(a) No person shall, on or after July 1, 1992, engage in the practice of an asbestos consultant as defined in Section 7181, or as a site surveillance technician as defined in Section 7182, unless he or she is certified by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health pursuant to regulations required by subdivision (b) of Section 9021.5 of the Labor Code.

(b) Certification as an asbestos consultant or site surveillance technician shall not be required when a licensed contractor or registered asbestos abatement contractor takes no more than 12 bulk samples of suspected asbestos-containing material that is required to be removed, repaired, or disturbed as part of a construction project in a residential dwelling solely for any of the following purposes: (1) bid preparation for asbestos abatement; (2) evaluating exposure to its own employees during construction or asbestos abatement; or (3) determining for its own purposes or for the purpose of communicating whether or not a contract for asbestos abatement has been satisfactorily completed. Persons taking samples for the purposes described in this section shall be certified building inspectors under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, as specified in Section 763 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, appendix (c) to subpart (e). No licensed contractor or asbestos abatement contractor may provide professional health and safety services or perform any asbestos risk assessment. A bid for asbestos abatement may communicate the results and location of sampling for the presence of asbestos and how the asbestos will be abated. This section does not affect the requirement that asbestos abatement contractors be registered under Section 6501.5 of the Labor Code, nor does it permit a licensed contractor or asbestos abatement contractor to perform clearance air monitoring following asbestos abatement, unless otherwise permitted by law.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 526, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)