263.17 Center for health effects of environmental contamination.

1. The state board of regents shall establish and maintain at Iowa City as an integral part of the state university of Iowa the center for health effects of environmental contamination, having as its object the determination of the levels of environmental contamination which can be specifically associated with human health effects.

2. a. The center shall be a cooperative effort of representatives of the following organizations:

(1) The state university of Iowa department of occupational and environmental health.

(2) The department of pediatrics of the university of Iowa college of medicine.

(3) The state hygienic laboratory.

(4) The institute of rural and environmental health.

(5) The university of Iowa Holden comprehensive cancer center.

(6) The department of civil and environmental engineering.

(7) Appropriate clinical and basic science departments.

(8) The college of law.

(9) The college of liberal arts and sciences.

(10) The Iowa department of public health.

(11) The department of natural resources.

(12) The department of agriculture and land stewardship.

b. The active participation of the national cancer institute, the agency for toxic substances and disease registry, the national centers for disease control and prevention, the United States environmental protection agency, and the United States geological survey, shall also be sought and encouraged.

3. The center may:

a. Assemble all pertinent laboratory data on the presence and concentration of contaminants in soil, air, water, and food, and develop a data retrieval system to allow the findings to be easily accessed by exposed populations.

b. Make use of data from the existing cancer and birth defect statewide recording systems and develop similar recording systems for specific organ diseases which are suspected to be caused by exposure to environmental toxins.

c. Develop registries of persons known to be exposed to environmental hazards so that the health status of these persons may be examined over time.

d. Develop highly sensitive biomedical assays which may be used in exposed persons to determine early evidence of adverse health effects.

e. Perform epidemiologic studies to relate occurrence of a disease to contaminant exposure and to ensure that other factors known to cause the disease in question can be ruled out.

f. Foster relationships and ensure the exchange of information with other teaching institutions or laboratories in the state which are concerned with the many forms of environmental contamination.

g. Implement programs of professional education and training of medical students, physicians, nurses, scientists, and technicians in the causes and prevention of environmentally induced disease.

h. Implement public education programs to inform persons of research results and the significance of the studies.

i. Respond as requested to any branch of government for consultation in the drafting of laws and regulations to reduce contamination of the environment.

4. An advisory committee consisting of one representative of each of the organizations enumerated in subsection 2, paragraph “a”, is established. The advisory committee shall:

a. Employ, as a state employee, a full-time director to operate the center. The director shall coordinate the efforts of the heads of each of the major divisions of laboratory analysis, epidemiology and biostatistics, biomedical assays, and exposure modeling and shall also coordinate the efforts of professional and support staff in the operation of the center.

b. Submit an annual report of the activities of the center to the legislative council of the general assembly by January 15 of each year.

5. The center shall maintain the confidentiality of any information obtained from existing registries and from participants in research programs. Specific research projects involving human subjects shall be approved by the state university of Iowa institutional review board.

6. The center may solicit, accept, and administer moneys appropriated to the center by a public or private agency.

7. The center shall cooperate with the center for rural health and primary care, established under section 135.107, the center for agricultural health and safety established under section 262.78, and the department of agriculture and land stewardship. The agencies shall coordinate programs to the extent practicable.

87 Acts, ch 225, §228; 88 Acts, ch 1169, §3; 90 Acts, ch 1207, §4; 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §31; 2001 Acts, ch 74, §19; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §71

Referred to in §135.107, 262.78

Subsection 2 amended