CA AB1642

Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to adopt emergency regulations by July 1, 2027, establishing science-informed, health-based standards for testing and removing lead and asbestos from homes, schools, workplaces, and other structures after wildfires

Sets specific clearance thresholds for safe reoccupancy: lead levels must be ≤5 micrograms per square foot on floors and ≤40 micrograms per square foot on window sills; asbestos must be ≤1 structure per square centimeter

Mandates testing of indoor floors, window sills, horizontal surfaces, garages, attics, and HVAC systems, with additional testing required for combustion byproducts, heavy metals, cyanide, lithium, dioxins, furans, PAHs, and volatile organic compounds

Requires the department to adopt permanent regulations by July 1, 2028, for broader hazardous chemical standards developed in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, aimed at preventing new cancer cases attributable to wildfire contamination

Declared an urgency statute taking immediate effect due to the January 2025 Los Angeles County wildfires and the need to remediate contamination in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties