HB0680 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 03973 KBJ 24006 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB0680

Introduced 2/6/2007, by Rep. Elaine Nekritz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Biomonitoring Safety Net Act. Requires the Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, to establish an Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program to monitor the presence and concentration of designated chemicals in the bodies of the people of this State. Requires the Department and Agency to establish a Scientific Guidance Panel to make recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the Program, including specific recommendations for chemicals that are priorities for biomonitoring, with members appointed by the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House. Designates the criteria for determining priority chemicals for inclusion in the Program. Requires that biomonitoring findings be disseminated to the general public and the Department, in collaboration with the Agency, submit a report every 2 years to the General Assembly containing the findings of the Program.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning public health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Biomonitoring Safety Net Act.

Section 5. Findings and purposes.

(a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:

(1) An estimated 100,000 chemicals are registered for use today in the United States. Another 2,000 chemicals are added each year.

(2) Some toxicological screening data exists for only 7% to 10% of these chemicals. More than 90% of these chemicals have never been tested for their effects on human health. Large numbers of these chemicals are found in cosmetics, personal care products, pesticides, food dyes, cleaning products, fuels, and plastics.

(3) As a result, people are exposed to chemicals daily. Many of these chemicals persist in the environment or accumulate and remain in body fat and have been shown to be toxic.

(4) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has documented the presence of 148 environmental chemicals in the blood and urine of Americans of all ages and races.

(b) The purposes of this Act are all of the following:

(1) To establish an Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program to monitor the presence and concentration of designated chemicals in the bodies of the people of this State.

(2) To produce biomonitoring studies that provide data helping scientists, researchers, public health personnel, and community members explore linkages between chemical exposure and health concerns.

(3) To collect biomonitoring data that supports Illinois public health by establishing trends in chemical exposures, validating modeling and survey methods, supporting epidemiological studies, identifying highly exposed communities, addressing the data gaps between chemical exposures and specific health outcomes, informing health responses to unanticipated emergency exposures, assessing the effectiveness of current regulations, and setting priorities for reform.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Department" means the Department of Public Health.

"Program" means the Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program.

Section 15. Environmental biomonitoring safety net. The Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish an Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program to monitor the presence and concentration of designated chemicals in the bodies of the people of this State. The Program shall utilize biological specimens, as appropriate, to identify designated chemicals that are present in the bodies of the people of this State. Biomonitoring shall take place on a strictly voluntary and confidential basis. Results reported shall not disclose individual confidential information of participants. Appropriate biological specimens must be used to monitor and assess the presence and concentration of designated chemicals. Biological specimens shall be analyzed by laboratories operated by the Department, the Agency, or their contractors.

All participants must be evaluated for the presence of designated chemicals as a component of the biomonitoring process. Individual participants may request and shall receive their complete results. When either physiological or chemical data obtained from a participant indicate a significant known risk, Program staff experienced in communicating biomonitoring results shall consult with the individual and recommend follow-up steps as appropriate.

The Program shall incorporate, as appropriate, the methods utilized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the studies known collectively as the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. The Department, in collaboration with the Program, shall conduct statistical and epidemiological analyses of the biomonitoring results. No governmental agency or private person or entity may discriminate against a person or community based upon the biomonitoring results.

Section 20. Scientific Guidance Panel. In implementing the Program, the Department and the Agency shall establish a Scientific Guidance Panel. The Panel shall be composed of 9 members, whose expertise shall encompass the disciplines of public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental medicine, risk analysis, exposure assessment, developmental biology, laboratory sciences, bioethics, maternal and child health with a specialty in breastfeeding, and toxicology. The Governor shall appoint 3 members to the Panel, the President of the Senate shall appoint 3 members, and the Speaker of the House shall appoint 3 members. Members shall be appointed for 3-year terms, except that, with respect to the initial appointees, each appointing power shall appoint one member for a one-year term and one member for a 2-year term. Members may be reappointed for additional terms without limitation. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments, and any member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred. The Panel shall meet, at a minimum, 3 times per year. The Agency shall be responsible for staffing and administration of the Panel. Members of the Panel shall be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties under this Act, but shall not receive a salary or compensation.

The Panel shall provide scientific peer review and make recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the Program, including specific recommendations for chemicals that are priorities for biomonitoring. The Panel shall retain final decision-making authority. The Panel shall recommend priority chemicals for inclusion in the Program using all of the following criteria:

(1) The degree of potential exposure to the public or specific subgroups, including, but not limited to, certain occupations.

(2) The likelihood of a chemical being a carcinogen or toxicant based on peer-reviewed health data, its chemical structure, or the toxicology of chemically related compounds.

(3) The limits of laboratory detection for the chemical, including the ability to detect the chemical at levels low enough to be expected in the general population.

(4) Any other criteria the Panel deems significant.

The Panel may recommend additional designated chemicals not included in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals for inclusion in the Program using all of the following criteria:

(A) Exposure or potential exposure to the public or specific subgroups.

(B) The known or suspected health effects resulting from some level of exposure based on peer-reviewed scientific studies.

(C) The need to assess the efficacy of public health actions to reduce exposure to a chemical.

Section 25. Dissemination of biomonitoring findings. The Department and the Agency shall disseminate biomonitoring findings to the general public via appropriate media, including governmental and other Internet websites, in a manner that is understandable to the average person.

Section 30. Program findings; report. Every 2 years, beginning on the effective date of this Act, the Department, in collaboration with the Agency, shall submit a report to the General Assembly containing the findings of the Program and shall include in the report additional activities and recommendations to date. Copies of the report shall be made available via appropriate media to the public.