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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2179 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

  2d Session
                                S. 2179

 To protect children and other vulnerable subpopulations from exposure 
      to certain environmental pollutants, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 30, 1996

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To protect children and other vulnerable subpopulations from exposure 
      to certain environmental pollutants, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Environmental Protection 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN.

    The Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

            ``TITLE V--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN

``SEC. 501. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

    ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            ``(1) public health and safety depends on citizens and 
        local officials knowing the toxic dangers that exist in their 
        communities and neighborhoods;
            ``(2) children and other vulnerable subpopulations are more 
        at risk from environmental pollutants than adults and therefore 
        face unique health threats that need special attention;
            ``(3) a study conducted by the National Academy of Sciences 
        on the effects of pesticides in the diets of infants and 
        children concluded that current approaches to risk assessment 
        typically do not consider risks to children and, as a result, 
        current standards and tolerances often fail to adequately 
        protect infants and children;
            ``(4) risk assessments of pesticides and other 
        environmental pollutants conducted by the Environmental 
        Protection Agency do not clearly differentiate between the 
        risks to children and the risks to adults;
            ``(5) data are lacking that would allow adequate 
        quantification and evaluation of child-specific and other-
        vulnerable-subpopulation-specific susceptibility and exposure 
        to environmental pollutants; and
            ``(6) the absence of data precludes effective government 
        regulation of environmental pollutants, and denies individuals 
        the ability to exercise a right to know and make informed 
        decisions to protect their families.
    ``(b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States that--
            ``(1) all environmental and public health standards set by 
        the Environmental Protection Agency must be adequate to protect 
        children and other vulnerable subpopulations that are at 
        greater risk from exposure to environmental pollutants;
            ``(2) adequate hazard data should be developed with respect 
        to the special vulnerability and exposure to environmental 
        pollutants of children and other vulnerable subpopulations to 
        better assess where, and at what levels, children and other 
        vulnerable subpopulations are being exposed;
            ``(3) scientific research opportunities should be 
        identified by the Environmental Protection Agency to study the 
        health effects of cumulative and simultaneous exposures of 
        children and other vulnerable subpopulations to environmental 
        pollutants;
            ``(4) information should be made readily available by the 
        Environmental Protection Agency to the general public to 
        advance the public's right-to-know, and allow the public to 
        avoid unnecessary and involuntary exposure; and
            ``(5) a family right-to-know initiative should be developed 
        by the Environmental Protection Agency to provide parents with 
        basic information so the parents can make informed choices to 
        protect their children from environmental health threats in 
        their homes, schools, and communities.

``SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this title:
            ``(1) Children.--The term `children' includes adolescents 
        and infants.
            ``(2) Environmental pollutant.--The term `environmental 
        pollutant' means a hazardous substance, as defined in section 
        101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
        and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601), or a pesticide, as 
        defined in section 2 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
        Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136).
            ``(3) User.--The term `user' means any commercial 
        applicator of, or any person who applies, an environmental 
        pollutant in a school, park, or public area that is reasonably 
        accessible to children.
            ``(4) Vulnerable subpopulations.--The term `vulnerable 
        subpopulations' means children, pregnant women, the elderly, 
        individuals with a history of serious illness, and other 
        subpopulations identified by the Administrator as likely to 
        experience elevated health risks from environmental pollutants.

``SEC. 503. FAMILY RIGHT-TO-KNOW INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall work with each State to 
develop a family right-to-know initiative in accordance with this 
section.
    ``(b) Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall make grants to 
        States to develop and carry out a family right-to-know 
        initiative in accordance with this section.
            ``(2) Terms and conditions.--Grants made under this 
        subsection shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the 
        Administrator establishes to further the purposes of this 
        title.
    ``(c) Requirements of Initiative.--A State carrying out a family 
right-to-know initiative shall--
            ``(1) require that any user who applies an environmental 
        pollutant in a public area that is reasonably accessible to 
        children complete a simple, easy-to-understand form that 
        provides the amount of environmental pollutant applied, where 
        the environmental pollutant was applied, and when the 
        environmental pollutant was applied;
            ``(2) work with the Administrator to--
                    ``(A) develop a uniform definition of the term 
                `public area that is reasonably accessible to children' 
                for purposes of this section, that shall include, at a 
                minimum, schools, shopping malls, movie theaters, and 
                parks;
                    ``(B) develop a uniform form to be completed by 
                users under paragraph (1);
                    ``(C) determine the manner and length of time of 
                keeping the forms completed by users; and
                    ``(D) determine the format for reporting 
                information collected under paragraph (1) to the 
                public;
            ``(3) prepare annual State reports summarizing the 
        information collected under paragraph (1) for distribution to 
        the Administrator;
            ``(4) provide the public with copies of annual State 
        reports and local recordkeeping for schools, parks, and public 
        areas;
            ``(5) make State reports available to the public on the 
        Internet;
            ``(6) provide the Administrator with such data as the 
        Administrator requests to prepare a nationwide survey under 
        subsection (d); and
            ``(7) satisfy such other requirements as the Administrator 
        prescribes to carry out this section.
    ``(d) Nationwide Surveys.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall prepare a 
        biennial nationwide survey of the information collected under 
        this section.
            ``(2) Assessment.--The nationwide survey shall assess the 
        extent to which environmental pollutants are present in private 
        office and commercial buildings that are reasonably accessible 
        to children.
            ``(3) Recommendation.--The nationwide survey shall 
        recommend whether public recordkeeping and public reporting 
        concerning application of environmental pollutants in areas 
        that are reasonably accessible to children should be required.
    ``(e) Public Availability of Information.--
            ``(1) In general.--On request by a member of the public, 
        the Administrator shall provide a copy of any State report or 
        nationwide survey prepared under this section.
            ``(2) Internet.--The Administrator shall make any State 
        report or nationwide survey prepared under this section 
        available to the public on the Internet.

``SEC. 504. SAFE SCHOOLS AND PARKS.

    ``(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this title, the Administrator shall--
            ``(1) identify hazardous substances and pesticides commonly 
        used in schools and parks;
            ``(2) create, after peer review, a list of the substances 
        identified in paragraph (1) with high hazard health risks to 
        children and other vulnerable subpopulations;
            ``(3) make the list created under paragraph (2) available 
        to the public;
            ``(4) review the list created under paragraph (2) on a 
        biennial basis; and
            ``(5) develop and issue an Environmental Protection Agency 
        approved sign and label for posting by a school or park to 
        indicate that high hazard environmental pollutants were not 
        used in the school or park.
    ``(b) Cooperation.--The Administrator shall work with the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary 
of the Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure wide public 
distribution of the list created under subsection (a)(2).
    ``(c) Compliance by Schools and Parks.--Not later than 1 year after 
the list created under subsection (a)(2) is made available to the 
public, the Administrator shall prohibit a school or park from using 
any environmental pollutant on the list.

``SEC. 505. RESEARCH TO IMPROVE INFORMATION ON EFFECTS ON CHILDREN.

    ``(a) Toxicity Data.--The Administrator, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
coordinate the development and implementation of research studies to 
examine the physiological and pharmacokinetic differences in the 
effects and toxicity of pesticides (including active and inert 
ingredients) and other environmental pollutants on children and other 
vulnerable subpopulations, as identified in the study of the National 
Academy of Sciences entitled `Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and 
Children'.
    ``(b) Exposure Data.--The Administrator, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
conduct surveys and applied research to document differences between 
children and adults with respect to dietary, dermal, and inhalation 
exposure to pesticides and other environmental pollutants.
    ``(c) Biennial Reports.--The Administrator, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
submit biennial reports to Congress on actions taken to carry out this 
section.

``SEC. 506. SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND OTHER VULNERABLE SUBPOPULATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator shall--
            ``(1) evaluate environmental health risks to vulnerable 
        subpopulations in all of the risk assessments, risk 
        characterizations, environmental and public health standards, 
        and general regulatory decisions carried out by the 
        Administrator;
            ``(2) carry out paragraph (1) in accordance with the policy 
        of the Environmental Protection Agency on the assessment of 
        risks to children in effect on November 1, 1995; and
            ``(3) develop and use a separate assessment or finding of 
        risks to vulnerable subpopulations or publish in the Federal 
        Register an explanation of why the separate assessment or 
        finding is not used.
    ``(b) Reevaluation of Current Public Health and Environmental 
Standards.--
            ``(1) In general.--As part of any risk assessment, risk 
        characterization, environmental or public health standard, or 
        general regulatory decision carried out by the Administrator, 
        the Administrator shall evaluate the environmental health risks 
        to children and other vulnerable subpopulations.
            ``(2) Implementation.--In carrying out paragraph (1), not 
        later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this title, 
        the Administrator shall--
                    ``(A) develop an administrative strategy and an 
                administrative process for reviewing standards;
                    ``(B) identify a list of standards that may need 
                revision to ensure the protection of children and 
                vulnerable subpopulations;
                    ``(C) prioritize the list according to the 
                standards that are most important for expedited review 
                to protect children and vulnerable subpopulations;
                    ``(D) identify which standards on the list will 
                require additional research in order to be reevaluated 
and outline the time and resources required to carry out the research; 
and
                    ``(E) identify, through public input and peer 
                review, not fewer than 5 public health and 
                environmental standards of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency to be repromulgated on an expedited basis to 
                meet the criteria of this subsection.
            ``(3) Revised standards.--Not later than 6 years after the 
        date of enactment of this title, the Administrator shall 
        propose not fewer than 5 revised standards that meet the 
        criteria of this subsection.
            ``(4) Completed revision of standards.--Not later than 15 
        years after the date of enactment of this title, the 
        Administrator shall complete the revision of standards in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(5) Report.--The Administrator shall report to Congress 
        on an annual basis on progress made by the Administrator in 
        carrying out the objectives and policy of this subsection.

``SEC. 507. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.

    ``(a) Disclosure of Health Effects and Exposure Data.--Subject to 
subsection (b), any data or information known by a Federal agency 
concerning any test of a pesticide, residue of a pesticide, or other 
environmental pollutant to determine the potential levels of exposure 
or health effects shall be available for disclosure to the public, 
except to the extent the data or information relates to--
            ``(1) a manufacturing or quality control process;
            ``(2) a method for detecting the quantity of any 
        deliberately added inert ingredient of a chemical substance 
        other than a method for detecting a residue of the inert 
        ingredient in or on food; or
            ``(3) explicit information derived from a pesticide use 
        form submitted under section 1491 of the Food, Agriculture, 
        Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 136i-1).
    ``(b) Data and Information Submitted Under FIFRA.--Any data or 
information described in subsection (a) that was submitted to the 
Administrator under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) shall be made available for disclosure to 
the public in accordance with section 10 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 136h).
    ``(c) Disclosure.--This section shall not restrict the release of--
            ``(1) information that is otherwise subject to disclosure 
        under section 552 of title 5, United States Code; or
            ``(2) information available through--
                    ``(A) a material safety data sheet;
                    ``(B) published scientific literature; or
                    ``(C) a government document.

``SEC. 508. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are 
necessary to carry out this title.''.
                                 <all>
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