§ 24-709 Trade Secrets.
AC § 24-709
(a)Any person required under section 24-706 to submit information to the department may withhold from such submittal the specific chemical identity of a hazardous substance, including the chemical name and other specific identification, if such information has been withheld as a trade secret pursuant to section three hundred twenty-two of the emergency planning and community right-to-know act of nineteen hundred eighty-six (42 U.S.C. § 11001, et seq.), article forty-eight of the public health law or article twenty-eight of the labor law. No person shall be entitled to withhold such trade secret information from such submittal unless such person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the commissioner that such information has been so determined to be a trade secret and that such person has taken reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of such information and intends to continue to take such measures. The commissioner may grant a temporary extension of not more than thirty days from the reporting requirements of section 24-706 for the purpose of allowing such person to make such demonstration.
(b)With respect to any information not withheld as a trade secret in the manner described by subdivision (a) of this section, the commissioner may withhold from disclosure, pursuant to article six of the public officers law, (i) specific chemical identities, including chemical names and other specific information, which are trade secrets which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of a commercial enterprise or (ii) methods or processes described in plans filed pursuant to section 24-718 of this chapter entitled to protection as trade secrets. The commissioner shall promulgate by rule a procedure for implementing the provisions of this subdivision. The subdivision shall not be construed to affect, limit or modify in any manner the reporting requirements of section 24-706.
(c)1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in a response to an emergency caused by the presence or release of a hazardous substance, the commissioner shall make trade secret information about such hazardous substance available, upon request, to emergency response personnel responding to such an emergency.
2.Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for the purpose of medical diagnosis or treatment of an individual exposed to a hazardous substance, where the commissioner has withheld any information from disclosure pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, the person submitting such information to the department shall upon request disclose such information to medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, treating such an individual.
(d)Except as is necessary for the internal administration of the department or as is otherwise provided by subdivision (c) of this section, or by federal, state or local law, no person shall disclose to any other person any information, record or portions thereof received by the department pursuant to this chapter and determined by the commissioner to be a trade secret pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section. Each person having access to such information or records, including persons receiving such information or records pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section, shall, in a written confidentiality agreement with the person submitting such information to the department, agree that he or she will not use the information, record or portion thereof for any purpose other than internal administration of the department, response to an emergency caused by the presence or release of a hazardous substance, or medical diagnosis or treatment. In the case of a medical emergency, a written confidentiality agreement is not required as a precondition of disclosure pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section, but shall be entered into by the person receiving the information as soon as circumstances permit.
(e)Nothing in this section shall be constructed to affect, limit or modify in any manner the disclosure of any information to a health professional to the extent such disclosure is required or authorized pursuant to section three hundred twenty-three of the emergency planning and community right-to-know act of nineteen hundred eighty-six (42 U.S.C. § 11001, et seq.). Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1988/026 and L.L. 1993/092.
