2016 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 19a - Public Health and Well-Being
Chapter 368a - Department of Public Health
Section 19a-110 - (Formerly Sec. 19-65e). Report of lead poisoning. Parental notification. Availability of information regarding lead poisoning.

(a) Not later than forty-eight hours after receiving or completing a report of a person found to have a level of lead in the blood equal to or greater than ten micrograms per deciliter of blood or any other abnormal body burden of lead, each institution licensed under sections 19a-490 to 19a-503, inclusive, and each clinical laboratory licensed under section 19a-30 shall report to (1) the Commissioner of Public Health, and to the director of health of the town, city, borough or district in which the person resides: (A) The name, full residence address, date of birth, gender, race and ethnicity of each person found to have a level of lead in the blood equal to or greater than ten micrograms per deciliter of blood or any other abnormal body burden of lead; (B) the name, address and telephone number of the health care provider who ordered the test; (C) the sample collection date, analysis date, type and blood lead analysis result; and (D) such other information as the commissioner may require, and (2) the health care provider who ordered the test, the results of the test. With respect to a child under three years of age, not later than seventy-two hours after the provider receives such results, the provider shall make reasonable efforts to notify the parent or guardian of the child of the blood lead analysis results. Any institution or laboratory making an accurate report in good faith shall not be liable for the act of disclosing said report to the Commissioner of Public Health or to the director of health. The commissioner, after consultation with the Commissioner of Administrative Services, shall determine the method and format of transmission of data contained in said report.

(b) Each institution or laboratory that conducts lead testing pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall, at least monthly, submit to the Commissioner of Public Health a comprehensive report that includes: (1) The name, full residence address, date of birth, gender, race and ethnicity of each person tested pursuant to subsection (a) of this section regardless of the level of lead in the blood; (2) the name, address and telephone number of the health care provider who ordered the test; (3) the sample collection date, analysis date, type and blood lead analysis result; (4) laboratory identifiers; and (5) such other information as the Commissioner of Public Health may require. Any institution or laboratory making an accurate report in good faith shall not be liable for the act of disclosing said report to the Commissioner of Public Health. The Commissioner of Public Health, after consultation with the Commissioner of Administrative Services, shall determine the method and format of transmission of data contained in said report.

(c) Whenever an institutional laboratory or private clinical laboratory conducting blood lead tests pursuant to this section refers a blood lead sample to another laboratory for analysis, the laboratories may agree on which laboratory will report in compliance with subsections (a) and (b) of this section, but both laboratories shall be accountable to insure that reports are made. The referring laboratory shall insure that the requisition slip includes all of the information that is required in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and that this information is transmitted with the blood specimen to the laboratory performing the analysis.

(d) The director of health of the town, city, borough or district shall provide or cause to be provided, to the parent or guardian of a child who is (1) known to have a confirmed venous blood lead level of five micrograms per deciliter of blood or more, or (2) the subject of a report by an institution or clinical laboratory, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, with information describing the dangers of lead poisoning, precautions to reduce the risk of lead poisoning, information about potential eligibility for services for children from birth to three years of age pursuant to sections 17a-248 to 17a-248g, inclusive, and laws and regulations concerning lead abatement. The director of health need only provide, or cause to be provided, such information to such parent or guardian on one occasion after receipt of an initial report of an abnormal blood lead level as described in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection. Such information shall be developed by the Department of Public Health and provided to each local and district director of health. With respect to the child reported, the director shall conduct an on-site inspection to identify the source of the lead causing a confirmed venous blood lead level equal to or greater than fifteen micrograms per deciliter but less than twenty micrograms per deciliter in two tests taken at least three months apart and order remediation of such sources by the appropriate persons responsible for the conditions at such source. On and after January 1, 2012, if one per cent or more of children in this state under the age of six report blood lead levels equal to or greater than ten micrograms per deciliter, the director shall conduct such on-site inspection and order such remediation for any child having a confirmed venous blood lead level equal to or greater than ten micrograms per deciliter in two tests taken at least three months apart.

(1971, P.A. 22, S. 1; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 87-394, S. 1, 7; P.A. 92-192, S. 1, 5; P.A. 93-321, S. 1, 6; 93-381, S. 9, 39; 93-435, S. 59, 95; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-9, S. 23, 50; P.A. 98-66; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2, S. 49, 50; P.A. 11-51, S. 76; P.A. 15-172, S. 1, 2.)

History: P.A. 77-614 replaced commissioner of health with commissioner of health services, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 19-65e transferred to Sec. 19a-110 in 1983; P.A. 87-394 substituted “.025” for “.04” milligrams in lead level measurement; P.A. 92-192 deleted requirement that practitioners of the healing arts report increased blood lead levels, deleted requirement of reports for suspected increase in blood lead level, changed reportable lead level from .025 milligrams per one hundred grams to ten micrograms per deciliter and added the requirement that the commissioner shall determine the method of transmission of data after consultation with the executive director of the office of information and technology; P.A. 93-321 added new Subsec. (b) requiring health directors to provide information to parents and guardians of children reported; P.A. 93-381 and P.A. 93-435 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-9 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “Chief Information Officer” for “executive director of the Office of Information and Technology”, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-66 amended Subsec. (a) by changing “registered” laboratories to “licensed” laboratories, changing “address” to “full residence address”, replacing “such other relevant information as said commissioner may require” with “gender, race and ethnicity”, adding Subdivs. (2), (3) and (4), replacing “such a report” with “an accurate report”, deleting immunity from civil or criminal liability and adding “not liable for the act of disclosing said report to the commissioner or to the director of health”, made a technical change re title of Chief Information Officer and required commissioner to determine “format” as well as method, added new Subsecs. (b) and (c) and relettered Subsec. (b) as (d); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-2 amended Subsec. (a) to extend applicability to all clinical laboratories, not just private clinical laboratories, to trigger reporting requirements when blood lead analysis results equal or exceed 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood, to redesignate existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subparas. (A) to (D), to designate as Subdiv. (1) existing provisions re reports to Commissioner of Public Health and local directors of health and to add new Subdiv. (2) re reports to health care providers and notice to parents and guardians, effective October 1, 2007, and amended Subsec. (d) to require local directors of health to provide parents and guardians with information about potential eligibility for birth-to-three services and to add provisions requiring such directors to conduct inspections and order remediation whenever a confirmed venous blood lead level equals or exceeds 15 micrograms per deciliter but is less than 20 micrograms per deciliter or, on and after January 1, 2012, equals or exceeds 10 micrograms per deciliter, effective January 1, 2009; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Chief Information Officer of the Department of Information Technology” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Administrative Services” in Subsecs. (a) and (b), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 15-172 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by adding reference to district and amended Subsec. (d) by adding reference to district, replacing provision re child reported pursuant to Subsec. (a) with Subdiv. (1) re child known to have certain confirmed venous blood lead level and Subdiv. (2) re child who is the subject of a report and adding provision re information to be provided on one occasion.