2009 California Business and Professions Code - Section 7180-7189.7 :: Article 11. Asbestos Consultants

7180.  (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.

7180.5.  When a building owner or operator engages the services of a
person to perform asbestos consulting or site surveillance
technician activities as defined in Sections 7181 and 7182 after July
1, 1992, the building owner or operator shall contract with a person
who is certified by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health
pursuant to the regulations required by subdivision (b) of Section
9021.5 of the Labor Code.

7181.  An "asbestos consultant," as used in this chapter, means any
person who contracts to provide professional health and safety
services relating to asbestos-containing material, as defined in
subdivision (b) of Section 6501.8 of the Labor Code, including
building inspections, abatement project design, contract
administration, supervision of site surveillance technicians as
defined in Section 7182, sample collections, preparation of asbestos
management plans, and clearance air monitoring.

7182.  A "site surveillance technician" means any person who acts as
an independent onsite representative of an asbestos consultant who
monitors the asbestos abatement activities of others, provides
asbestos air monitoring services for area and personnel samples, and
performs building surveys and contract administration at the
direction of an asbestos consultant.

7183.  (a) Within 15 days of receipt of an application for
certification pursuant to this article, the division shall inform the
applicant in writing either (1) that the application is complete and
accepted, or (2) that it is deficient and that additional
information, documentation, or examination, specified in the
notification, is required to complete the application. Within 45 days
of the date of filing of a completed application, the division shall
issue to each person who qualifies for certification pursuant to
this article, a certification card which shall identify the holder
thereof and the type of certification for which he or she has
qualified. If the division cannot comply with the notification
deadlines specified in this section, the division shall issue a
provisional certification card until all procedures specified in this
section are completed.
   (b) The certification required by this article shall satisfy all
certification requirements of the division for asbestos consultants
and site surveillance technicians.

7183.5.  The division shall enforce this article. In the event the
division determines that a certified asbestos consultant or site
surveillance technician obtained certification under false pretenses,
or that a certified asbestos consultant or site surveillance
technician acted in a grossly negligent or fraudulent manner, or
engaged in repeated acts of negligence, the division shall revoke
that person's certification. The division shall only revoke a
certification after complying with all of the procedural requirements
of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Division 3 of Part 1
of Title 2 of the Government Code.

7184.  A person shall qualify as a certified asbestos consultant by
meeting all of the following requirements:
   (a) Having any one of the following:
   (1) One year of asbestos-related experience, and a bachelor of
science degree in engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene,
construction management, or a related biological or physical science.
   (2) Two years of asbestos-related experience, and a bachelor's
degree.
   (3) Three years of asbestos-related experience, and an associate
of arts degree in engineering, architecture, industrial hygiene,
construction management, or a related biological or physical science.
   (4) Four years of asbestos-related experience and a high school
diploma or its equivalent.
   (b)  Possession of a valid federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency
Response Act (Subchapter II (commencing with Section 2641) of Chapter
53 of Title 15 of the United States Code) certificate for the type
of work being performed, or its equivalent, as determined by the
division.
   (c) Demonstration of proficiency by achieving a passing score as
determined by the division on an examination approved or administered
by the division including, but not limited to, the following
subjects:
   (1) Physical characteristics of asbestos.
   (2) Health effects of asbestos.
   (3) Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Environmental Protection
Agency, air quality management districts, and State Department of
Health Services regulatory requirements, including protective
clothing, respiratory protection, exposure limits, personal hygiene,
medical monitoring, disposal, and general industry safety hazards.
   (4) State-of-the-art asbestos abatement and control work
procedures. The division shall define and incorporate into the
certification standards the term "state-of-the-art" for purposes of
this article, in the regulations required by subdivision (b) of
Section 9021.5 of the Labor Code.
   (5) Federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act training
information and procedures for inspectors, management planners, and
supervisors, as provided for under Subchapter II (commencing with
Section 2641) of Chapter 53 of Title 15 of the United States Code, or
the equivalent, as determined by the division.
   (6) Information concerning industrial hygiene sampling
methodology, including asbestos sampling and analysis techniques and
recordkeeping.

7185.  A person shall qualify as a certified site surveillance
technician by meeting all of the following requirements:
   (a) Having six months of asbestos-related experience under the
supervision of an asbestos consultant.
   (b) Possession of a high school diploma or equivalent.
   (c)  Possession of a valid federal Asbestos Hazard Emergency
Response Act (Subchapter II (commencing with Section 2641) of Chapter
53 of Title 15 of the United States Code) certificate for the type
of work being performed, or its equivalent, as determined by the
division.
   (d) Demonstration of proficiency by achieving a passing score, as
determined by the division, on an examination approved or
administered by the division covering the following subjects:
   (1) Physical characteristics of asbestos.
   (2) Health effects of asbestos.
   (3) Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Environmental Protection
Agency, air quality management districts, and State Department of
Health Services regulatory requirements, including protective
clothing, respiratory protection, exposure limits, personal hygiene,
medical monitoring, and general industry safety hazards.
   (4) State-of-the-art asbestos abatement and control work
procedures.
   (5) Industrial hygiene sampling methodology, including sampling
techniques and recordkeeping.

7187.  When a building owner or operator contracts with an asbestos
consultant or site surveillance technician for performance of the
activities described in Sections 7181 and 7182, that asbestos
consultant or site surveillance technician shall not have any
financial or proprietary interest in an asbestos abatement contractor
hired for the same project. However, this section shall not preclude
the hiring of a consultant by a contractor for the purpose of
providing health and safety services for the personnel of the
contractor. This section shall not apply 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 licensed
contractor or asbestos abatement contractor may seek compensation for
bid preparation, including the cost of laboratory analysis of
asbestos-containing material.
   It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to
make certain that the asbestos-related work performed by a
consultant, including, but not limited to, clearance air monitoring,
project design, and contract administration, is performed in a manner
which provides for independent professional judgment undertaken
without consideration of the financial or beneficial interest of the
contractor.

7189.  Any person who engages in the practices of an asbestos
consultant or a site surveillance technician, who is not certified
pursuant to this article, or who violates Section 7187, is subject to
one of the following penalties:
   (a) Conviction of a first offense is an infraction punishable by a
fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more than
three thousand dollars ($3,000).
   (b) Conviction of a subsequent offense is a misdemeanor requiring
revocation or suspension of any asbestos consultant's or site
surveillance technician's certification, and a fine not not less than
three thousand dollars ($3,000) or more than five thousand dollars
($5,000), or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year,
or both the fine and imprisonment.
   The division shall only impose these penalties after complying
with all of the procedural requirements of Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 11500) of Division 3 of Part 1 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.

7189.5.  This article shall apply to asbestos abatement projects
within the meaning of asbestos-related work as defined in Section
6501.8 of the Labor Code, and which involves 100 square feet or more
of surface area of asbestos containing material.

7189.7.  (a) Nothing in this article shall be construed to require
agencies of the state to contract with asbestos consultants or site
surveillance technicians who are not employees of the state as long
as employees of the state who are assigned to perform the activities
described in Sections 7181 and 7182 have been certified by the
division pursuant to the regulations required by subdivision (b) of
Section 9021.5 of the Labor Code. Where feasible, the state shall
assign a state civil service classification of associate industrial
hygienist or senior industrial hygienist to carry out asbestos
consultation activities as described in Section 7181 for state-owned
and leased buildings. The individuals in the classification assigned
shall be certified as required in this article before performing
these activities.
   (b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to require
attorneys who provide legal advice on asbestos-related matters to
building owners or operators to be certified by the division pursuant
to the regulations required by subdivision (b) of Section 9021.5 of
the Labor Code.