Illinois Code § 15

§ 15.

Scientific Guidance Panel. (a) In implementing the Study, the Department and the Agency shall establish a Scientific Guidance Panel. The Directors of the Department and the Agency shall appoint the members of the Panel. The Panel shall be composed of 11 members, whose expertise shall encompass the disciplines of public health, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental medicine, risk analysis, exposure assessment, developmental biology, laboratory sciences, bioethics, maternal and child health with a specialty in breastfeeding, and toxicology. Members shall be appointed for 2-year terms. Members may be reappointed for additional terms without limitation. Members shall serve until their successors are appointed and have qualified for membership on the Panel. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments, and any member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred. The Panel shall meet, at a minimum, 3 times per year. The Agency shall be responsible for staffing and administration of the Panel. Members of the Panel shall be reimbursed for travel and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties under this Act, but shall not receive a salary or compensation. (b) The Panel shall provide guidance to UIC and make recommendations regarding the design and implementation of the Program. The Panel shall recommend: (1) scientifically sound Program design, rationale, and procedures for selecting and collecting biological samples and for selecting the populations for biomonitoring, taking into account both ethical issues and issues pertaining to confidentiality of data; (2) scientifically sound, peer-reviewed procedures for incorporating biomonitoring data into risk assessment guidance, policies and regulations; (3) procedures to accurately and effectively interpret and communicate biomonitoring results within the context of potential risks to human health; and (4) a procedure for selecting priority chemicals for inclusion in the Program using sound public health criteria, including all of the following criteria: (A) The degree of potential exposure to the public or specific subgroups, including, but not limited to, certain occupations. (B) The likelihood of a chemical being a carcinogen or toxicant based on peer-reviewed health data, its chemical structure, or the toxicology of chemically related compounds. (C) The availability and the limits of validated laboratory detection for the chemical, including the ability to reliably detect and quantify the chemical at levels low enough to be expected in the general population. (c) The Panel may recommend additional designated chemicals not included in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals for inclusion in the Program using all of the following criteria: (1) Exposure or potential exposure to the public or specific subgroups. (2) The known or suspected health effects resulting from some level of exposure based on scientifically valid studies. (3) The need to assess the efficacy of public health actions to reduce exposure to a chemical causally associated with human health effects at environmentally relevant exposure levels. (4) The availability of a scientifically valid method for accurately and reliably measuring the chemical in human specimens. (Source: P.A. 95-74, eff. 1-1-08.)