I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6347 
To provide for the protection of health and safety during certain disasters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 5, 2006 
Mr. BARTON of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for the protection of health and safety during 
certain disasters. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PROTECTION OF HEALTH AND SAFETY DURING 
DISASTERS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CERTIFIED
MONITORING
PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘certified monitoring program’’ means a med-
ical monitoring program— 
(A) in which a participating responder is a 
participant as a condition of the employment of 
such participating responder; and 
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(B) that the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services certifies includes an adequate 
baseline medical screening. 
(2) DISASTER AREA.—The term ‘‘disaster area’’ 
means an area in which the President has declared 
a major disaster (as that term is defined in section 
102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), dur-
ing the period of such declaration. 
(3) HIGH EXPOSURE LEVEL.—The term ‘‘high 
exposure level’’ means a level of exposure to a sub-
stance of concern that is for such a duration, or of 
such a magnitude, that adverse effects on human 
health can be reasonably expected to occur, as deter-
mined by the President, acting through the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, in accordance 
with human monitoring or environmental or other 
appropriate indicators. 
(4) INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘individual’’ in-
cludes— 
(A) a worker or volunteer who responds to 
a disaster, either natural or manmade, involving 
any mode of transportation in the United 
States or disrupting the transportation system 
of the United States, including— 
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(i) a police officer; 
(ii) a firefighter; 
(iii) an emergency medical technician; 
(iv) any participating member of an 
urban search and rescue team; and 
(v) any other relief or rescue worker 
or volunteer that the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, determines to be appro-
priate; 
(B) a worker who responds to a disaster, 
either natural or manmade, involving any mode 
of transportation in the United States or dis-
rupting the transportation system of the United 
States, by assisting in the cleanup or restora-
tion of critical infrastructure in and around a 
disaster area; 
(C) a person whose place of residence is in 
a disaster area, caused by either a natural or 
manmade disaster involving any mode of trans-
portation in the United States or disrupting the 
transportation system of the United States; 
(D) a person who is employed in or attends 
school, child care, or adult day care in a build-
ing located in a disaster area, caused by either 
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a natural or manmade disaster involving any 
mode of transportation in the United States or 
disrupting the transportation system of the 
United States, of the United States; and 
(E) any other person that the President, 
acting through the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, determines to be appropriate. 
(5) PARTICIPATING
RESPONDER.—The term 
‘‘participating responder’’ means an individual de-
scribed in paragraph (4)(A). 
(6) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means a 
program described in subsection (b) that is carried 
out for a disaster area. 
(7) SUBSTANCE OF CONCERN.—The term ‘‘sub-
stance of concern’’ means a chemical or other sub-
stance that is associated with potential acute or 
chronic human health effects, the risk of exposure to 
which could potentially be increased as the result of 
a disaster, as determined by the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, and in coordination with the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the 
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Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and 
other agencies. 
(b) PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, determines that 1 or more substances of con-
cern are being, or have been, released in an area de-
clared to be a disaster area and disrupts the trans-
portation system of the United States, the Presi-
dent, acting through the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, may carry out a program for the 
coordination, protection, assessment, monitoring, 
and study of the health and safety of individuals 
with high exposure levels to ensure that— 
(A) the individuals are adequately in-
formed about and protected against potential 
health impacts of any substance of concern in 
a timely manner; 
(B) the individuals are monitored and 
studied over time, including through baseline 
and followup clinical health examinations, for— 
(i) any short- and long-term health 
impacts of any substance of concern; and 
(ii) any mental health impacts; 
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(C) the individuals receive health care re-
ferrals as needed and appropriate; and 
(D) information from any such monitoring 
and studies is used to prevent or protect 
against similar health impacts from future dis-
asters. 
(2) ACTIVITIES.—A program under paragraph 
(1) may include such activities as— 
(A) collecting and analyzing environmental 
exposure data; 
(B) developing and disseminating informa-
tion and educational materials; 
(C) performing baseline and followup clin-
ical health and mental health examinations and 
taking biological samples; 
(D) establishing and maintaining an expo-
sure registry; 
(E) studying the short- and long-term 
human health impacts of any exposures through 
epidemiological and other health studies; and 
(F) providing assistance to individuals in 
determining eligibility for health coverage and 
identifying appropriate health services. 
(3) TIMING.—To the maximum extent prac-
ticable, activities under any program carried out 
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under paragraph (1) (including baseline health ex-
aminations) shall be commenced in a timely manner 
that will ensure the highest level of public health 
protection and effective monitoring. 
(4) PARTICIPATION IN REGISTRIES AND STUD-
IES.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Participation in any 
registry or study that is part of a program car-
ried out under paragraph (1) shall be voluntary. 
(B) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY.—The Presi-
dent, acting through the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, shall take appropriate 
measures to protect the privacy of any partici-
pant in a registry or study described in sub-
paragraph (A). 
(C) PRIORITY.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clause (ii), the President, acting through 
the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, shall give priority in any registry or 
study described in subparagraph (A) to the 
protection, monitoring and study of the 
health and safety of individuals with the 
highest level of exposure to a substance of 
concern. 
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(ii) 
MODIFICATIONS.—Notwith-
standing clause (i), the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, may modify the priority 
of a registry or study described in subpara-
graph (A), if the President, acting through 
the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, determines such modification to be 
appropriate. 
(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, may carry out a program under para-
graph (1) through a cooperative agreement with 
a medical institution, including a local health 
department, or a consortium of medical institu-
tions. 
(B) SELECTION CRITERIA.—To the max-
imum extent practicable, the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, shall select, to carry out a program 
under paragraph (1), a medical institution or a 
consortium of medical institutions that— 
(i) is located near— 
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(I) the disaster area with respect 
to which the program is carried out; 
and 
(II) any other area in which 
there reside groups of individuals that 
worked or volunteered in response to 
the disaster; and 
(ii) has appropriate experience in the 
areas of environmental or occupational 
health, toxicology, and safety, including ex-
perience in— 
(I) developing clinical protocols 
and conducting clinical health exami-
nations, including mental health as-
sessments; 
(II) conducting long-term health 
monitoring and epidemiological stud-
ies; 
(III) conducting long-term men-
tal health studies; and 
(IV) establishing and maintain-
ing medical surveillance programs and 
environmental exposure or disease 
registries. 
(6) INVOLVEMENT.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a pro-
gram under paragraph (1), the President, act-
ing through the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, shall involve interested and af-
fected parties, as appropriate, including rep-
resentatives of— 
(i) Federal, State, and local govern-
ment agencies; 
(ii) groups of individuals that worked 
or volunteered in response to the disaster 
in the disaster area; 
(iii) local residents, businesses, and 
schools (including parents and teachers); 
(iv) health care providers; 
(v) faith based organizations; and 
(vi) other organizations and persons. 
(B) 
COMMITTEES.—Involvement 
under 
subparagraph (A) may be provided through the 
establishment of an advisory or oversight com-
mittee or board. 
(7) PRIVACY.—The President, acting through 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 
carry out each program under paragraph (1) in ac-
cordance with regulations relating to privacy promul-
gated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 
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Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 
U.S.C. 1320d–2 note; Public Law 104–191). 
(8) EXISTING PROGRAMS.—In carrying out a 
program under paragraph (1), the President, acting 
through the Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices, may— 
(A) include the baseline clinical health ex-
amination of a participating responder under a 
certified monitoring programs; and 
(B) substitute the baseline clinical health 
examination of a participating responder under 
a certified monitoring program for a baseline 
clinical health examination under paragraph 
(1). 
(c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the estab-
lishment of a program under subsection (b)(1), and every 
5 years thereafter, the President, acting through the Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services, or the medical in-
stitution or consortium of such institutions having entered 
into a cooperative agreement under subsection (b)(5), may 
submit a report to the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
the Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, and appropriate committees of 
Congress describing the programs and studies carried out 
under the program. 
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(d) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT ON 
DISASTER AREA HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTEC-
TION AND MONITORING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity, and the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall jointly enter into a contract 
with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a 
study and prepare a report on disaster area health 
and environmental protection and monitoring. 
(2) PARTICIPATION OF EXPERTS.—The report 
under paragraph (1) shall be prepared with the par-
ticipation of individuals who have expertise in— 
(A) environmental health, safety, and med-
icine; 
(B) occupational health, safety, and medi-
cine; 
(C) clinical medicine, including pediatrics; 
(D) environmental toxicology; 
(E) epidemiology; 
(F) mental health; 
(G) medical monitoring and surveillance; 
(H) environmental monitoring and surveil-
lance; 
(I) environmental and industrial hygiene; 
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(J) emergency planning and preparedness; 
(K) public outreach and education; 
(L) State and local health departments; 
(M) State and local environmental protec-
tion departments; 
(N) functions of workers that respond to 
disasters, including first responders; 
(O) public health; and 
(P) family services, such as counseling and 
other disaster-related services provided to fami-
lies. 
(3) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph 
(1) shall provide advice and recommendations re-
garding protecting and monitoring the health and 
safety of individuals potentially exposed to any 
chemical or other substance associated with potential 
acute or chronic human health effects as the result 
of a disaster, including advice and recommendations 
regarding— 
(A) the establishment of protocols for mon-
itoring and responding to chemical or substance 
releases in a disaster area to protect public 
health and safety, including— 
(i) chemicals or other substances for 
which samples should be collected in the 
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event of a disaster, including a terrorist at-
tack; 
(ii) chemical- or substance-specific 
methods of sample collection, including 
sampling methodologies and locations; 
(iii) chemical- or substance-specific 
methods of sample analysis; 
(iv) health-based threshold levels to be 
used and response actions to be taken in 
the event that thresholds are exceeded for 
individual chemicals or other substances; 
(v) procedures for providing moni-
toring results to— 
(I) appropriate Federal, State, 
and local government agencies; 
(II) appropriate response per-
sonnel; and 
(III) the public; 
(vi) responsibilities of Federal, State, 
and local agencies for— 
(I) collecting and analyzing sam-
ples; 
(II) reporting results; and 
(III) taking appropriate response 
actions; and 
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(vii) capabilities and capacity within 
the Federal Government to conduct appro-
priate environmental monitoring and re-
sponse in the event of a disaster, including 
a terrorist attack; and 
(B) other issues specified by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency. 
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as are necessary to carry out this subsection. 
Æ 
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