(A) Definitions:
For purposes of this rule.
(1) "Employer"
means a public employer or any private employer who provides substances or
chemicals claimed to be trade secret or confidential information to a public
employer.
(2) "Health
professional" means a treating physician or nurse, or a physician,
toxicologist, or epidemiologist employed by or under contract with a public
employer.
(3) "Written
statement of need" means the request of a health professional for a
specific chemical identity that describes, with reasonable detail, one or more
of the following health needs for the information:
(a) To treat an individual that has been exposed to the
chemical concerned, and knowledge of the specific chemical identity of the
chemical is needed for diagnosis and treatment;
(b) To assess exposure of public employees to the hazard of
the chemicals or substances concerned;
(c) To conduct or assess sampling to determine exposure
levels of public employees exposed to the chemicals or substances
concerned;
(d) To conduct periodic medical surveillance of public
employees exposed to the chemical or substances concerned;
(e) To conduct studies to determine the health effects of
exposure to the chemical or substances concerned; or
(f) To conduct studies to aid in the identification of a
chemical that may reasonably be anticipated to cause an observed health
effect.
(B) An employer may not withhold from the
superintendent the specific chemical identity or other specific information
needed to fulfill the purposes of the act.
(C) The employer shall promptly provide
the specific chemical identity of the substance or chemical to any health
professional who submits to the employer a written statement of need for the
specific chemical identity. The employer may require the confidentiality
agreement specified in paragraph (E) of this rule as a precondition to
providing the information.
(D) The employer shall immediately
provide a copy of the safety data sheet and provide the specific chemical
identity of the substance or chemical, if known, to any health professional who
requests that information, if the health professional 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.
(E) The employer shall not require any
such health professional to provide a written confidentially agreement or
statement of need as a precondition for disclosure of a specific chemical
identity under the provisions contained in paragraph (D) of this rule; however,
the employer may require the health professional to provide a written statement
of need and a written confidentiality agreement under paragraph (F) of this
rule once circumstances permit.
(F) Any health professional who obtains information under
this rule shall enter into a written confidentiality agreement with the
employer that the health professional will not use the information obtained for
any purpose other than the safety and health needs asserted in the statement of
need, except as otherwise may be authorized by the terms of the
agreement.
