I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1969
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 29, 1995
Mr. STUDDS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Superfund Site Public
Health Improvement Act’’.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH AT NPL FACILITIES.
Section 104(i)(6) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(6)) is amended as follows:
(1) By amending subparagraph (A) to read as
follows:
‘‘(A) The Administrator of ATSDR shall perform a
health assessment for each facility, including those facili-
ties owned by any department, agency, or instrumentality
of the United States, on the National Priorities List estab-
lished under section 105. The health assessment shall be
commenced as soon as practicable after each facility is
proposed for inclusion on the National Priorities List and
shall be completed not later than the date of issuance of
a remedial investigation and feasibility study for the facil-
ity to allow full consideration in selecting the remedial ac-
tion of the public health implications of any release.’’.
(2) By amending subparagraph (D) to read as
follows:
‘‘(D)(i) The Administrator and the Administrator of
ATSDR shall develop strategies to obtain relevant on-site
and off-site characterization data for use in a health as-
sessment. The Administrator shall, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, provide the Administrator of ATSDR
with the data and information necessary to make health
assessments sufficiently prior to the initiation of remedial
actions to allow ATSDR to complete these assessments.
Where deemed appropriate, the Administrator of ATSDR
shall provide to the Administrator as soon as practicable
after site discovery, recommendations for sampling envi-
ronmental media for hazardous substances of public
health concern. To the extent feasible, the Administrator
shall incorporate such recommendations into its site inves-
tigation activities.
‘‘(ii) In order to improve community involvement in
health assessments, the Administrator of ATSDR shall
carry out each of the following duties:
‘‘(I) The Administrator of ATSDR shall ac-
tively collect data from residents of affected commu-
nities and from other sources in communities af-
fected or potentially affected by releases of hazard-
ous substances, pollutants, or contaminants regard-
ing exposure, relevant human activities, and other
factors.
‘‘(II) The Administrator of ATSDR shall design
health assessments that take into account the needs
and conditions of the affected community. Commu-
nity-based research models, building links to local
expertise, and local health resources should be used.
Each affected community shall be permitted to play
an active and early role in reviewing health assess-
ment designs. In preparing such designs, emphasis
shall be placed on collection of actual exposure data
and sources of multiple exposure shall be consid-
ered.’’.
SEC. 3. HEALTH STUDIES.
Subparagraph (A) of section 104(i)(7) of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(7)) is amended
to read as follows: ‘‘(A) Whenever in the judgment of the
Administrator of ATSDR it is appropriate on the basis
of the results of a health assessment or on the basis of
other appropriate information, the Administrator of
ATSDR shall conduct a human health study of exposure
or other health effects for selected groups or individuals
in order to determine the desirability of conducting full
scale epidemiologic or other health studies of the entire
exposed population.’’.
SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS TO HEALTH PROFES-
SIONALS AND MEDICAL CENTERS.
Paragraph (14) of section 104(i) of the Comprehen-
sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil-
ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(14) In implementing this subsection and other
health-related provisions of this Act in cooperation with
the States, the Administrator of ATSDR shall—
‘‘(A) assemble, develop as necessary, and dis-
tribute to the States, medical colleges, physicians,
nursing institutions, nurses, and other health profes-
sionals and medical centers, appropriate educational
materials (including short courses) on the medical
surveillance, screening, and methods of prevention,
diagnosis, and treatment of injury or disease related
to exposure to hazardous substances (giving priority
to those listed in paragraph (2)), through means the
Administrator of ATSDR considers appropriate; and
‘‘(B) assemble, develop as necessary, and dis-
tribute to the general public and to at-risk popu-
lations appropriate educational materials and other
information on human health effects of hazardous
substances.’’.
SEC. 5. GRANT AWARDS, CONTRACTS, AND COMMUNITY AS-
SISTANCE ACTIVITIES.
Section 104(i)(15) of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980 (42 U.S.C. 6904(i)(15)) is amended as follows:
(1) By inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The activities’’.
(2) In the first sentence, by striking ‘‘coopera-
tive agreements with States (or political subdivisions
thereof)’’ and inserting ‘‘grants, cooperative agree-
ments, or contracts with States (or political subdivi-
sions thereof), other appropriate public authorities,
public or private institutions, colleges, universities,
and professional associations giving consideration to
those colleges and universities that are historically
black colleges and universities and to other edu-
cational institutions that primarily serve minorities
or represent the interests of affected communities’’.
(3) By adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraphs:
‘‘(B) When a health assessment is conducted at a fa-
cility on the National Priorities List, or a release is being
evaluated for inclusion on the National Priorities List, the
Administrator of ATSDR may provide the assistance spec-
ified in this paragraph to public or private nonprofit enti-
ties, individuals, and community-based groups that may
be affected by the release or threatened release of hazard-
ous substances in the environment.
‘‘(C) The Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Sub-
stances and Disease Registry, pursuant to the grants, co-
operative agreements and contracts referred to in this
paragraph, is authorized and directed to provide, where
appropriate, health services to communities affected by the
release of hazardous substances. Such health services may
include diagnostic services, specialized treatment, health
data registries and preventative public health education.’’.
SEC. 6. PUBLIC HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS IN REMEDIAL
ACTIONS.
Section 121(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9621(c)) is amended in the first sentence by insert-
ing after ‘‘remedial action’’ the second time it appears the
following: ‘‘, including public health recommendations and
decisions resulting from activities under section 104(i),’’.
Æ