Illinois § 2

§ 2.

(a) The General Assembly finds that: (i) the dangers of hazardous substances pose a serious threat to the public health and welfare of the citizens of Illinois; (ii) there exists no unified effort to collect and analyze information on hazardous substances and their potential health effects; (iii) the lack of comprehensive information has caused concern on the part of Illinois citizens and a lack of effective control by the State government; (iv) it is the obligation of the State government to inform and protect the citizens of Illinois by developing a comprehensive and integrated data system on hazardous substances and public health. (b) It is the purpose of this Act to establish a unified Statewide project to collect, compile and correlate information on public health and hazardous substances. Such information is to be used to assist in the determination of public policy and to provide a source of information for the public, except when public disclosure of the information would violate the provisions of subsection (d) of Section 4 concerning confidentiality. (c) In particular, the purpose of the collection of cancer incidence information is to: (1) monitor incidence trends of cancer to detect potential public health problems, predict risks and assist in investigating cancer clusters; (2) more accurately target intervention resources for communities and patients and their families; (3) inform health professionals and citizens about risks, early detection and treatment of cancers known to be elevated in their communities; and (4) promote high quality research to provide better information for cancer control and to address public concerns and questions about cancer. (Source: P.A. 90-607, eff. 6-30-98.)