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(a) Commercial vendors are promoting Biological Agent Detectors that have not been scientifically validated to companies and institutions in San Francisco.
(b) "A single system that exhibits high specificity for detection of biological agents in the environment currently does not exist as a commercially available item." (Director of Homeland Security, Guide for the Selection of Biological Agent Detection for Emergency First Responders, March 2005 3.2) A lack of high specificity causes an unacceptably high rate of false alarms in biological agent detectors.
(c) According to a joint statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Director of Homeland Security, and the Centers for Disease Control, "Currently, there are no definitive field tests for identifying biological agents. Additional field testing can mislead response efforts by providing incorrect or incomplete results, and destroy limited materials critical for definitive laboratory testing required to facilitate any appropriate public health and law enforcement response." (Federal Bureau of Investigation/Director of Health Services/Centers for Disease Control Coordinated Document; Guidance on Initial Responses to a Suspicious Letter/Container – November 2, 2004)
(d) Biological Agent Detectors that are commercially available have not been scientifically validated or approved for use by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
(e) The currently available technology and protocols to confirm the presence or absence a bioterrorism attack are not well developed, which may result in prolonged and unnecessary closure of the identified facility and nearby buildings. (United States Government Accountability Office, Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, House Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives. Anthrax detection: Agencies need to validate sampling activities in order to increase confidence in negative results. March 2006)
(f) A false alarm of a possible bioterrorism attack may cause civil unrest, business disruptions, prolonged facility closure, and mental health consequences.
(g) Prolonged closure of facilities and adjacent buildings to perform environmental sampling may cause extended work stoppage and significant financial loss to businesses.
(h) An estimated cost to the City and County of San Francisco in responding to a false alarm of a Biological Agent Detector is over $700,000 per incident, with an additional $200,000 for each additional day of emergency response and restoration activities. The costs may include decontamination, environmental sampling, law enforcement, laboratory testing, public health surveillance, and facility restoration.
(i) The City and County of San Francisco has a response plan for the federal Director of Homeland Security Biowatch program that continuously collects air samples to test for key bioterrorism agents and uses a CDC-coordinated Laboratory Response Network for testing and confirmation. The Laboratory Response Network program has been scientifically validated by the CDC.
(j) Emergency responders of the City and County of San Francisco use a Suspicious Substance Response Plan. With guidance from this response plan, emergency responders systematically assess the threats, potential risks, and the appropriate screening tests. If determined to be appropriate, the emergency responders or the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) would collect the substance for testing at the CDC-coordinated Laboratory Response Network (LRN) reference laboratory at the California Department of Public Health. Using scientifically validated testing procedures, the LRN can produce reliable and validated test results within several hours.
(k) The San Francisco Director of Public Health and health professionals use medical and public health surveillance to detect any cases of bioterrorism.
(l) For these reasons, the City and County of San Francisco strongly discourages the purchase and use of Biological Agent Detectors by public institutions and businesses in San Francisco.
(m) If the National Science & Technology Council develops national equipment performance standards for biological agent detectors, the Department of Public Health shall make recommendation to the Board of Supervisors regarding whether to amend or repeal this legislation.
(Added by Ord. 211-11, File No. 110348, App. 11/3/2011, Eff. 12/3/2011)
(a) "Biological Agent" means any microorganism, including bacteria, virus, infectious substance or toxin, whether engineered or naturally occurring, or any component of such microorganism, bacteria, virus, infectious substance or toxin, capable of causing death, disease or other biological malfunction in a living organism.
(b) "Biological Agent Detection Facility Response Plan" means a plan developed and written to respond to a positive detection from a Biological Agent Detector including, but not limited to: emergency coordinators and contact information, notification protocol, evacuation procedures, air handling shutdown procedures, if relevant, procedures for collection of information on potentially exposed Persons, coordination with City agencies for any decontamination or post-exposure prophylaxis procedures, confirmation of Biodetector results procedures, plan training and maintenance, and device maintenance.
(c) "Biological Agent Detector" or "Biodetector" means a device or equipment that tests for a biological agent that may be used for a terrorism attack, and includes both mobile and fixed position devices. Biological Agent Detectors include only devices that identify pathogenic Biological Agents by genus or species (e.g. Bacillus anthracis, Franciscella tularensis, Brucella sp.), or specific toxin (e.g. ricin). This definition does not include screening devices to determine the presence of protein or biological materials.
(d) "Biological Agent Detector User" or "Detector User" means a Person who owns and deploys a Biological Agent Detector.
(e) "Certificate of Registration" means a certificate issued to a Biological Agent User und this Article.
(f) "Chief' means the Chief of the San Francisco Fire Department and his or her designee.
(g) "City" means the City and County of San Francisco.
(h) "Director" means the Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health or his or her designee.
(i) "False Alarm" means an event where a Biological Agent Detector signals a positive detection and follow up lab confirmation at a CDC approved Laboratory Response Network reference lab does not confirm the presence of a biological agent.
(j) "Fixed Position" means stationary and cannot be relocated readily.
(k) "Mobile" means capable of moving or being moved readily.
(l) "Person" means an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corporation,
partnership, association, but not a State or Federal governmental entity or agency.
(m) "Tax Collector" means the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector of the City and County of San Francisco.
Any Person who possesses or deploys a Biological Agent Detector shall for each building, obtain and keep current a Certificate of Registration with the Director. The Certificate of Registration shall identify each Biological Agent Detector possessed or deployed at the building.
(a) Every Person who is required to obtain a Certificate of Registration under this Article shall obtain a Certificate of Registration by filing a written application and Facility Response Plan with the Director upon forms furnished by the Director for that purpose, certifying that the Facility Response Plan meets the requirements of this Article, and paying the required fees. Every Person who intends to deploy a mobile Biodetector at more than one building must submit a Facility Response Plan for each building where the Biodetector User plans to deploy the device.
(b) Every Person who installs a Biodetector and where such an installation requires alteration of the building's structure, including but not limited to the fire alarm, electrical, plumbing, or communication systems, may be required to secure the necessary permits from the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection or the San Francisco Fire Department, as appropriate. In addition, the applicant for a Registration of Certification shall install and operate a Biodetector in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
(a) Upon receipt of an application, the Director may coordinate approval of the application with other directors of City departments. The Director may also request additional information from the applicant as needed to assess the application, including information regarding compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
(b) Applicants may be required to meet with the Director and other appropriate City agencies in order to coordinate potential emergency responses to an alarm indicated or transmitted by a Biological Agent Detector.
(c) If the application is denied, the Director shall so notify the applicant, including the reason(s) for the denial.
Certificates of Registration are non-transferable and may only be used by the Person who submitted the application under this Article.
Any Person possessing a Certificate of Registration issued under this Article must produce the Certificate of Registration for review by any City employee authorized to inspect the premises.
(a) The Biological Agent Detector User shall pay a fee for each Biological Agent Detector in order to obtain and maintain a Certificate of Registration. In the year that a Person applies for a new Certificate of Registration, the fee for the Department of Public Health shall be $3,140 for the first fixed position Biodetector and $200 for each additional fixed position Biodetector deployed within the same building. In the year that a Person applies for a new Certificate of Registration for a mobile Biodetector, the fee shall be $3,140 for each building where the Biological Agent Detector User plans to deploy the mobile Biodetector. The fee for the Fire Department shall be $220 per Biodetector, with $110 for each additional hour of review or inspection per Biodetector after the initial two hours. The Detector User must renew the Certificate of Registration annually as provided in this Article, and pay the fees for each Biological Agent Detector for the Certificate of Registration to remain valid. The fee for the Department of Public Health after the first year that a fixed position Biodetector is approved shall be $392 for the first fixed position Biodetector, and $50 for each additional fixed position Biodetector deployed within the same building. The fee for mobile devices after the first year the device is approved shall be $392 for each mobile device. The fee for the Fire Department in the years after an initial approval shall be $110 per Biodetector per hour of review or inspection. The fees shall be paid to the aforementioned Departments before the City approves or renews the Certificate of Registration and the Detector User activates or continues operation of the Biological Agent Detector.
(b) Beginning with fiscal year 2012-2013, fees set forth in this Article may be adjusted each year, without further action by the Board of Supervisors, as set forth in this Section.
Not later than April 1, the Director and the Chief shall report to the Controller the revenues generated by the fees for the prior fiscal year and the prior fiscal year's costs of operation, as well as any other information that the Controller determines appropriate to the performance of the duties set forth in this Article.
Not later than May 15, the Controller shall determine whether the current fees have produced or are projected to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed and that the fees will not produce revenue that is significantly more than the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed.
The Controller shall, if necessary, adjust the fees upward or downward for the upcoming fiscal year as appropriate to ensure that the program recovers the costs of operation without producing revenue which is significantly more than such costs. The adjusted rates shall become operative on July 1.
Any Person required to obtain a Certificate of Registration under this Article shall notify the Director within 10 days of any relevant or material change in the information contained in the application or of other relevant circumstances, including but not limited to, if the Person acquires an additional Biological Agent Detector, ceases to possess a Biological Agent Detector, or modifies the training, notification, or response plans for the Biological Agent Detector. Upon notification of such change, the Director may suspend, revoke, or amend the registration or direct that the Certificate of Registration holder submit an application for a new registration. If Director instructs a Person to submit an application for a new registration, that Person must do so within 30 days of the mailing of the notice by the Director.
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