§280g–17 Designation and Investigation of Potential Cancer Clusters

Summary

The Secretary must create rules for spotting and looking into possible cancer clusters. A cancer cluster means more cases of one cancer than expected in a group, place, and time. A particular cancer means one type of cancer or types proven to have the same cause. A population group means people defined by things like race, age, gender, or ethnicity. The rules must say how to tell when cancer is higher than expected, make sure the cases are the same kind of cancer, account for who is affected, set fair geographic boundaries, and set the time period to count cases. Working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and state and local health departments, the Secretary must make, publish, and update investigation guidelines. The guidelines must use the rules above, follow the best science, and weigh evidence carefully. They must give standard ways to review and sort data and advise on proper epidemiology and other methods. The Secretary must decide, with state and local input, whether to investigate and may prioritize cases when resources are limited. Investigations should be coordinated with HHS and other federal agencies like EPA and use biomonitoring data such as NHANES. The Secretary must keep trained staff ready, consult communities as needed, keep and share investigation reports, and offer technical help through existing programs like CDC Epi-Aids and ATSDR’s Assessments of Chemical Exposures program.