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Public Law 103-43, June 10, 1993
Sec. 1911. Potential Environmental and Other Risks Contributing to Incidence of Breast Cancer
(a) REQUIREMENT OF STUDY
(1) IN GENERAL — The Director of the National Cancer Institute (in this section referred to as the "Director"), in collaboration with the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, shall conduct a case-control study to assess biological markers of environmental and other potential risk factors contributing to the incidence of breast cancer in --
(A) the Counties of Nassau and Suffolk, in the State of New York, and
(B) the 2 counties in the northeastern United States that, as identified in the report specified in paragraph (2), had the highest age-adjusted mortality rate of such cancer that reflected not less than 30 deaths during the 5-year period for which findings are made in the report. [Schoharie County, NY, and Tolland County, CT]
(2) RELEVANT REPORT — The report referred to in paragraph (I)(B) is the report of the findings made in the study entitled "Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results", relating to cases of cancer during the years 1983 through 1987.
(b) CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF STUDY — Activities of the Director in carrying out the study under subsection (a) shall include the use of a geographic system to evaluate the current and past exposure of individuals, including direct monitoring and cumulative estimates of exposure, to --
(1) contaminated drinking water;
(2) sources of indoor and ambient air pollution, including emissions from aircraft;
(3) electromagnetic fields;
(4) pesticides, and other toxic chemicals;
(5) hazardous and municipal waste; and
(6) such other factors as the director determines to be appropriate.
(c) REPORT — Not later than 30 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall complete the study required in subsection (a) and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the senate, a report describing findings made as a result of the study. [An amendment rescinded the 30-month deadline.]
(d) FUNDING — Of the amounts appropriated for fiscal years 1994 and 1995 for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, the Director of the National Institutes of Health shall make available amounts for carrying out the study required in subsection (a).
Conference Report Language
House Report 103-100
Nassau and Suffolk County Breast Cancer Study
The House amendment but not the Senate bill contained a provision requiring a study to assess environmental and other potential factors contributing to the incidence of breast cancer in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk, in the state of New York, as well as in the two counties of the Northeast having the highest breast cancer mortality rates as identified by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, End Results program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The Senate recedes with an amendment extending the deadline for completion of the study. The study is to be conducted by the Director of the NCI in collaboration with the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The study is to be funded jointly from among annual appropriations available to the two national research institutes. The Conferees have identified NIEHS to participate in the planning and funding of this study because of the agency's contributions to research on the adverse health effects of environmental pollutants. The expertise will be of invaluable assistance in identifying and evaluating environmental risk factors associated with elevated incidence and mortality of breast cancer. The Conferees expect NIEHS to work closely with NCI in the design of this study and in the division of funding and programmatic responsibility between the institutes.