Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) announced that important legislation she sponsored on cancer mapping (A.1884) passed in the Assembly today with unanimous bi-partisan support (130-0).

"This legislation takes New York a step closer toward linking potentially hazardous environmental sites and the incidence of disease in our community," said Lupardo. "Here in the Southern Tier we live on a day-to-day basis with old industrial sites that need remediation. Too little is known about how these environmental threats affect our health and their potential to cause life threatening diseases."

The legislation would require the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to collect and develop a database of facilities and sites regulated by pollution permits, including: air pollution permits; facilities that collect, treat or dispose of solid waste and industrial hazardous waste; low-level radioactive waste; bulk storage of hazardous substances and pesticides. The Department of Health (DOH) would be required to collect information from medical professionals regarding cancers or other malignant diseases that come under their care. Information gathered would include genetic history, occupational history, age, residence history, alcohol and tobacco use. A map would then be plotted to compare cancer incidence and hazardous sites in New York State.

"For too long we have speculated on the correlation between environmental hazards and cancer," said Lupardo. "This mapping project would help us identify cancer clusters that exist in and around environmentally unfriendly properties. I urge the Senate to act on this important legislation." The bill is currently in the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee (S.3781).