State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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



91_SB0928

 
                                               LRB9100048ACsb

 1        AN  ACT  regarding  toxic   air   pollution   at   O'Hare
 2    International Airport.

 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 may be  cited  as  the
 6    O'Hare Toxic Air Pollution and Community Right To Know Act.

 7        Section   5.  Legislative   declarations.    The  General
 8    Assembly finds that:
 9        (1)  Residents of communities adjacent to and near O'Hare
10    International Airport have complained about noxious air fumes
11    smelling like burned and unburned  jet  aircraft  fuel  being
12    deposited in the communities in which they reside.
13        (2)  These  residents  have  complained  that noxious air
14    fumes are in the air they breathe, as well as  coating  their
15    homes,  windows,  outdoor furniture, cars, and outdoor living
16    environments, such as gardens and patios.
17        (3)  Studies by the federal government show  that  engine
18    exhausts  from jet aircraft operations contain a wide variety
19    of burned and unburned toxic organic compounds and chemicals,
20    including benzene and formaldehyde.
21        (4)  Medical studies by the federal government show  that
22    many of the toxic organic compounds found in jet fuel exhaust
23    (either  alone  or  in  combination  with other toxic organic
24    compounds) may cause a  variety  of  adverse  health  impacts
25    including    cancer,    birth    defects,   and   respiratory
26    difficulties.
27        (5)  While residents in communities  around  O'Hare  know
28    they are being subjected to exposure to these toxic compounds
29    from  jet  aircraft exhaust because they can smell the burned
30    and unburned jet emissions from O'Hare operations,  there  is
31    little  quantitative  information  about  the levels of these
 
                            -2-                LRB9100048ACsb
 1    toxic emissions in these residential communities  or  whether
 2    the  levels  of  toxic  pollutants  that  these residents are
 3    exposed to  represent  public  health  hazards  above  levels
 4    generally considered acceptable for residential communities.
 5        (6)  Similarly   little   quantitative   information   is
 6    available  about the quantity, identity, and concentration of
 7    the toxic pollutants that are generated by O'Hare operations,
 8    the buildup of these concentrations  under  adverse  climatic
 9    conditions, and the transport of these toxic pollutants under
10    adverse  conditions  into  the residential communities around
11    O'Hare airport.
12        (7)  The residents of these communities have a  right  to
13    know  the  identity,  quantity,  and  concentrations of these
14    toxic pollutants being  transported  into  their  residential
15    communities  and  whether these communities and the families,
16    children, elderly, and  health-impaired  residents  in  these
17    communities are being exposed to unsafe and harmful levels of
18    these toxic pollutants.
19        (8)  The  General  Assembly  needs  this  information  to
20    determine  what steps, if any, are needed to reduce the toxic
21    pollutant emissions from O'Hare operations so that the levels
22    of these toxic pollutants are at safe and  acceptable  levels
23    in these residential communities.

24        Section 10.  Toxic air emissions study.
25        (a)  The  Environmental Protection Agency, in conjunction
26    with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the  School
27    of  Public  Health  at the University of Illinois at Chicago,
28    shall develop and conduct a study of the toxic air  emissions
29    generated  by  operations at O'Hare International Airport and
30    shall submit a report of its findings to the General Assembly
31    within 18 months after the effective date of this Act.
32        (b)  The elements of the study shall include but need not
33    be limited to:
 
                            -3-                LRB9100048ACsb
 1             (1)  The identity and chemical  composition  of  the
 2        pollutants generated by O'Hare operations.
 3             (2)  A  determination  of the concentration of these
 4        pollutants in the air, both at the source and in receptor
 5        residential   communities,    under    a    variety    of
 6        meteorological    conditions,    including   worst   case
 7        conditions which would result in maximum concentrations.
 8             (3)  A determination of the total  pounds  of  these
 9        pollutants generated by O'Hare operations on a peak hour,
10        daily, and annual basis.
11             (4)  A  determination  as  to  whether  these O'Hare
12        sourced pollutants operate in isolation or in combination
13        with pollutants from other sources in the air within  the
14        residential receptor communities.
15             (5)  A  description  of the toxic effects (including
16        toxic  endpoints   such   as   cancer,   birth   defects,
17        respiratory  illness,  etc.)  of  these  pollutants, both
18        alone and in combination with other pollutants.
19             (6)  A measurement and description of all the source
20        pathways  for  human  exposure  to  these  O'Hare   based
21        pollutants,  including  inhalation, ingestion, and dermal
22        contact.   This  measurement  shall  also   include   the
23        contributions   from  deposition  and  buildup  of  these
24        pollutants on soil, plants, and physical objects in these
25        residential communities.
26             (7)  An   analysis   and   recommendation   of   the
27        acceptable levels or concentrations of  these  pollutants
28        in  these  residential  communities.   Such  analysis and
29        recommendation shall provide  recommended  concentrations
30        at  least  as  strict  as applied by the state or federal
31        government  for  other  residential  exposures  to  toxic
32        chemicals.  To the extent there  is  medical  uncertainty
33        about  the  additive  or  synergistic  toxic  effects  of
34        individual  toxic  pollutants when mixed with other toxic
 
                            -4-                LRB9100048ACsb
 1        pollutants, or to the extent there is any  other  medical
 2        uncertainty  about  the quantifiability of toxic effects,
 3        the recommendations shall embody  factors  of  safety  in
 4        accordance   with   accepted  medical  and  toxicological
 5        practice.
 6        (c)  During the course of the study, the  State  agencies
 7    charged  with  the  conduct  of  this study shall establish a
 8    permanent network of toxic air  quality  monitoring  stations
 9    both at and adjacent to O'Hare airport and in the residential
10    communities  impacted  by  toxic air pollutant emissions from
11    O'Hare  operations.   This  monitoring   network   shall   be
12    maintained  by  the  Environmental  Protection  Agency  on an
13    ongoing basis after the study  has  been  completed  and  the
14    results  shall be reported on a quarterly basis to the public
15    and the General  Assembly  in  a  manner  determined  by  the
16    Agency.

17        Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect upon
18    becoming law.

[ Top ]