity, the learner will be able to:

Review lead-related construction standards under Title 17, upcoming revisions, and opportunities for public comment
Identify the requirements of Senate Bill 1076 and the steps CDPH will be taking to satisfy them
Describe occupational lead surveillance activities conducted by the California Department of Public Health (CPDH), Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (OLPPP)
Examine recent data trends of worker blood lead levels in California
Discuss revisions to Cal/OSHA’s lead standards and gain familiarity with the revised PEL and action level for lead

Agenda

Thursday, June 20, 2024, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM: Registration & Check-in

9:00 AM - 9:10 AM: Welcome & Introduction with Michael Cooper, CIH

9:10 AM - 10:10 AM: Title 17, SB1076 and Lead Hazard Control by the California Department of Public Health with Max Weintraub

The last major update of the Lead Related Construction standards overseen by CDPH under Title 17 took place in 2008. A major update to Title 17 will be proposed in 2024. Shortly thereafter, CDPH will propose regulations – as required by Senate Bill 1076 – required for CDPH to seek authorization from the federal government to implement the lead-based paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule. This talk will provide attendees with an understanding of the need for the Title 17 update, required changes to Title 17 triggered by Senate Bill 1076, and timing for each.

10:10 AM - 10:25 AM: Break

10:25 AM - 11:10 AM: Occupational Surveillance of Worker Blood Lead Levels in California with Jacqueline Chan, MPH, CIH

The California Health and Safety Code (HSC) §124130 requires laboratories to report all blood lead levels (BLLs) drawn in California to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). CDPH’s Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (OLPPP) manages California’s Occupational Blood Lead Registry (Registry), a laboratory-based tracking system for adult blood lead tests. Through the Registry, OLPPP monitors work-related adult lead poisoning cases to determine the source of occupational lead exposure; conduct investigations when “take-home” exposure to lead may be the cause of lead poisoning in a child; provide information and technical assistance to employers, workers, clinicians, and others related to lead poisoning prevention; and notify the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), upon receipt of a laboratory report indicating a blood lead level (BLL) that is injurious to the health of a worker, defined as ≥ 20 µg/dL, as required by Assembly Bill 35. This presentation will describe OLPPP’s surveillance system, summarize recent data trends of work-related BLLs in California, and highlight the results mandated by Assembly Bill 35.

11:10 AM - 12:25 PM: Cal/OSHA Revisions to Occupational Lead Standards with Susan Eckhardt, MPH, CIH

Cal/OSHA has adopted revisions to its standards for lead. The current standards have been in place since 1993 for Lead in Construction, and 1978 for General Industry. Much has changed since that time, including our understanding of the adverse effects of exposure to lead, and the best ways to protect the health of workers who may be occupationally exposed to lead. This presentation will discuss efforts to revise Cal/OSHA’s occupational lead standards, the goals to be achieved by revisions, and the means to achieve these goals. Included in the discussion will be an overview of changes in the revised lead standards.

12:25 PM - 12:30 PM: Wrap Up with Michael Cooper, CIH

Registration Fees

AIHA-NCS Members: $85.00

Government and University of California (UC) Employees: $85.00

General Registration: $105.00

Audience

This training is intended for occupational and environmental health and safety professionals including industrial hygienists, certified safety professionals, registered nurses, registered environmental health specialists, researchers, and other allied health professionals.

Accessibility:

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Will Bellamy at (510) 642-8365 or wbellamy@berkeley.edu.

Accreditation:

The Center for Occupational and Environmental Health designates this activity for a maximum of 3.0 Contact Hours. Participants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.

Board for Global EHS Credentialing:
Certified Industrial Hygienists (CIH) may be eligible to earn up to 3.0 contact hours for this event. Visit https://gobgc.org/applicants_CIH/ for more information.

Safety Professionals:
Certified Safety Professionals may be eligible to earn up to 3.0 contact hours for this event. Visit https://www.bcsp.org/safety-certifications/recertification for more information.

Nurses:
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 12983, for 3.0 contact hours.

MAX WEINTRAUB, MS

Chief, Renovation Section Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, California Department of Public Health

Max Weintraub is chief of the new Renovation Section in the California Department of Public Health Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch. From 2021 until earlier this year he was chief of the Lead Hazard Reduction Section in the Branch. He previously worked at the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, National Lead Information Center, and the US EPA where he was the technical expert in an enforcement case against Home Depot for lead-based paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule violations that resulted in a $20 million settlement. Max has been a lecturer at San Francisco State University, UC Davis, and UC Berkeley instructing courses on environmental justice and governance in California. He studied at UC Santa Cruz and the University of Michigan and now lives with his wife and daughter in Albany, CA.

JACQUELINE CHAN, MPH, CIH

Chief, Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch

Jackie Chan received her B.A. in Zoology at UCB, and her MPH from UCLA. She has worked as an industrial hygienist for 32 years. In addition to doing lead work in her 15 years with CDPH OHB, she has also worked on the topics of workplace violence, ergonomics, asthma, infectious disease, injuries, and work-related fatalities. Her previous jobs include the San Francisco Department of Public Health, various unions, Michigan State University, and Stanford University. She recently became the Chief of the Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.

SUSAN ECKHARDT, MPH, CIH

Senior Safety Engineer
Cal/OSHA Research and Standards Health Unit

Susan Eckhardt is a Senior Safety Engineer in Cal/OSHA’s Research and Standards Health Unit. She has over 30 years of experience in occupational health and safety, starting her career as an industrial hygienist at Hewlett-Packard (now HP) in Santa Clara, CA. Susan then joined Cal/OSHA, doing field enforcement work first as an industrial hygienist, and later as a safety engineer. She conducted over 700 on-site inspections during her time with Cal/OSHA Enforcement, investigating chemical and noise exposures, construction accidents, and much more. In 2016, Susan joined the Cal/OSHA Research and Standards Health Unit, where she has coordinated efforts to revise Cal/OSHA’s occupational lead standards.