II 

Calendar No. 514 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 76 

[Report No. 112–213] 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate and address cancer and disease clusters, including in infants and 

children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, and Mr. CARPER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 

Public Works 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported by Mrs. BOXER, without amendment 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to investigate and address cancer and disease 

clusters, including in infants and children. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Protec3 tions for Children and Communities From Disease Clus4 ters Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) children are particularly at risk from envi8 ronmental pollutants or toxic substances for various 

9 reasons, including because— 

10 (A) the nervous, immune, digestive, and 

11 other systems of children are still developing as 

12 the children move though several stages of 

13 rapid growth and development; 

14 (B) exposure to environmental pollutants 

15 or toxic substances can affect prenatal, infant, 

16 and childhood growth and development; 

17 (C) children may be less able to detoxify 

18 and excrete toxins than adults; 

19 (D) children eat proportionately more food, 

20 drink more fluids, breathe more air, and play 

21 outside more, which means children are more 

22 exposed to environmental pollutants and toxic 

23 substances than adults; 

24 (E) children are less able to protect them25 selves from exposures to environmental pollut26 ants or toxic substances; 


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1 (F) the behavior of children exposes chil2 dren to different environmental pollutants and 

3 toxic substances than adults; 

4 (G) the natural curiosity and tendency of 

5 children to explore leaves children open to 

6 health risks that adults can more easily avoid; 

7 and 

8 (H) the developing brains, reproductive 

9 systems, and other organs of children are more 

10 susceptible to permanent disruption that can re11 sult in health problems during the lives of the 

12 children; 

13 (2) according to the Department of Health and 

14 Human Services, birth defects are the leading cause 

15 of infant death in the first year of life, accounting 

16 for about 20 percent of infant deaths in 2006; 

17 (3) according to the American Cancer Society, 

18 cancer is the second leading cause of death in chil19 dren, exceeded only by accidents; 

20 (4) according to the Centers for Disease Con21 trol and Prevention, an estimated 1 in 110 children 

22 in the United States have an autism spectrum dis23 order; 


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1 (5) scientific research on environmental, ge2 netic, and other influences that may affect environ3 mental health is a national priority; 

4 (6) Federal agencies should work to address se5 rious environmental health problems to better pro6 tect children and other individuals in communities, 

7 both large and small, across the United States; and 

8 (7) according to the National Academy of 

9 Sciences— 

10 (A) it is in the national interest to place a 

11 higher priority on the health of children; 

12 (B) in the short term, that priority will re13 sult in children whose health and quality of life 

14 is improved and who are more ready and able 

15 to learn; 

16 (C) children have important value in their 

17 own right and are worthy of that type of soci18 etal commitment; 

19 (D) it is also in the national interest to op20 timize the health of children because, in the 

21 long term— 

22 (i) the continuing viability of society 

23 depends on a citizenry and a workforce 

24 that are properly equipped to be productive 

25 and committed to serving the country; and 


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1 (ii) failure to improve the health of 

2 children will have a substantial long-term 

3 consequence for the health of the adult 

4 population; and 

5 (E) investing in the health of children is 

6 necessary for all of the reasons described in 

7 subparagraphs (A) through (D) and is the right 

8 thing to do. 

9 SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 

10 The purposes of this Act are— 

11 (1) to provide to the Administrator the author12 ity to help conduct investigations into the potential 

13 for environmental pollutants or toxic substances to 

14 cause disease clusters; 

15 (2) to ensure that the Administrator has the 

16 authority to undertake actions to help address exist17 ing and potential environmental pollution and toxic 

18 substances that may contribute to the creation of 

19 disease clusters; and 

20 (3) to enable the Administrator to integrate and 

21 work in conjunction with other Federal, State, and 

22 local agencies, institutions of higher education, and 

23 the public in investigating and helping to address 

24 the possible causes of disease clusters. 


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1 SEC. 4. GOALS. 

2 The goals of this Act are— 

3 (1) to protect and assist pregnant women, in4 fants, children, and other individuals who have been, 

5 are, or could be harmed by, and become part of, a 

6 disease cluster; 

7 (2) to enhance Federal resources, expertise, 

8 outreach, transparency, and accountability in re9 sponding to public and State and local government 

10 inquiries about the potential causes of a disease 

11 cluster; 

12 (3) to strengthen Federal analytical capacity 

13 and coordination, including with State and local au14 thorities, in the investigation of the potential causes 

15 of disease clusters; 

16 (4) to develop multidisciplinary teams that un17 dertake a systematic, integrated approach to inves18 tigate and help address the potential causes of dis19 ease clusters that State and local officials cannot ad20 dress or need assistance in addressing; and 

21 (5) to help facilitate the rapid investigation of 

22 potential disease clusters and actions to address the 

23 potential causes of disease clusters. 

24 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the 

5 Environmental Protection Agency. 

6 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

7 the Director of the National Institute of Environ8 mental Health Sciences. 

9 (4) DISEASE CLUSTER.—The term ‘‘disease 

10 cluster’’ means— 

11 (A) the occurrence of a greater-than-ex12 pected number of cases of a particular disease 

13 within a group of individuals, a geographical 

14 area, or a period of time; or 

15 (B) the occurrence of a particular disease 

16 in such number of cases, or meeting such other 

17 criteria, as the Administrator, in consultation 

18 with the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic 

19 Substances and Disease Registry and the Direc20 tor, may determine. 

21 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS OR TOXIC

22 SUBSTANCES.—The term ‘‘environmental pollutants 

23 or toxic substances’’ includes the substances de24 scribed in paragraph (7). 


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1 (6) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

2 agency’’ means— 

3 (A) any department, agency, or other in4 strumentality of the Federal Government; 

5 (B) any independent agency or establish6 ment of the Federal Government (including any 

7 Government corporation); and 

8 (C) the Government Printing Office. 

9 (7) POTENTIAL CAUSES OF A DISEASE CLUS10 TER.—The term ‘‘potential causes of a disease clus11 ter’’ includes environmental and public health fac12 tors that could increase the possibility of disease 

13 clusters, including environmental pollutants or toxic 

14 substances and sources of those pollutants and sub15 stances, including— 

16 (A) emissions of air pollutants that are 

17 regulated under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 7401 et seq.); and 

19 (B) water pollutants that are regulated 

20 under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

21 (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

22 (C) a contaminant, as that term is defined 

23 in section 1401 of the Safe Drinking Water Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 300f); 


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1 (D) a hazardous substance, as that term is 

2 defined in section 101 of the Comprehensive 

3 Environmental Response, Compensation, and 

4 Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601); 

5 (E) solid waste and hazardous waste, as 

6 those terms are defined in section 1004 of the 

7 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903); 

8 (F) a chemical substance, as that term is 

9 defined in section 3 of the Toxic Substances 

10 Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2602); 

11 (G) a substance that is regulated under 

12 the Emergency Planning and Community 

13 Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11001 

14 et seq.); and 

15 (H) any other form of environmental pollu16 tion or toxic substance that is a known or po17 tential cause of an adverse health effect, includ18 ing a developmental, reproductive, neurotoxic, 

19 or carcinogenic effect. 

20 (8) REGIONAL RESPONSE CENTER.—The term 

21 ‘‘Regional Response Center’’ means a Regional Dis22 ease Cluster Information and Response Center es23 tablished under section 7. 


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1 (9) RESPONSE TEAM.—The term ‘‘Response 

2 Team’’ means a Regional Disease Cluster Informa3 tion and Response Team established under section 7. 

4 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

5 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

6 SEC. 6. GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGA7 TIONS OF DISEASE CLUSTERS. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con10 sultation with the Administrator of the Agency for 

11 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Sec12 retary, and the Director, shall develop, publish, and 

13 periodically update guidelines that describe a sys14 tematic, integrated approach that uses the best 

15 available science to investigate— 

16 (A) 1 or more suspected or potential dis17 ease clusters; 

18 (B) environmental pollutants or toxic sub19 stances associated with 1 or more suspected or 

20 potential disease clusters; or 

21 (C) potential causes of 1 or more disease 

22 clusters. 

23 (2) COORDINATION.—The Administrator shall 

24 ensure that the Office of Children’s Health Protec25 tion, in consultation with appropriate advisory comVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S76.RS S76

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1 mittees, such as the Children’s Health Protection 

2 Advisory Committee, has a prominent role on behalf 

3 of the Agency in developing and updating guidelines 

4 under paragraph (1). 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Guidelines developed under 

6 this section shall include— 

7 (1) definitions of key concepts and actions; 

8 (2) disease cluster identification and reporting 

9 protocols; 

10 (3) standardized methods of reviewing and cat11 egorizing data, including from health surveillance 

12 systems and disease cluster reports; 

13 (4) guidance for using, in a health-protective 

14 way, an appropriate epidemiological, statistical, or 

15 other approach for the circumstances of an inves16 tigation; 

17 (5) procedures for peer review of key documents 

18 by individuals who have no direct or indirect conflict 

19 of interest; and 

20 (6) a description of roles and responsibilities of 

21 the Administrator and the Administrator of the 

22 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

23 in conducting investigations described in those 

24 guidelines, in accordance with this Act. 

25 (c) TIMING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Draft guidelines developed 

2 under this section shall be available for public review 

3 and comment for a period of not less than 60 days. 

4 (2) FINAL GUIDELINES.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis6 trator, in consultation with the Administrator of the 

7 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

8 the Secretary, and the Director, shall publish in the 

9 Federal Register final guidelines under this section. 

10 SEC. 7. ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INVES11 TIGATIONS OF DISEASE CLUSTERS. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF REGIONAL DISEASE CLUS13 TER INFORMATION AND RESPONSE CENTERS AND

14 TEAMS.— 

15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in 

17 consultation with the Administrator of the 

18 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg19 istry, the Secretary, and the Director, and other 

20 appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish 

21 and operate Regional Disease Cluster Informa22 tion and Response Centers and Regional Dis23 ease Cluster Information and Response Teams. 

24 (B) PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The Ad25 ministrator shall be principally responsible for 


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1 directing, coordinating, and approving Federal 

2 efforts and assistance authorized under this 

3 section. 

4 (2) COORDINATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

6 shall ensure that the Office of Children’s 

7 Health Protection, in consultation with appro8 priate advisory committees, such as the Chil9 dren’s Health Protection Advisory Committee, 

10 has a prominent role on behalf of the Agency 

11 in establishing and operating the Regional Re12 sponse Centers and the Response Teams. 

13 (B) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREE14 MENTS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

16 shall provide support (including research, 

17 program implementation, and operational 

18 support activities) to individuals on Re19 sponse Teams described in subsection (b) 

20 and Community Disease Cluster Advisory 

21 Committees described in subsection (c) 

22 through grants and cooperative agreements 

23 with institutions of higher education that 

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1 onstrated expertise in research, training, 

2 studies, and technical assistance. 

3 (ii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA4 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro5 priated to carry out this subparagraph 

6 such sums as are necessary. 

7 (3) TIMING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

9 shall establish at least— 

10 (A) 2 Regional Response Centers; and 

11 (B) 2 Response Teams. 

12 (b) RESPONSE TEAMS.— 

13 (1) MEMBERSHIP.—Each Response Team shall 

14 include individuals who— 

15 (A) have expertise in epidemiology, 

16 toxicogenomics, molecular biology, toxicology, 

17 pollution control requirements, data analysis, 

18 environmental health and disease surveillance, 

19 exposure assessment, pediatric health, commu20 nity outreach and involvement, and other rel21 evant fields; and 

22 (B) have no direct or indirect conflict of 

23 interest. 

24 (2) LEADERSHIP.—Each Response Team shall 

25 have— 


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1 (A) an individual who is the leader of the 

2 Response Team and who reports to the Admin3 istrator, the Administrator of the Agency for 

4 Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the 

5 Director; and 

6 (B) an individual who has the skills or ex7 perience necessary to carry out community out8 reach and involvement activities, including— 

9 (i) the establishment of Community 

10 Disease Cluster Advisory Committees 

11 under subsection (c); and 

12 (ii) the facilitation of activities of 

13 those Committees. 

14 (3) ACTIVITIES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in 

16 consultation with the Administrator of the 

17 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg18 istry and the Director, shall establish the scope 

19 of activities for Response Teams to ensure that 

20 the activities are consistent with achieving the 

21 goals of this Act. 

22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The activities of the 

23 Response Teams shall include— 

24 (i) making guidelines, protocols, data, 

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1 tise available to State and local officials 

2 and the public to assist in efforts— 

3 (I) to investigate suspected or po4 tential disease clusters, environmental 

5 pollutants or toxic substances associ6 ated with those disease clusters, and 

7 potential causes of disease clusters; 

8 and 

9 (II) to address potential causes 

10 of disease clusters; 

11 (ii) responding rapidly to a petition 

12 described in subparagraph (C) from any 

13 person, including a State or local official, 

14 regarding the need— 

15 (I) to investigate suspected or po16 tential disease clusters, environmental 

17 pollutants or toxic substances associ18 ated with those disease clusters, and 

19 potential causes of disease clusters; 

20 and 

21 (II) to address the potential 

22 causes of disease clusters; 

23 (iii) providing the best available envi24 ronmental sampling and laboratory equip25 ment to collect, analyze, and interpret 


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1 monitoring, health surveillance, and other 

2 relevant information at scales and 

3 timelines appropriate to an action; 

4 (iv) involving community members, in 

5 accordance with established scientific 

6 methods and norms (including the preser7 vation of the confidentiality of individuals), 

8 in— 

9 (I) investigations of suspected or 

10 potential disease clusters, environ11 mental pollutants or toxic substances 

12 associated with those disease clusters, 

13 or potential causes of disease clusters, 

14 including through— 

15 (aa) environmental exposure 

16 assessments; 

17 (bb) biomonitoring activities; 

18 and 

19 (cc) community-based 

20 participatory research initiatives; 

21 and 

22 (II) other efforts to address the 

23 potential causes of disease clusters; 

24 (v) working with State and local agen25 cies— 


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1 (I) to help make the use and 

2 management of integrated environ3 mental health data consistent and 

4 timely; and 

5 (II) to fill data gaps; and 

6 (vi) investigating suspected or poten7 tial disease clusters, environmental pollut8 ants or toxic substances associated with 

9 those disease clusters, and potential causes 

10 of disease clusters, and addressing the po11 tential causes of disease clusters that the 

12 Administrator determines State and local 

13 officials need assistance in investigating or 

14 addressing, or that the Administrator de15 termines should be investigated or ad16 dressed. 

17 (C) PETITION.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any person, includ19 ing a State or local official, may submit a 

20 petition referred to in subparagraph (B)(ii) 

21 to the Administrator, the Administrator of 

22 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Dis23 ease Registry, and the Director that re24 quests that a Response Team conduct an 

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1 dress the potential causes of disease clus2 ters in accordance with this Act. 

3 (ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Each petition 

4 submitted under clause (i) shall clearly de5 scribe the basis for the requested investiga6 tion or action, including any data sup7 porting the request. 

8 (iii) CONSIDERATION.—The Adminis9 trator, in consultation with the Adminis10 trator of the Agency for Toxic Substances 

11 and Disease Registry and the Director, 

12 shall establish criteria for the consideration 

13 of petitions submitted under this section 

14 using health-protective factors, including— 

15 (I) evidence of the release of en16 vironmental pollutants or toxic sub17 stances; 

18 (II) the locations in which there 

19 appear to be potentially significant 

20 health threats from the potential 

21 causes of disease clusters; 

22 (III) cases in which existing data 

23 appear to be inadequate to fully as24 sess the potential risks to public 

25 health; and 


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1 (IV) such other factors as the 

2 Administrator determines are nec3 essary. 

4 (iv) RESPONSE.—Not later than 60 

5 days after the date of receipt of a petition 

6 under clause (iii), the Administrator, in 

7 consultation with the Administrator of the 

8 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 

9 Registry and the Director, shall provide a 

10 written response that describes— 

11 (I) the investigation or actions 

12 that will be undertaken in response to 

13 the petition, including the timeline 

14 and basis for the investigation or ac15 tions; and 

16 (II) the reasons for any denial or 

17 deferral in providing such a response. 

18 (v) TIMING OF ISSUANCE OF CRI19 TERIA.— 

20 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Adminis21 trator, in consultation with the Ad22 ministrator of the Agency for Toxic 

23 Substances and Disease Registry and 

24 the Director, shall provide for public 

25 notice of draft criteria established 


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1 under this subparagraph for a period 

2 of not less than 60 days. 

3 (II) FINAL CRITERIA.—Not later 

4 than 1 year after the date of enact5 ment of this Act, the Administrator, 

6 in consultation with the Administrator 

7 of the Agency for Toxic Substances 

8 and Disease Registry and the Direc9 tor, shall publish in the Federal Reg10 ister final criteria required under this 

11 subparagraph. 

12 (4) USE OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE REPORTS.— 

13 Response Team investigations and actions shall— 

14 (A) include publicly available reports pre15 pared by the Response Team that contain state16 ments of facts, findings, and recommendations 

17 for actions, to the extent appropriate; and 

18 (B) be prepared in a manner that pre19 serves the confidentiality of individuals. 

20 (5) TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

21 Response Team activities shall include measures to 

22 ensure— 

23 (A) transparency and accountability to po24 tentially affected individuals, State and local of25 ficials, the public, and other persons and agenVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:05 Sep 20, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S76.RS S76

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1 cies, while preserving the confidentiality of indi2 viduals; 

3 (B) that consistent, accurate, and mean4 ingful information is provided to potentially af5 fected individuals, State and local officials, the 

6 public, and other persons and agencies through 

7 the use of comprehensive, community-based 

8 communications plans; and 

9 (C) accountability to meeting goals and 

10 timetables. 

11 (6) DATABASE.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in 

13 consultation with the Administrator of the 

14 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg15 istry, the Secretary, and the Director, shall 

16 compile and regularly update information in a 

17 comprehensive electronic database that— 

18 (i) is publicly accessible through the 

19 Internet; 

20 (ii) provides a centralized location for 

21 information relating to— 

22 (I) disease cluster reports and in23 vestigations; 

24 (II) environmental pollutants or 

25 toxic substances that are associated 


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1 with suspected or potential disease 

2 clusters; 

3 (III) illnesses associated with 

4 suspected or potential disease clusters, 

5 including locally generated informa6 tion; 

7 (IV) systematic tracking of envi8 ronmental pollutants or toxic sub9 stances and illnesses associated with 

10 suspected or potential disease clusters; 

11 (V) actions to help address the 

12 potential causes of disease clusters; 

13 and 

14 (VI) any other information that 

15 the Administrator determines to be 

16 necessary; and 

17 (iii) facilitates the rapid reporting and 

18 analysis of information described in clause 

19 (ii). 

20 (B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—A database de21 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be main22 tained in a manner that preserves the confiden23 tiality of individuals. 

24 (c) COMMUNITY DISEASE CLUSTER ADVISORY COM25 MITTEES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es2 tablish Community Disease Cluster Advisory Com3 mittees to provide oversight, guidance, and advice 

4 relating to— 

5 (A) the investigation of suspected and po6 tential disease clusters; 

7 (B) the investigation of environmental pol8 lutants or toxic substances associated with sus9 pected or potential disease clusters; 

10 (C) the investigation of potential causes of 

11 disease clusters; 

12 (D) efforts to address the potential causes 

13 of disease clusters; and 

14 (E) the most effective means of ensuring 

15 outreach to and involvement of community 

16 members. 

17 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Membership on Community 

18 Disease Cluster Advisory Committees shall be com19 prised of representatives that include— 

20 (A) individuals who are or may be im21 pacted by a suspected or potential disease clus22 ter, and the designee of such an individual who 

23 may participate with or in the place of such an 

24 individual; 


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1 (B) State or local government health or 

2 environmental agencies; 

3 (C) at least 2 individuals, appointed by the 

4 Administrator in consultation with the Adminis5 trator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and 

6 Disease Registry and the Director, with dem7 onstrated knowledge of the activities described 

8 in paragraph (1); and 

9 (D) other appropriate individuals, as deter10 mined by the Administrator, in consultation 

11 with the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic 

12 Substances and Disease Registry and the Direc13 tor. 

14 (3) PROHIBITION.—No member of a Committee 

15 may have any direct or indirect conflict of interest. 

16 (4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in 

18 consultation with the Administrator of the 

19 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Reg20 istry and the Director, may make grants avail21 able to any group of individuals that may be af22 fected by a suspected or potential disease clus23 ter. 

24 (B) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made avail25 able under subparagraph (A) may be used to 


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1 facilitate active involvement in all aspects of 

2 Committee activities and to assist Committee 

3 members in obtaining technical assistance in in4 terpreting information with regard to— 

5 (i) the investigation of— 

6 (I) suspected or potential disease 

7 clusters; 

8 (II) environmental pollutants or 

9 toxic substances that are associated 

10 with suspected or potential disease 

11 clusters; and 

12 (III) the potential causes of dis13 ease clusters; 

14 (ii) addressing the potential causes of 

15 disease clusters; 

16 (iii) understanding the health con17 cerns associated with suspected or poten18 tial disease clusters; and 

19 (iv) understanding other scientific and 

20 technical issues relating to the activities of 

21 a Regional Response Team and Commu22 nity Disease Cluster Advisory Committee, 

23 including the potential need for and inter24 pretation of any biomonitoring of individ25 uals in the area. 


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1 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS.— 

2 The Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator 

3 of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

4 the Secretary, and the Director, shall use available au5 thorities and programs to compile, research, and analyze 

6 information generated by actions authorized under this 

7 section, including by— 

8 (1) using those authorities to test environ9 mental pollutants or toxic substances identified 

10 under subsection (b)(6); and 

11 (2) incorporating environmental pollutants or 

12 toxic substances identified under subsection (b)(6) in 

13 appropriate national biomonitoring initiatives. 

14 SEC. 8. FEDERAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the 

17 Administrator, in consultation with the Administrator of 

18 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 

19 the Secretary, and the Director, shall prepare a report 

20 that describes— 

21 (1) the status of activities under this Act to in22 vestigate and address the suspected and potential 

23 causes of disease clusters; 


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1 (2) environmental pollutants or toxic substances 

2 that are associated with suspected or potential dis3 ease clusters; 

4 (3) the potential causes of disease clusters; and 

5 (4) ways to address the potential causes of 

6 those disease clusters. 

7 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report shall include a de8 scription of— 

9 (1) outreach activities to State and local offi10 cials and communities; 

11 (2) actions that the Administrator has taken to 

12 prioritize the testing of environmental pollutants or 

13 toxic substances; 

14 (3) actions that the Administrator has taken to 

15 include environmental pollutants or toxic substances 

16 identified under section 7(b)(7) in appropriate na17 tional biomonitoring initiatives; 

18 (4) actions that the Administrator is taking or 

19 plans to take to address problems in implementing 

20 this Act; 

21 (5) actions that the Secretary is taking or plans 

22 to take to address problems in implementing this 

23 Act; 

24 (6) actions that the Administrator of the Agen25 cy for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has 


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29 

•S 76 RS

1 undertaken or is considering taking with respect to 

2 any disease clusters under subparagraphs (D) and 

3 (E) of section 104(i)(1) of Comprehensive Environ4 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(1)) and other provisions of that 

6 section; 

7 (7) actions that the Director is taking or plans 

8 to take to address problems in implementing this 

9 Act; and 

10 (8) other relevant information. 

11 (c) SUBMISSION AND AVAILABILITY.—The Adminis12 trator shall— 

13 (1) submit the report under this subsection 

14 to— 

15 (A) the Committees on Environment and 

16 Public Works and Health, Education, Labor, 

17 and Pensions of the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com19 merce of the House of Representatives; and 

20 (2) make the report available to the public. 

21 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

23 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 


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30 

•S 76 RS

1 SEC. 10. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

2 Nothing in this Act modifies, limits, or otherwise af3 fects the application of, or obligation to comply with, any 

4 law, including any environmental or public health law. 


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Calendar No. 514 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 76 

[Report No. 112–213] 

A BILL 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental 

and children. cancer and disease clusters, including in infants Protection Agency to investigate and address 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 

Reported without amendment 


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