(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.

(Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 584, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2002.)