125-H:3 Health Risk Assessment Bureau; Duties. –
I. There is established within the department of health and human services a health risk assessment bureau under the direction of a classified administrator of health risk assessments. The bureau shall be responsible for administering the health risk assessment program.
II. The bureau shall provide completed health risk assessments to other state agencies for use in risk management activities. This includes human health risk assessment of known or suspected environmental hazards and on pending regulatory actions regarding environmental protection being considered by other state agencies. The health risk assessment shall consist of some or all of the following information: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.
III. The commissioner shall have the authority to establish and dissolve risk assessment teams as necessary, based upon the need for assessment of particular situations.
IV. The commissioner shall have responsibility for developing proposed environmental quality standards, criteria and guidelines to protect human health. These shall be presented to the commissioner of environmental services for consideration by him for inclusion in rules adopted by the commissioner of environmental services.
IV-a. The commissioner shall have responsibility for developing guidelines for risk assessments.
V. The commissioner shall have the authority to apply for and accept federal funds or other assistance available for the conduct of environmental health risk assessment activities or to carry out this chapter.