Virginia § 32.1-241 - Powers and duties of Board

§ 32.1-241. Powers and duties of Board

The Board shall:

1. Advise the Governor, other state agencies, the federal government, and local governing bodies on matters pertaining to chemical exposures posing a threat to public health or the environment;

2. Collect from any source, necessary information concerning substances which are toxic in certain concentrations and under certain conditions;

3. Catalogue information on substances that are toxic so that the information can be retrieved quickly for use;

4. Institute proceedings in any appropriate court to compel the production of information concerning substances which are toxic;

5. Review and evaluate the information to be used in making a determination regarding toxicity of any substance and the concentrations and conditions under which the substance is toxic;

6. Disseminate information concerning toxic substances to other state agencies, political subdivisions of the Commonwealth, health professionals, the media, and the public by communicating the risk of chemical exposure through developing and disseminating documents, technical reports, information sheets, advisories, and press releases;

7. Investigate potential human health effects associated with environmental exposures through biomedical studies to address emergency and nonemergency site-specific problems;

8. Develop health risk assessments for specific chemical exposures via air, water, and food; coordinate assessments of such risks with other state agencies through the convening of assessment groups; and submit recommendations to prevent exposure of citizens to toxic substances, including, but not limited to, the closure of bodies of water and advisories relating to food consumption; and

9. Promulgate regulations to specify as necessary the details of the program.

Code 1950, §§ 32-428.1, 32-429; 1976, c. 627; 1977, c. 471; 1979, c. 711; 1982, c. 16; 1992, c. 203; 1995, c. 90.