HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	208
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING hawaii's congressional delegation TO URGE CONGRESS to FUND constructION of A laboratory certified by the environmental protection agency to provide information to the public on environmental toxins IN THE STATE.

WHEREAS, for decades, the State has been subjected to environmental degradation caused by multiple entities that have deposited materials that are toxic to human health and the natural environment; and

WHEREAS, the State continues to lack a testing laboratory certified by the Environmental Protection Agency that is capable of identifying diseases and toxins present in the State's air, water, soil, and biological specimens; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii residents often rely on data relating to environmental toxins that are provided by the very same entities that have caused the toxins to be present in the State's natural environment; and

WHEREAS, the State's ability to evaluate the presence of environmental toxins is often delayed due to the need to send samples to laboratories located in the continental United States and the results from sample analyses may be withheld by the agencies that control the supply of the samples to those laboratories; and

WHEREAS, the presence of environmental toxins caused by pollutants has notably increased, particularly with the rapid expansion of the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances "PFAS", a group of three synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds, which have been found to be highly toxic; and

WHEREAS, a laboratory certified by the Environmental Protection Agency should be constructed in the State to address these issues and to facilitate the prompt and transparent disclosure of the results of testing samples taken from the State; and

WHEREAS, the laboratory would need to comply with all applicable standards enumerated in the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Amendments of 1988, title 42 United States Code, section 263a; and

WHEREAS, the present lack of a laboratory negates the State's responsibility to evaluate and, as appropriate, confirm or reject contentions by federal government departments and agencies, including the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency; state agencies such as the Department of Health; and other private entities, relating to environmental toxic chemicals such as TPH-D, TPH-O, TPH-G, petroleum constituents, PFAS, PFAS-related substances, and many other toxins found throughout the State's natural environment; and

WHEREAS, the cost of construction of the laboratory is likely in the range of $100,000,000, and the annual operational cost, including staffing, exceeds $200,000; and

WHEREAS, these costs are currently beyond the State's means as Hawaii endeavors to respond adequately to the catastrophe of the August 2023 Maui wildfires that destroyed Lahaina and damaged Upper Kula, Pulehu, Kihei, and Kaanapali; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii's congressional delegation is urged to take all action necessary and proper to cause congress to appropriate sufficient funds for the benefit of the State to construct and commence operation of a laboratory certified by the Environmental Protection Agency to provide analysis of environmental toxins in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the laboratory is urged to publish the results of its analyses to the public; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor, Department of Health, and other relevant governmental agencies are urged to support the construction and the commencement of the operations of the laboratory; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Governor, and Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

DOH; Laboratory; Environmental Toxins; Public Information