* 2401-b. Cancer incidence and environmental facility maps. 1. For purposes of this section, "environmental facility" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 3-0317 of the environmental conservation law.
2. For purposes of this section, "cancer incidence and environmental facility maps technical advisory group" or "technical advisory group" shall mean the environmental public health tracking program technical advisory group required by a cooperative agreement between the department and the federal centers for disease control and prevention.
3. The technical advisory group shall make recommendations to the department on the appropriate use and communication of the cancer incidence and environmental facility maps. Such recommendations shall consider the scientific strengths and limitations of such mapping and overlay methodologies for cancer tracking and geospatial linking to significant disease risk factors, and the appropriate means for communicating such strengths and limitation to the public in an easily discernible manner. The department shall consider the recommendations of the technical advisory group when making the maps required by this section available to the public.
4. The department, in consultation with the department of environmental conservation and the technical advisory group, shall establish and maintain a computer mapping system for plotting cancer incidence and environmental facilities throughout the state, including but not limited to cancer clusters. Such maps shall overlay locations of environmental facilities with cancer incidences.
5. Cancer incidence and environmental facility maps shall include data on the incidence of the following cancer types:
(a) lung and bronchus;
(b) female breast;
(c) urinary bladder (including in situ);
(d) brain and other nervous system;
(e) colon and rectum;
(f) non-Hodgkin lymphomas;
(g) leukemias;
(h) thyroid;
(i) liver/intrahepatic bile duct;
(j) kidney and renal pelvis;
(k) prostate;
(l) oral cavity and pharynx;
(m) stomach;
(n) esophagus;
(o) larynx;
(p) pancreas;
(q) corpus uterus;
(r) ovary;
(s) testis;
(t) mesothelioma;
(u) bone;
(v) nasal and nasopharynx; and
(w) soft tissue sarcomas.
6. Plotting of data for cancer incidence and environmental facility maps shall be by census block, except in cases where such plotting could disclose the identity of any person to whom the data relate, in which case census blocks shall be aggregated for plotting to protect the identity of such person. When such aggregation is required, the department shall utilize the minimum number of census blocks practicable to protect the identity of such person.
7. By March first, two thousand eleven the department shall make available to the public information on cancer as designated by the environmental public health tracking program of the centers for disease control and prevention, and, in consultation with the department of environmental conservation, current data on locations and type of environmental facilities.
8. By June thirtieth, two thousand eleven the department shall make available to the public cancer incidence and environmental facility maps which show available information on the location of environmental facilities and the total number of reported cancers by census block and associated data for each reported cancer type listed in subdivision five of this section.
9. The department shall make available to the public cancer incidence and environmental facility maps in the manner described in subdivision four of this section showing cancer clusters by cancer types. Prior to plotting such data, the department shall use an appropriate statistical method to detect statistical anomalies for the purpose of identifying cancer clusters.
The department shall make such maps available on its public website, and shall, in consultation with the department of environmental conservation, update the maps not less than once every five years.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2022
Last modified: February 3, 2019