Public Act 095-0074
 
HB0680 Enrolled LRB095 03973 KBJ 24006 b

    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 Feasibility Study Act.
 
    Section 5. Findings and purposes.
     (a) The General Assembly finds all of the following:
        (1) An estimated 100,000 chemicals are on the U.S.
    Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Substances Control
    Act inventory and thousands are in commerce today in the
    United States.
        (2) These chemicals are regulated by the U.S.
    Environmental Protection Agency, in accordance with the
    Toxic Substances Control Act.
        (3) With advancements in analytical chemistry,
    scientists can now detect minute quantities of chemicals in
    humans.
        (4) Biomonitoring is one method for assessing human
    exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their
    breakdown products, known as metabolites, in human tissues
    or specimens, such as blood and urine. In studies conducted
    by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
    (CDC), biomonitoring data has helped to identify chemicals
    found in the environment and in human tissues, monitor
    changes in human exposure to those chemicals, and
    investigate the distribution of exposure among the general
    population. The CDC has developed standardized and
    validated analytical methods for measuring substances in
    humans. The CDC's National Exposure Report provides
    statistically valid distribution measurements of chemicals
    in the U.S. population, including specific age, gender, and
    ethnic groups. CDC continues to develop new validated
    methods, and as they do so additional chemicals are being
    reported.
     (b) The purpose of this Act is for the University of
Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Great Lakes Center for Occupational
and Environmental Safety and Health to conduct an Environmental
Contaminant Biomonitoring Feasibility Study (Study) that
proposes the best way to establish an Illinois Environmental
Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (Program) that will do all of
the following:
        (1) monitor the presence and concentration of
    designated chemicals in a representative sample of the
    population of this State;
        (2) produce biomonitoring studies that provide data
    for scientists, researchers, public health personnel, and
    community members to explore potential linkages between
    chemical exposure and health concerns; and
        (3) support 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 research.
 
    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
    "Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection
Agency.
    "Department" means the Illinois Department of Public
Health.
    "Panel" means the Scientific Guidance Panel.
    "Program" means the Illinois Environmental Contaminant
Biomonitoring Program.
    "Study" means the Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring
Feasibility Study.
 
    Section 15. Scientific Guidance Panel.
    (a) In implementing the Study, the Department and the
Agency shall establish a Scientific Guidance Panel. The
Directors of the Department and the Agency shall appoint the
members of the Panel. The Panel shall be composed of 11
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.
Members shall be appointed for 2-year terms. Members may be
reappointed for additional terms without limitation. Members
shall serve until their successors are appointed and have
qualified for membership on the Panel. 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.
    (b) The Panel shall provide guidance to UIC and make
recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the
Program. The Panel shall recommend:
        (1) scientifically sound Program design, rationale,
    and procedures for selecting and collecting biological
    samples and for selecting the populations for
    biomonitoring, taking into account both ethical issues and
    issues pertaining to confidentiality of data;
        (2) scientifically sound, peer-reviewed procedures for
    incorporating biomonitoring data into risk assessment
    guidance, policies and regulations;
        (3) procedures to accurately and effectively interpret
    and communicate biomonitoring results within the context
    of potential risks to human health; and
        (4) a procedure for selecting priority chemicals for
    inclusion in the Program using sound public health
    criteria, including all of the following criteria:
            (A) The degree of potential exposure to the public
        or specific subgroups, including, but not limited to,
        certain occupations.
            (B) 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.
            (C) The availability and the limits of validated
        laboratory detection for the chemical, including the
        ability to reliably detect and quantify the chemical at
        levels low enough to be expected in the general
        population.
    (c) 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:
        (1) Exposure or potential exposure to the public or
    specific subgroups.
        (2) The known or suspected health effects resulting
    from some level of exposure based on scientifically valid
    studies.
        (3) The need to assess the efficacy of public health
    actions to reduce exposure to a chemical causally
    associated with human health effects at environmentally
    relevant exposure levels.
        (4) The availability of a scientifically valid method
    for accurately and reliably measuring the chemical in human
    specimens.
 
    Section 20. Study report. Two years after the effective
date of this Act, UIC shall release a draft report for public
review and comment and for review by the Panel. The draft
report shall contain the findings of the Study and shall
include in the report recommended activities and estimated
costs of establishing the Program. The period for public
comment and review by the Panel shall last for 60 days. Within
90 days of the close of the public comment period, the draft
report shall be revised, taking into consideration the comments
received and the recommendations of the Panel. The final report
shall be submitted to the Governor and General Assembly.