Rep. Elaine Nekritz

Filed: 4/17/2007

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 680

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 680, AS AMENDED, by
3 replacing everything after the enacting clause with the
4 following:
 
5     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6 Biomonitoring Feasibility Study Act.
 
7     Section 5. Findings and purposes.
8      (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
9         (1) An estimated 100,000 chemicals are on the U.S.
10     Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Control
11     Act inventory and thousands are in commerce today in the
12     United States.
13         (2) These chemicals are regulated by the U.S.
14     Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the
15     Toxics Substances Control Act.
16         (3) With advancements in analytical chemistry,

 

 

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1     scientists can now detect minute quantities of chemicals in
2     humans.
3         (4) Biomonitoring is one method for assessing human
4     exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their
5     breakdown products, known as metabolites, in human tissues
6     or specimens, such as blood and urine. In studies conducted
7     by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
8     (CDC), biomonitoring data has helped to identify chemicals
9     found in the environment and in human tissues, monitor
10     changes in human exposure to those chemicals, and
11     investigate the distribution of exposure among the general
12     population. The CDC has developed standardized and
13     validated analytical methods for measuring substances in
14     humans. The CDC's National Exposure Report provides
15     statistically valid distribution measurements of chemicals
16     in the U.S. population, including specific age, gender, and
17     ethnic groups. CDC continues to develop new validated
18     methods, and as they do so additional chemicals are being
19     reported.
20      (b) The purpose of this Act is for the University of
21 Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Great Lakes Center for Occupational
22 and Environmental Safety and Health to conduct an Environmental
23 Contaminant Biomonitoring Feasibility Study (Study) that
24 proposes the best way to establish an Illinois Environmental
25 Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (Program) that will do all of
26 the following:

 

 

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1         (1) monitor the presence and concentration of
2     designated chemicals in a representative sample of the
3     population of this State;
4         (2) produce biomonitoring studies that provide data
5     for scientists, researchers, public health personnel, and
6     community members to explore potential linkages between
7     chemical exposure and health concerns; and
8         (3) support Illinois public health by establishing
9     trends in chemical exposures, validating modeling and
10     survey methods, supporting epidemiological studies,
11     identifying highly exposed communities, addressing the
12     data gaps between chemical exposures and specific health
13     outcomes, informing health responses to unanticipated
14     emergency exposures, assessing the effectiveness of
15     current regulations, and setting priorities for research.
 
16     Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
17     "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
18 Agency.
19     "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
20 Health.
21     "Panel" means the Scientific Guidance Panel.
22     "Program" means the Illinois Environmental Contaminant
23 Biomonitoring Program.
24     "Study" means the Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring
25 Feasibility Study.
 

 

 

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1     Section 15. Scientific Guidance Panel.
2     (a) In implementing the Study, the Department and the
3 Agency shall establish a Scientific Guidance Panel. The
4 Directors of the Department and the Agency shall appoint the
5 members of the Panel. The Panel shall be composed of 11
6 members, whose expertise shall encompass the disciplines of
7 public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental
8 medicine, risk analysis, exposure assessment, developmental
9 biology, laboratory sciences, bioethics, maternal and child
10 health with a specialty in breastfeeding, and toxicology.
11 Members shall be appointed for 2-year terms. Members may be
12 reappointed for additional terms without limitation. Members
13 shall serve until their successors are appointed and have
14 qualified for membership on the Panel. Vacancies shall be
15 filled in the same manner as the original appointments, and any
16 member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the
17 term for which the vacancy occurred. The Panel shall meet, at a
18 minimum, 3 times per year. The Agency shall be responsible for
19 staffing and administration of the Panel. Members of the Panel
20 shall be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses
21 incurred in the performance of their duties under this Act, but
22 shall not receive a salary or compensation.
23     (b) The Panel shall provide guidance to UIC and make
24 recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the
25 Program. The Panel shall recommend:

 

 

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1         (1) scientifically sound Program design, rationale,
2     and procedures for selecting and collecting biological
3     samples and for selecting the populations for
4     biomonitoring, taking into account both ethical issues and
5     issues pertaining to confidentiality of data;
6         (2) scientifically sound, peer-reviewed procedures for
7     incorporating biomonitoring data into risk assessment
8     guidance, policies and regulations;
9         (3) procedures to accurately and effectively interpret
10     and communicate biomonitoring results within the context
11     of potential risks to human health; and
12         (4) a procedure for selecting priority chemicals for
13     inclusion in Program using sound public health criteria,
14     including all of the following criteria:
15             (A) The degree of potential exposure to the public
16         or specific subgroups, including, but not limited to,
17         certain occupations.
18             (B) The likelihood of a chemical being a carcinogen
19         or toxicant based on peer-reviewed health data, its
20         chemical structure, or the toxicology of chemically
21         related compounds.
22             (C) The availability and the limits of validated
23         laboratory detection for the chemical, including the
24         ability to reliably detect and quantify the chemical at
25         levels low enough to be expected in the general
26         population.

 

 

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1     (c) The Panel may recommend additional designated
2 chemicals not included in the National Report on Human Exposure
3 to Environmental Chemicals for inclusion in the Program using
4 all of the following criteria:
5         (1) Exposure or potential exposure to the public or
6     specific subgroups.
7         (2) The known or suspected health effects resulting
8     from some level of exposure based on scientifically valid
9     studies.
10         (3) The need to assess the efficacy of public health
11     actions to reduce exposure to a chemical causally
12     associated with human health effects at environmentally
13     relevant exposure levels.
14         (4) The availability of a scientifically valid method
15     for accurately and reliably measuring the chemical in human
16     specimens.
 
17     Section 20. Study report. Two years after the effective
18 date of this Act, UIC shall release a draft report for public
19 review and comment and for review by the Panel. The draft
20 report shall contain the findings of the Study and shall
21 include in the report recommended activities and estimated
22 costs of establishing the Program. The period for public
23 comment and review by the Panel shall last for 60 days. Within
24 90 days of the close of the public comment period, the draft
25 report shall be revised, taking into consideration the comments

 

 

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1 received and the recommendations of the Panel. The final report
2 shall be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly.".