ARTICLE 3. Hazardous Substances [6380. - 6386.]

Cal. Labor Code - LAB 3.

in effect

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6380. Section 6380.

For the purposes of this chapter, the director, pursuant to Section 6382, shall establish a list of hazardous substances and shall make the list available to manufacturers, employers, and the public. Substances on the list shall be designated by their chemical and common name or names. The director shall adopt, amend, and repeal regulations for the establishment of the list of hazardous substances pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6380.5. Section 6380.5.

(a) Prior to the director’s adoption of the list of hazardous substances, the director shall submit the list to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board for its approval. Within 90 days of receiving the list from the director, the board, after holding a hearing and considering the recommendations of the employers and employees who may be affected, shall do the following: (1) Determine whether the substances listed are properly listed as hazardous substances pursuant to the criteria of Section 6382. (2) Modify the list as necessary to achieve compliance with Section 6382. (3) Approve the list of hazardous substances. Upon receipt of the list approved by the board, the director shall adopt the list as a regulation pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6380. The inclusion or exclusion of any individual substance on the list of hazardous substances shall not be subject to Section 11346.2 or 11346.9 of the Government Code. (b) Prior to the director’s adoption of any additions to the list of hazardous substances pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6382, the director shall submit the additions to the board for its approval. Within 60 days of receiving the additions from the director, the board, after holding a hearing and considering the recommendations of the employers and employees who may be affected, shall do the following: (1) Determine whether the substances listed are properly listed as hazardous substances pursuant to the criteria of Section 6382. (2) Modify the additions as necessary to achieve compliance with Section 6382. (3) Approve the list of hazardous substances. Upon receipt of the additions approved by the board, the director shall adopt the additions as a regulation pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6380. The inclusion or exclusion of any individual substance on the list of hazardous substances shall not be subject to Section 11346.2 or 11346.9 of the Government Code.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6381. Section 6381.

Substances not present on the list of hazardous substances adopted pursuant to Section 6380 shall not be subject to the provisions of this chapter. However, the absence of designation as a hazardous substance in the list adopted pursuant to Section 6380 shall not in any way affect any other liability of an employer with regard to safeguarding the health and safety of an employee or other persons exposed to a toxic or hazardous substance; nor shall it affect any other duty or responsibility of a manufacturer, producer, or other maker to warn ultimate users of a substance pursuant to other provisions of law.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6382. Section 6382.

The director shall prepare and amend the list of hazardous substances according to the following procedure: (a) Any substance designated in any of the following listings in subdivision (b) shall be presumed by the director to be potentially hazardous and shall be included on the list; provided, that the director shall not list a substance or form of the substance from the listings in subdivision (b) if he or she finds, upon a showing pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 6380, that the substance as present occupationally is not potentially hazardous to human health; and provided further, that a substance, mixture, or product shall not be considered hazardous to the extent that the hazardous substance present is in a physical state, volume, or concentration for which there is no valid and substantial evidence that any adverse acute or chronic risk to human health may occur from exposure. (b) The listings referred to in subdivision (a) are as follows: (1) Substances listed as human or animal carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). (2) Those substances designated by the Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to Section 307 (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1317) and Section 311 (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1321) of the federal Clean Water Act of 1977 (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq.) or as hazardous air pollutants pursuant to Section 112 of the federal Clean Air Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7412) which have known, adverse human health risks. (3) Substances listed by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board as an airborne chemical contaminant pursuant to Section 142.3. (4) Those substances designated by the Director of Food and Agriculture as restricted materials pursuant to Section 14004.5 of the Food and Agricultural Code which have known, adverse human health risks. (5) Substances for which an information alert has been issued by the repository of current data established pursuant to Section 147.2. (c) The director shall at least every two years review the listings in subdivision (b) and shall revise the list to include new substances so listed or exclude substances no longer on the listings, pursuant to the standards set forth in subdivision (a). (d) Notwithstanding Section 6381, in addition to those substances on the director’s list of hazardous substances, any substance within the scope of the federal Hazard Communication Standard (29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200) is a hazardous substance subject to this chapter.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6383. Section 6383.

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, a hazardous substance is present in any mixture or product if it is present in any of the following concentrations: (1) One percent or more of the mixture or product. (2) Two percent of the mixture or product if the hazardous substance exists as an impurity in the mixture. (3) One-tenth of 1 percent of the mixture or product if the hazardous substance in the mixture or product is designated as a carcinogen pursuant to the Occupational Carcinogens Control Act of 1976 (Ch. 2 (commencing with Section 24200), Div. 20, H.& S.C.) or the federal Hazard Communication Standard (29 C.F.R. Sec. 1910.1200). The director may, by regulation, raise the concentration requirement for a hazardous substance which the director finds is not hazardous at the threshold levels; and, lower the concentration requirement for a hazardous substance for which there is valid and substantial evidence that the substance is extraordinarily hazardous. (b) The manufacturer of a hazardous substance shall notify the director of any valid evidence which indicates that the concentration requirement for a hazardous substance established pursuant to subdivision (a) is higher than what is necessary to protect employees who work with, or may be exposed to, the substance.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6384. Section 6384.

This chapter does not apply to impurities which develop as intermediate materials during chemical processing but are not present in the final product, and to which employee exposure is unlikely.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6385. Section 6385.

The provisions of this chapter do not apply to hazardous substances contained in either of the following: (a) Products intended for personal consumption by employees in the workplace, or consumer products packaged for distribution to, and use by, the general public. (b) Retail food sale establishments and all other retail trade establishments, exclusive of processing and repair work areas.

Cal. Labor Code - LAB § 6386. Section 6386.

(a) A laboratory in which a hazardous substance is used by or under the direct supervision of a technically qualified individual is not an employer or manufacturer for the purposes of this chapter. (b) This exemption does not excuse a laboratory from any of the following duties: (1) A laboratory employer shall ensure that labels of incoming containers of hazardous substances are not removed or defaced. (2) A laboratory employer shall maintain any material safety data sheets that are received with incoming shipments of hazardous substances and ensure that they are readily available to laboratory employees. (c) This exemption does not include a laboratory that primarily provides a quality control analysis for a manufacturing process or produces hazardous substances for commercial purposes. (d) “Technically qualified individual” means a person who, because of education, training, or experience, understands the risks associated with the use of the particular hazardous substance or mixture involved, and who conveys this knowledge to employees in terms of safe work practices.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026