The Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Health Risk Assessment Unit is updating its processes for selecting contaminants to develop health-based guidance values in the Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Initiative. The process change is designed to increase stakeholder engagement and overall transparency in the nomination and selection process.
The work of this initiative helps MDH understand the potential health effects of these contaminants. The updates align the CEC selection process more closely with the selection process for contaminants reviewed under the Health Risk Limits (HRL) activities. The process change is designed to increase stakeholder engagement and overall transparency in the nomination and selection process.
The most significant change is that the CEC Initiative will develop a draft annual work plan for fiscal year 2020, which will be discussed at a public meeting on June 6, 2019. Key dates to accommodate that meeting are:
*March 8, 2019: Nominations Received. Contaminants that have been nominated through the online process or directly to program staff before March 8, 2019 will be eligible for the 2020 workplan. Staff will conduct the toxicity and exposure screenings necessary to inform selection discussion in June 2019. MDH will continue to accept nominations on a rolling basis to be included on future work plans.
*Late April 2019: Nominated Status Table and Eligible Contaminants Posted. Between March and April, MDH will screen nominated contaminants for eligibility for health-based guidance development. At the end of April, an updated Nominated Contaminants Status Table will be posted indicating which contaminants are eligible for inclusion in the 2020 work plan.
*Late May 2019: Preliminary Ranking and Meeting Materials Posted. MDH will preliminarily rank contaminants for inclusion in the 2020 work plan, which will help guide discussion at the June meeting. Other relevant meeting materials will also be posted to the website.
*June 6, 2019: Public meeting. MDH will host a public meeting to discuss and set a draft work plan for the year. All interested stakeholders are invited.
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