§ 19a-110 — (Formerly Sec. 19-65e). Report of lead poisoning. Parental notification. Availability of information regarding lead poisoning.

Connecticut § 19a-110

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 19a: Public Health and Well-Being
• Ch. 368a: Department of Public Health

Text

(a) As used in this section, and sections 19a-110a to 19a-111k, inclusive: (1) “Abatement” means any set of measures designed to reduce or eliminate lead hazards, including, but not limited to, the encapsulation, replacement, removal, enclosure or covering of paint, plaster, soil or other material containing toxic levels of lead and all preparation, clean-up, disposal and reoccupancy clearance testing; (2) “Epidemiological investigation” means an examination and evaluation by a lead inspector certified under chapter 400c to determine the cause of elevated blood levels, detect lead-based paint and report findings and (A) includes (i) an on-site inspection and, if applicable, an inspection of other dwellings or areas frequented by a person with elevated blood lead levels that may be the source of a lead hazard, and (ii) an evaluation of other potential sources of lead hazards, including, but not limited to, drinking water, soil, dust, pottery, gasoline, toys or occupational exposure, and (B) may include isotopic analysis of lead-containing items; (3) “Lead screening” means a blood lead test from a finger-prick or venous blood draw; (4) “On-site inspection” means an examination of a residential dwelling to identify lead hazards, including, but not limited to, an examination of the dwelling for deteriorating paint, lead dust, bare soil near the perimeter of the dwelling, household items that may present a potential lead risk, such as toys, cookware, food products and cosmetics, and an inquiry into the water system serving the dwelling; (5) “Remediation” means the process of remedying a lead hazard condition, including, but not limited to, investigation, abatement and, if appropriate, ongoing management measures; and (6) “Risk assessment” means the collection of information about a person's potential lead exposures and a determination of whether such person has an increased likelihood of an elevated blood lead level. (b) 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 three and one-half 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-565 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 three and one-half 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, in a form and manner as prescribed by the commissioner, 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 twenty-four 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 such report to the Commissioner of Public Health or to the director of health. The commissioner shall determine the form and manner of transmission of data contained in such report. (c) Each institution or laboratory that reports lead testing pursuant to 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 (b) 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 such report to the Commissioner of Public Health. The Commissioner of Public Health shall determine the form and manner of transmission of data contained in such report. (d) Whenever an institutional laboratory or private clinical laboratory reporting 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 (b) and (c) of this section, but both laboratories shall be accountable to ensure that reports are made. The referring laboratory shall ensure that the requisition slip includes all of the information that is required in subsections (b) and (c) of this section and that this information is transmitted with the blood specimen to the laboratory performing the analysis.

Legislative History

(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; P.A. 22-49, S. 1; 22-118, S. 149; P.A. 23-31, S. 29.) 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; P.A. 22-49 amended Subsec. (a) by decreasing the blood lead level minimum from 10 micrograms per deciliter to 3 and one-half micrograms per deciliter and making technical changes, Subsecs. (b) and (c) by making technical changes, and Subsec. (d) by decreasing the blood lead level minimum from 5 micrograms per deciliter to 3 and one-half micrograms per deciliter, replacing “17a-248g” with “17a-248i” and redesignating existing provisions re conducting an on-site inspection as Subsec. (e) and amended same by adding a January 1, 2024, deadline, decreasing the blood lead level minimum from 15 micrograms per deciliter to 10 micrograms per deciliter and the blood lead level maximum from 20 micrograms per deciliter to 15 micrograms per deciliter, making a technical change, deleting provisions re an on-site inspection on and after January 1, 2012, and adding provisions re an on-site inspection from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, effective January 1, 2023; P.A. 22-118 made identical changes as P.A. 22-49, effective January 1, 2023; P.A. 23-31 added new Subsec. (a) re definitions of “abatement”, “epidemiological investigation”, “lead screening”, “on-site inspection”, “remediation” and “risk assessment”, redesignated existing Subsec. (a) as Subsec. (b), amended Subsec. (b)(1)(D) by adding “in a form and manner as prescribed by the commissioner,”, amended Subsec. (b)(2) by replacing “seventy-two hours” with “twenty-four hours”, redesignated existing Subsecs. (b) and (c) as Subsecs. (c) and (d), deleted former Subsecs. (d) and (e), replaced references to conducting with references to reporting and “method and format” with “form and manner” throughout, deleted “, after consultation with the Commissioner of Administrative Services,” throughout, and made conforming changes throughout.