(a) In conducting the periodic review and revision of public health goals pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 116365, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment may give special consideration to those contaminants that, on the basis of currently available data or scientific evidence, cause or contribute to adverse health effects in members of subgroups that comprise a meaningful portion of the general population, including, but not limited to, infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with a history of serious illness, or other subgroups that are identifiable as being at greater risk of adverse health effects than the general population when exposed to the contaminant in drinking water.

(b) In preparing and publishing risk assessments pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 116365 that involve infants and children, the office shall assess all of the following, to the extent information is available:

(1) Exposure patterns, including, but not limited to, patterns determined by relevant data, among bottle-fed infants and children that are likely to result in disproportionately high exposure to contaminants in comparison to the general population.

(2) Special susceptibility of infants and children to contaminants in comparison to the general population.

(3) The effects on infants and children of exposure to contaminants and other substances that have a common mechanism of toxicity.

(4) The interaction of multiple contaminants on infants and children.

(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 678, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2005.)