Porn performers and regulators clash

In a four-hour hearing Tuesday that ranged from thick legalese to graphic descriptions of sex acts, officials and performers clashed over proposals for new safety regulations on the porn industry.

State officials insisted they were trying to protect those who make a living in the industry, not drive them out of state or shut them down.

But many performers and executives insisted tougher regulations would simply drive the multi-billion dollar industry out of state or underground. And they said the state's ideas for better protections on set were simply not practical for film.

"It's at the point where we feel we'll be working in hazmat suits," said adult performer Ela Darling.(cq)

The hearing was held in downtown Los Angeles by the state's Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Attorneys and performers alike dissected Cal/OSHA's 17-page proposal that mingled government legalese with sexually explicit language, including the occupational hazards of bodily secretions and the piercing of mucous membranes.

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