254.02 Health risk assessments.

(1) In this section:

(a) “Adverse health effect" means a condition that results in human morbidity, mortality, impaired reproductive function or toxicity or teratogenic, carcinogenic or mutagenic effects.

(b) “Health risk assessment" means the determination of the relationship between the magnitude of exposure to environmental hazards and the probability of occurrence of adverse health effects.

(2) The department is the lead state agency for health risk assessment.

(3)

(a) The department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection, the department of corrections, the department of safety and professional services, and the department of natural resources shall enter into memoranda of understanding with the department to establish protocols for the department to review proposed rules of those state agencies relating to air and water quality, occupational health and safety, institutional sanitation, toxic substances, indoor air quality, or waste handling and disposal.

(b) The department shall review proposed rules in the areas under par. (a) and make recommendations to the appropriate state agency if public health would be adversely impacted or if prevention of human health hazards or disease is not adequately addressed by the proposed rules. The department shall make recommendations for enforcement standards to address public health concerns of the proposed rules.

(4) The department and the state laboratory of hygiene shall enter into a memorandum of understanding that delineates the public health testing and consultative support that the state laboratory of hygiene shall provide to local health departments.

(5) The department shall assess the acute or chronic health effect from occupational or environmental human health hazards exposure as follows:

(a) The chief medical officer for environmental health shall establish a system for assessment, collection and surveillance of disease outcome and toxic exposure data.

(b) State agencies and local health departments shall report known incidents of environmental contamination to the department. The department shall investigate human health implications of an incident and determine the need to perform a health risk assessment. The department may require the party that is responsible for an incident to perform a health risk assessment.

(6) State agencies that require health risk assessments as part of their permit issuance or regulatory responsibilities shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the department that permits the state health officer to establish a risk management protocol to review and make recommendations on the completeness of the health risk assessments.

History: 1993 a. 27; 1995 a. 27 ss. 6327, 9116 (5); 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 55.