State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

   [ Search ]   [ Legislation ]
[ Home ]   [ Back ]   [ Bottom ]



91_HB0918

 
                                               LRB9103356LDmb

 1        AN ACT to create  the  O'Hare  Toxic  Air  Pollution  and
 2    Community Right to Know Act.

 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section 1. Short Title. This Act shall be  known  as  the
 6    O'Hare Toxic Air Pollution and Community Right to Know Act.

 7        Section 5. Findings.  The General Assembly finds that:
 8        (1)  Residents of communities adjacent to and near O'Hare
 9    Airport have complained about noxious air fumes smelling like
10    burned  and unburned jet aircraft fuel being deposited in the
11    communities in which they reside.
12        (2)  These residents have complained that these fumes are
13    in the air they breathe  as  well  as  coating  their  homes,
14    windows,   outdoor   furniture,  cars,  and  outdoor  living,
15    environments such as gardens and patios.
16        (3)  Studies by the federal government show  that  engine
17    exhausts  from jet aircraft operations contain a wide variety
18    of burned and unburned toxic organic compounds and  chemicals
19    including benzene and formaldehyde.
20        (4)  Medical  studies by the federal government show that
21    many of the toxic organic compounds found in jet fuel exhaust
22    (either alone or in  combination  with  other  toxic  organic
23    compounds)  may  cause  a  variety  of adverse health impacts
24    including   cancer,   birth    defects,    and    respiratory
25    difficulties.
26        (5)  While  residents  in  communities around O'Hare know
27    they are being subjected to exposure to these toxic compounds
28    from jet aircraft exhaust because they can smell  the  burned
29    and  unburned  jet emissions from O'Hare operations, there is
30    little quantitative information about  the  levels  of  these
31    toxic  emissions  in these residential communities or whether
 
                            -2-                LRB9103356LDmb
 1    the levels of these toxic pollutants that these residents are
 2    exposed to represent unacceptable public health hazards above
 3    levels  generally  considered  acceptable   for   residential
 4    communities.  Similarly  little  quantitative  information is
 5    available about the quantity, identity, and concentration  of
 6    the toxic pollutants that are generated by O'Hare operations,
 7    the  buildup  of  these concentrations under adverse climatic
 8    conditions, and the transport of these toxic pollutants under
 9    adverse conditions into the  residential  communities  around
10    O'Hare airport.
11        (6)  The  residents  of these communities have a right to
12    know the identity,  quantity,  and  concentrations  of  these
13    toxic  pollutants  being  transported  into their residential
14    communities and whether these communities and  the  families,
15    children,  elderly,  and  health  impaired residents in these
16    communities are being exposed to unsafe and harmful levels of
17    these toxic pollutants.
18        (7)  The  General  Assembly  needs  this  information  to
19    determine what steps, if any, are needed to reduce the  toxic
20    pollutant emissions from O'Hare operations so that the levels
21    of  these  toxic pollutants are at safe and acceptable levels
22    in these residential communities.
23        (8)  There  is  an  intergovernmental   organization   of
24    residential  communities  adjacent  to and in the vicinity of
25    O'Hare  known  as  the  Suburban   O'Hare   Commission   that
26    represents  the interests of these residential communities on
27    the issues of  toxic  air  pollution.   The  Suburban  O'Hare
28    Commission  has  expressed  a  willingness to work with State
29    agencies in developing and implementing a toxic air pollution
30    investigation to develop the toxic air pollution  information
31    described in this Section.

32        Section  10.  (a)  Based  on  these  findings the General
33    Assembly hereby directs the Illinois Environmental Protection
 
                            -3-                LRB9103356LDmb
 1    Agency, in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public
 2    Health and the School of Public Health at the  University  of
 3    Illinois  Medical  School,  to develop and conduct a study of
 4    the toxic air emissions generated  by  operations  at  O'Hare
 5    International  Airport and report their final findings to the
 6    General Assembly within 18 months of the  effective  date  of
 7    this Act.
 8        (b)  The elements of the study shall include but need not
 9    be limited to:
10             (1)  Determinations  of  the  identity  and chemical
11        composition  of  the  pollutants  generated   by   O'Hare
12        operations.
13             (2)  Determinations  of  the  concentration of these
14        pollutants in the air, both at the source and in receptor
15        residential   communities,    under    a    variety    of
16        meteorological    conditions,    including   worst   case
17        conditions that would result in maximum concentrations.
18             (3)  Determinations of the total number of pounds of
19        these pollutants generated by O'Hare operations on a peak
20        hour, daily, and annual basis.
21             (4)  A determination  as  to  whether  these  O'Hare
22        based  pollutants  operate in isolation or in combination
23        with pollutants from other sources in the air within  the
24        residential receptor communities.
25             (5)  A  description  of the toxic effects (including
26        toxic  endpoints   such   as   cancer,   birth   defects,
27        respiratory  illness) of these pollutants, both alone and
28        in combination with other pollutants.
29             (6)  A measurement and description of all the source
30        pathways  for  human  exposure  to  these  O'Hare   based
31        pollutants,  including  inhalation, ingestion, and dermal
32        contact and including the contributions from deposits and
33        buildup of these pollutants on soil, plants, and physical
34        objects in these residential communities.
 
                            -4-                LRB9103356LDmb
 1             (7)  An   analysis   and   recommendation   of   the
 2        acceptable levels or concentrations of  these  pollutants
 3        in    these   residential   communities   that   provides
 4        recommended concentrations at least as  strict  as  those
 5        set   by  the  State  or  federal  government  for  other
 6        residential exposures to toxic chemicals.  To the  extent
 7        there  is  medical  uncertainty  about  the  additive  or
 8        synergistic  toxic effects of individual toxic pollutants
 9        when mixed with other toxic pollutants or to  the  extent
10        there   is   any  other  medical  uncertainty  about  the
11        quantifiability of  toxic  effects,  the  recommendations
12        shall   embody  factors  of  safety  in  accordance  with
13        accepted medical and toxicological practice.
14        (c)  The State agencies charged with the conduct of  this
15    study  are  hereby  directed to work with the Suburban O'Hare
16    Commission in the design and conduct of  this  study  and  to
17    make   available   to   the  Commission  and  its  scientific
18    consultants all data and other documentary materials relating
19    to the study during the design and conduct of the study.
20        (d)  During the course of the study, the  State  agencies
21    charged  with  the  conduct  of  this study shall establish a
22    permanent network of toxic air  quality  monitoring  stations
23    both at and adjacent to O'Hare airport and in the residential
24    communities  impacted  by  toxic air pollutant emissions from
25    O'Hare  operations.    This  monitoring  network   shall   be
26    maintained by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on
27    an  ongoing  basis after the study has been completed and the
28    data results shall be reported on  a  monthly  basis  to  the
29    public and the General Assembly.

[ Top ]