HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS

RSA tit. X, ch. 125-H

in effect

RSA 125-H:1 Findings, Intent.

125-H:1. Findings, Intent. The general court finds that protection of the public health and welfare demands a state-wide capacity to assess the nature of and risks to both humans and ecosystems associated with exposure to a variety of environmental contaminants. Recognizing that health risk assessment entails responding to situations where scientific data and exposure standards are often incomplete at best, the general court finds that the success of such a program requires flexible access to medical, scientific, and engineering expertise in all agencies of state government. The general court enacts this chapter in order to provide a mechanism for health risk assessment. The general court intends that the department of health and human services, which has primary state responsibility for protecting the public health, shall be the lead agency for health risk assessment. It further intends that other state agencies shall cooperate fully in making personnel with training experience in the disciplines necessary to accomplish such assessments available to the department of health and human services on a reasonable basis. In establishing this function, the general court intends to provide regulatory decision-makers who shall analyze, assess, and manage public and environmental health risks with the most timely and accurate information and analysis available. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:181, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

RSA 125-H:2 Definitions.

125-H:2. Definitions. In this chapter: I. "Acute health effect" means an adverse health outcome or disease which manifests itself upon or shortly after exposure to an environmental hazard. II. "Adverse health outcome" means any condition which results in human morbidity, mortality, impaired reproductive function, toxicity, teratogenic, carcinogenic, or mutagenic effects. III. "Chronic health effect" means an adverse health outcome or disease which manifests itself over a long incubation or latency period. Chronic health effects can result from either a limited high-level or long-term, low-level exposure to an environmental hazard. IV. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of health and human services. V. "Department" means the department of health and human services. VI. "Dose-response assessment" means the determination of the relation between the magnitude of exposure to environmental hazards and the probability of occurrence of adverse health effects. VII. "Environmental hazard" means any biological, chemical, or physical agent present in the environment which has the potential of causing disease or adverse health outcome. VIII. "Environmental health risk assessment" means the use of scientific and medical data to define potential health effects of exposure of individuals or populations to environmental hazards. IX. "Exposure assessment" means the determination of the extent of human exposure to an environmental hazard. X. "Hazard identification" means the scientific process of collecting and validating data to determine if biological, chemical or physical agents, man-made or naturally occurring, can be causally linked to particular chronic or acute health effects. XI. "Imminent health hazard" means the immediate threat to the population of an adverse health outcome posed by an environmental hazard. XII. "Risk characterization" means the description of the nature and, when possible, the magnitude of human risk from an environmental hazard, including its attendant uncertainty. XIII. "Risk management" means the use of the results of environmental health risk assessments or other information in order to develop and evaluate regulatory options, within a statutory framework, to reduce the risk of harm to human health and ecosystems to the greatest possible degree. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:75, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

RSA 125-H:3 Health Risk Assessment Bureau; Duties.

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. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1990, 261:7. 1995, 310:181, 183. 1996, 241:9, eff. July 1, 1996.

RSA 125-H:4 Imminent Health Hazard.

125-H:4. Imminent Health Hazard. The commissioner shall have the responsibility, upon the receipt and validation of information of an imminent health hazard, to inform the commissioner of environmental services who shall inform the governor of such threat and request that the state agencies responsible by statute take necessary and immediate action to abate the environmental hazard. The commissioner shall provide recommendations and advice as necessary, and shall determine when the imminent hazard has been abated. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:183, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

RSA 125-H:5 Interagency Cooperation.

125-H:5. Interagency Cooperation. I. In order to carry out health risk assessment, the commissioner is authorized to request and receive, on a reasonable basis, the assistance of personnel in any agency of state government with training or experience in any of the following fields: (a) Medicine. (b) Toxicology. (c) Epidemiology. (d) Environmental epidemiology. (e) Environmental health. (f) Industrial hygiene. (g) Occupational health nursing. (h) Ecology. (i) Environmental sanitation. (j) Engineering. (k) Radiological health. (l) Biological sciences, including wildlife biology. (m) Any other necessary discipline. II. In order to assure cooperation among agencies in the health risk assessment process, the commissioner shall initiate the preparation of written memoranda of understanding with the executive head of any other agency of state government employing personnel needed for carrying out environmental health risk assessments. The memoranda shall include, at a minimum, the following: (a) A procedure for identifying and agreeing upon the personnel, facilities, and equipment available for environmental health risk assessments. (b) The contents and timing of a request for assistance. III. The commissioner shall initiate the process of preparing memoranda of understanding with a written, dated request to undertake the process to the executive head of the agency concerned. If agreement between the commissioner and the concerned agency head is not reached within 90 days, the commissioner shall send written notification of the impasse to the governor. The governor shall cause a memorandum of understanding to be prepared and put into effect within 60 days of receiving the notification from the commissioner. IV. If a dispute arises regarding the implementation of any memorandum of understanding under this section, the commissioner shall notify the governor with a written, dated document of the dispute. The governor shall resolve the dispute within 5 working days of receiving notification from the commissioner. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:183, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

RSA 125-H:6 Reports.

125-H:6. Reports. I. The commissioner shall prepare written reports detailing the results of any environmental health risk assessment undertaken pursuant to this chapter. II. The commissioner shall make these reports available to those state or local officials responsible for risk management decisions and activities. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:183, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

RSA 125-H:7 Environmental Risk Analysis.

125-H:7. Environmental Risk Analysis. Any environmental hazard assigned to the risk analysis and management unit in the office of the commissioner of environmental services shall be the direct responsibility of the assistant commissioner, who shall have the same duties and responsibilities relative to environmental hazards as the commissioner of the department of health and human services has relative to human health risks under this chapter. The assistant commissioner of environmental services and the commissioner of the department of health and human services shall consult regularly and shall work together to assure that the risk analysis and management unit and the health risk assessment bureau operate in a mutually efficient and cooperative fashion. Source. 1986, 202:13. 1995, 310:182, eff. Nov. 1, 1995.

Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-X-125-H.htmFetched: 10/20/2026