Iowa Code 263.17 – Center for health effects of environmental contamination
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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.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 263.17
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Presence: means a location in Iowa at which a student participates in any structured activity related to a school's distance education course of instruction, with the exception of proctored examinations. See Iowa Code 261B.2
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
- United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
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 department of health and human services.
(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 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.
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 department of health and human services pursuant to section 135.107, the center for agricultural safety and health established under section 262.78, and the department of agriculture and land stewardship. The agencies shall coordinate programs to the extent practicable.