(a) Whenever an employee mixes, loads, or applies a pesticide with the signal word “DANGER” or “WARNING” that contains an organophosphate or carbamate, for the commercial or research production of an agricultural plant commodity, the employer shall maintain use records that identify the employee, name of the pesticide and the date of use. The original or copies of documents otherwise required to be maintained by this chapter may be used to meet the requirements of this section provided they contain the information required by this section.

(b) Each employer who has an employee that regularly handles pesticides specified in (a) shall have a written agreement signed by a physician registered as a medical supervisor with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 105206, that includes the names and addresses of both the physician providing the medical supervision and the employer responsible for the employees, stating that the physician has agreed to provide medical supervision and that the physician possesses a copy of, and is aware of the contents of the document “Medical Supervision of Pesticide Workers-Guidelines for Physicians” (available from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment). A copy of this agreement shall be given to the commissioner by the employer no later than when an employee begins to regularly handle pesticides specified in (a).

(c) The employer's responsibilities for medical supervision for employees regularly handling pesticides specified in (a) shall include the following:

(d) The employer shall investigate the work practices of any employee whose red cell or plasma cholinesterase levels fall below 80% of the baseline. The investigation of work practices shall include a review of the safety equipment used and its condition; and the employee's work practices which included employee sanitation, pesticide handling procedures, and equipment usage. The employer shall maintain a written record of the findings, any changes in equipment or procedures and any recommendations made to the employee.

(e) The employer shall remove an employee from exposure to organophosphate or carbamate pesticides if the employee's plasma cholinesterase level falls to 60% or less of baseline, or if red cell cholinesterase falls to 70% or less of baseline. The employee shall be removed from further exposure until cholinesterase values return to 80% or more of their respective baseline values. The employer shall maintain written records of the dates of removal and the dates when employees are returned to exposure.

(f) To meet the requirements of these regulations, acetylcholinesterase (also known as red blood cell cholinesterase) and butyrylcholinesterase (also known as plasma or serum cholinesterase or pseudocholinesterase) tests ordered by a medical supervisor for occupational health surveillance shall be performed by a clinical laboratory currently approved by the California Department of Public Health to perform these tests. By January 1, 2000, tests shall be performed according to the procedures outlined below. If tests cannot be performed according to the following procedures, the conversion procedure outlined in 6728(f)(8) shall be performed.