LAW
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Ohio Laws and Rules
(A) In accordance with section 4167.12 of the Revised Code, all information reported to or otherwise obtained by the superintendent or the superintendent's designee in connection with any investigation, inspection, or proceeding that reveals a trade secret or confidential information as defined in any specific section of the Revised Code or federal law is confidential under the Ohio public employment risk reduction program.
(B) Information deemed to be a trade secret or confidential information may be disclosed by the superintendent or superintendent's designee to other agents or authorized representatives of the superintendent concerned with fulfilling the requirements of the act, or when relevant, to any proceeding under the act. In any proceeding, the superintendent or the court shall issue orders as appropriate to protect the confidentiality of trade secrets and confidential information.
(C) A public employer shall attempt to identify the existence of a trade secret or confidential information at the commencement of an inspection to the superintendent or superintendent's designee. In the event that the public employer does not identify the existence of a trade secret or confidential information at the commencement of an inspection, the public employer must do so at the earliest opportunity.
(D) A public employer who is claiming confidentiality on the basis of the existence of a trade secret or confidential information shall provide written substantiation to the superintendent of the claim.
(E) Any private sector employer who provides substances or chemicals claimed to be trade secret or confidential information to a public employer may not withhold from the superintendent or superintendent's designee the specific chemical identity or other specific information if needed to fulfill the purposes of the act.
(F) The public employer, or the private sector employer who provides substances or chemicals claimed to be trade secret or confidential information to the public employer, shall provide the specific chemical identity of the substance or chemical to any health professional who submits to the private sector employer a written request and statement of need for the specific chemical identity. The written statement of need shall be a statement of the health professional that there is a reasonable basis to believe that all of the following conditions pertain to the request:
(1) The information is needed for purposes of diagnosis or treatment of an individual;
(2) The individual being diagnosed or treated has been exposed to the chemical concerned; and
(3) Knowledge of the specific chemical identity of the chemical will assist in diagnosis and treatment.
An owner or operator to whom such a written request and statement of need is submitted shall provide the requested information to the health professional promptly after receiving the request and statement of need.
(G) The public employer, or the private sector employer who provides substances or chemicals claimed to be trade secret or confidential information shall provide a copy of a material safety data sheet or emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form that contains the specific chemical identity of a substance or chemical, if the specific chemical identity is known, to any treating physician or nurse who requests that information if the physician or nurse determines that all of the following conditions pertain to the request:
(1) A medical emergency exists;
(2) The specific chemical identity of the chemical concerned is necessary for or will assist in emergency or first aid diagnosis or treatment; and
(3) The individual being diagnosed or treated has been exposed to the chemical concerned.
The private sector employer shall provide the requested information to the physician or nurse immediately upon receiving such a request. The private sector employer shall not require any such treating physician or nurse to provide a written confidentially agreement or statement of need as a precondition for disclosure of a specific chemical identity under this division; however, the private sector employer may require the treating physician or nurse to provide a written confidentiality agreement under paragraph (J) of this rule and a statement setting forth the conditions listed in paragraph (I) of this rule as soon after the request is made as circumstances permit.
(H) The public employer or the private sector employer who provides substances or chemicals to the public employer, shall provide the specific chemical identity of a substance or hazardous chemical, if the specific chemical identity is known, to any health professional, including, without limitation, a physician, toxicologist, or epidemiologist, who is either employed by or under contract with a political subdivision and who submits to the owner or operator a written request for the information, a written statement of need for the information that meets the requirements of this paragraph, and a written confidentiality agreement under this section. The owner or operator shall promptly after receipt of the written request, statement of need, and confidentiality agreement provide the requested information to the local health professional who requested it.
(I) The written statement of need for a specific chemical identity shall describe with reasonable detail one or more of the following health needs for the information:
(1) To assess exposure of public employees to the hazard of the chemicals or substances concerned;
(2) To conduct or assess sampling to determine exposure levels of public employees exposed to the chemicals or substances concerned;
(3) To conduct periodic medical surveillance of public employees exposed to the chemical or substances concerned;
(4) To conduct studies to determine the health effects of exposure to the chemical or substances concerned.
(5) To conduct studies to aid in the identification of a chemical that may reasonably be anticipated to cause an observed health effect.
(J) Any person who obtains information under this rule shall, as a precondition for receiving that information, enter into a written confidentiality agreement with the public employer or private sector employer who provides trade secrets or confidential information to the public employer, that the persons will not use the information for any purpose other than the safety and health needs asserted in the statement of need provided, except as otherwise may be authorized by the terms of the agreement or by the person providing the information.
(K) The superintendent shall develop and implement policies and procedures to identify and secure information identified as a trade secret or confidential information to maintain confidentiality.
Eff 5-22-95; 11-15-96;
8-1-01
Rule promulgated under: RC
119.03
Rule authorized
by: RC 4167.02(F)
Rule amplifies: RC
4167.12
R.C.
119.032 review dates: 10/24/2008
and 10/01/2013