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1     AN ACT concerning public health.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Biomonitoring Feasibility Study Act.
 
6     Section 5. Findings and purposes.
7      (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
8         (1) An estimated 100,000 chemicals are on the U.S.
9     Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Control
10     Act inventory and thousands are in commerce today in the
11     United States.
12         (2) These chemicals are regulated by the U.S.
13     Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the
14     Toxic Substances Control Act.
15         (3) With advancements in analytical chemistry,
16     scientists can now detect minute quantities of chemicals in
17     humans.
18         (4) Biomonitoring is one method for assessing human
19     exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their
20     breakdown products, known as metabolites, in human tissues
21     or specimens, such as blood and urine. In studies conducted
22     by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
23     (CDC), biomonitoring data has helped to identify chemicals

 

 

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1     found in the environment and in human tissues, monitor
2     changes in human exposure to those chemicals, and
3     investigate the distribution of exposure among the general
4     population. The CDC has developed standardized and
5     validated analytical methods for measuring substances in
6     humans. The CDC's National Exposure Report provides
7     statistically valid distribution measurements of chemicals
8     in the U.S. population, including specific age, gender, and
9     ethnic groups. CDC continues to develop new validated
10     methods, and as they do so additional chemicals are being
11     reported.
12      (b) The purpose of this Act is for the University of
13 Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Great Lakes Center for Occupational
14 and Environmental Safety and Health to conduct an Environmental
15 Contaminant Biomonitoring Feasibility Study (Study) that
16 proposes the best way to establish an Illinois Environmental
17 Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (Program) that will do all of
18 the following:
19         (1) monitor the presence and concentration of
20     designated chemicals in a representative sample of the
21     population of this State;
22         (2) produce biomonitoring studies that provide data
23     for scientists, researchers, public health personnel, and
24     community members to explore potential linkages between
25     chemical exposure and health concerns; and
26         (3) support Illinois public health by establishing

 

 

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1     trends in chemical exposures, validating modeling and
2     survey methods, supporting epidemiological studies,
3     identifying highly exposed communities, addressing the
4     data gaps between chemical exposures and specific health
5     outcomes, informing health responses to unanticipated
6     emergency exposures, assessing the effectiveness of
7     current regulations, and setting priorities for research.
 
8     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
9     "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
10 Agency.
11     "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
12 Health.
13     "Panel" means the Scientific Guidance Panel.
14     "Program" means the Illinois Environmental Contaminant
15 Biomonitoring Program.
16     "Study" means the Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring
17 Feasibility Study.
 
18     Section 15. Scientific Guidance Panel.
19     (a) In implementing the Study, the Department and the
20 Agency shall establish a Scientific Guidance Panel. The
21 Directors of the Department and the Agency shall appoint the
22 members of the Panel. The Panel shall be composed of 11
23 members, whose expertise shall encompass the disciplines of
24 public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental

 

 

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1 medicine, risk analysis, exposure assessment, developmental
2 biology, laboratory sciences, bioethics, maternal and child
3 health with a specialty in breastfeeding, and toxicology.
4 Members shall be appointed for 2-year terms. Members may be
5 reappointed for additional terms without limitation. Members
6 shall serve until their successors are appointed and have
7 qualified for membership on the Panel. Vacancies shall be
8 filled in the same manner as the original appointments, and any
9 member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the
10 term for which the vacancy occurred. The Panel shall meet, at a
11 minimum, 3 times per year. The Agency shall be responsible for
12 staffing and administration of the Panel. Members of the Panel
13 shall be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses
14 incurred in the performance of their duties under this Act, but
15 shall not receive a salary or compensation.
16     (b) The Panel shall provide guidance to UIC and make
17 recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the
18 Program. The Panel shall recommend:
19         (1) scientifically sound Program design, rationale,
20     and procedures for selecting and collecting biological
21     samples and for selecting the populations for
22     biomonitoring, taking into account both ethical issues and
23     issues pertaining to confidentiality of data;
24         (2) scientifically sound, peer-reviewed procedures for
25     incorporating biomonitoring data into risk assessment
26     guidance, policies and regulations;

 

 

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1         (3) procedures to accurately and effectively interpret
2     and communicate biomonitoring results within the context
3     of potential risks to human health; and
4         (4) a procedure for selecting priority chemicals for
5     inclusion in the Program using sound public health
6     criteria, including all of the following criteria:
7             (A) The degree of potential exposure to the public
8         or specific subgroups, including, but not limited to,
9         certain occupations.
10             (B) The likelihood of a chemical being a carcinogen
11         or toxicant based on peer-reviewed health data, its
12         chemical structure, or the toxicology of chemically
13         related compounds.
14             (C) The availability and the limits of validated
15         laboratory detection for the chemical, including the
16         ability to reliably detect and quantify the chemical at
17         levels low enough to be expected in the general
18         population.
19     (c) The Panel may recommend additional designated
20 chemicals not included in the National Report on Human Exposure
21 to Environmental Chemicals for inclusion in the Program using
22 all of the following criteria:
23         (1) Exposure or potential exposure to the public or
24     specific subgroups.
25         (2) The known or suspected health effects resulting
26     from some level of exposure based on scientifically valid

 

 

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1     studies.
2         (3) The need to assess the efficacy of public health
3     actions to reduce exposure to a chemical causally
4     associated with human health effects at environmentally
5     relevant exposure levels.
6         (4) The availability of a scientifically valid method
7     for accurately and reliably measuring the chemical in human
8     specimens.
 
9     Section 20. Study report. Two years after the effective
10 date of this Act, UIC shall release a draft report for public
11 review and comment and for review by the Panel. The draft
12 report shall contain the findings of the Study and shall
13 include in the report recommended activities and estimated
14 costs of establishing the Program. The period for public
15 comment and review by the Panel shall last for 60 days. Within
16 90 days of the close of the public comment period, the draft
17 report shall be revised, taking into consideration the comments
18 received and the recommendations of the Panel. The final report
19 shall be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly.