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Regulatory and Government Update

California Biomonitoring Program Advisory Panel Begins Work. In December 2007 the nine-member Scientific Guidance Panel of the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (CECBP) held its first meeting in Sacramento. Established by legislation (SB 1379) signed in September 2006 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), California's biomonitoring program will measure levels of potentially toxic chemicals in a representative sample of the state's residents every two years. The advisory panel is charged with recommending what chemicals to test for and the broad outlines of how the program should be conducted. Administration of the program will be a collaboration of three state government departments: The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Cal/EPA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), and the Cal/EPA Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The biomonitoring findings will help scientists prioritize research on chemicals of concern, public health researchers explore links between exposure to certain chemicals and diseases, and public officials assess the effectiveness of environmental regulations. EMAIL THIS

Biomonitoringinfo.org Science Advisory Council members interviewed regarding the CDC Third National Report:

Associated Press. July 21, 2005. "Dr. Charles McKay, a medical toxicologist for Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, said researchers will be able to use the report as a reference to determine what levels of chemicals are typically found in Americans. It also will be helpful for doctors, he added. "It allows us to reassure people if they are concerned ... that the actual amount that you take into your body for a large number of chemicals is trivial, is vanishingly small," said McKay, also associate medical director of the Connecticut Poison Control Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center. (Search for "CDC environmental chemicals" in AP Archive, full text for a fee;or free online through some subscribing newspapers and Web sites)

Greenwire. July 22, 2005. "It's nice to see the trends," said Michael Holland, a medical toxicologist and professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Holland, who sat on the independent advisory board that recommended which chemicals the CDC should test for, said there were few surprises in the scientific research released yesterday. However, Holland said the challenge facing CDC and EPA will be in determining what the data really means. "Detecting a chemical doesn't mean anything if you don't know what the health effects are." he said. "If we knew the health effects for each chemical like we do for lead that would be great." (Greenwire Archive; full text available online to subscribers)