Sec. 6. National Academy of Sciences review
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Subtitle A of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 ( 42 U.S.C. 7384d et seq.), as amended by section 4, is further amended by inserting after section 3614 the following: The purpose of this section is to enable the National Academy of Sciences, a non-Federal entity with appropriate expertise, to review and evaluate the available scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to toxic substances found at Department of Energy cleanup sites.
In this section: The term Department of Energy cleanup site means a Department of Energy facility where cleanup operations are being carried out, or have been carried out, under the environmental management program of the Department of Energy. The term health studies report means the report submitted under section 5(f) of the Toxic Exposure Safety Act of 2020 . Not later than 60 days after the issuance of the health studies report, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out the requirements of this section.
Under the agreement described in subsection (c), the National Academy of Sciences shall, for the period of the agreement— for each area recommended for additional study under the health studies report under section 5(f)(2) of the Toxic Exposure Safety Act of 2020 , review and summarize the scientific evidence relating to the area, including— studies by the Department of Energy and Department of Labor; and any other available and relevant scientific studies, to the extent that such studies are relevant to the occupational exposures that have occurred at Department of Energy cleanup sites; and review and summarize the scientific and medical evidence concerning the association between exposure to toxic substances found at Department of Energy cleanup sites and resultant diseases.
In conducting each review of scientific evidence under subparagraphs
(A)and
(B)of paragraph (1), the National Academy of Sciences shall— assess the strength of such evidence; assess whether a statistical association between exposure to a toxic substance and a disease exists, taking into account the strength of the scientific evidence and the appropriateness of the statistical and epidemiological methods used to detect an association; assess the increased risk of disease among those exposed to the toxic substance during service during the production and cleanup eras of the Department of Energy cleanup sites; survey the impact to health of the toxic substance, focusing on renal, liver, neurological, skin, respiratory, ear, nose, eye, and throat diseases, including dementia, chemical sensitivities, and emphysema; and determine whether a plausible biological mechanism or other evidence of a causal relationship exists between exposure to the toxic substance and disease. If the National Academy of Sciences determines, in the course of conducting the studies under subsection (d), that additional studies are needed to resolve areas of continuing scientific uncertainty relating to toxic exposure at Department of Energy cleanup sites, the National Academy of Sciences shall include, in the next report submitted under subsection (f), recommendations for areas of additional study, consisting of— a list of diseases and toxins that require further evaluation and study; a review the current information available, as of the date of the report, relating to such diseases and toxins; the value of the information that would result from the additional studies; and the cost and feasibility of carrying out additional studies. By not later than 18 months after the date of the agreement under subsection (c), and every 2 years thereafter, the National Academy of Sciences shall prepare and submit a report to— the Secretary; the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate; and the Committee on Natural Resources, the Committee on Education and Labor, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. Each report submitted under paragraph
(1)shall include, for the 18-month or 2-year period covered by the report— a description of— the reviews and studies conducted under this section; the determinations and conclusions of the National Academy of Sciences with respect to such reviews and studies; and the scientific evidence and reasoning that led to such conclusions; the recommendations for further areas of study made under subsection
(e)for the reporting period; a description of any classes of employees that, based on the results of the reviews and studies and in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Secretary under section 3671A(b), qualify for inclusion in the Toxic Special Exposure Cohort under such section 3671A; and the identification of any illness that the National Academy of Sciences has determined, as a result of the reviews and studies, should be a covered illness under section 3671(2)(D). The authority to enter into agreements under this section shall be effective for a fiscal year to the extent that appropriations are available. This section shall cease to be effective 10 years after the last day of the fiscal year in which the National Academy of Sciences transmits to the Secretary the first report under subsection (f). .
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Sec. 6
National Academy of Sciences review
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