California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
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| Consist | since July 17, 1991 | ||
| Headquarters | 1001 I Street Sacramento , California United States |
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| household | $ 17.5 million in total; $ 8.3 million general fund | ||
| director | Lauren Zeise, PhD | ||
| Employee | 120 | ||
| Website | http://www.oehha.ca.gov | ||
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment , commonly referred to as OEHHA, is a specialized department within the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) at the cabinet level responsible for assessing health risks from chemical pollution .
The OEHHA is the scientific advisor within CalEPA, providing health risk assessment that supports regulatory decision-makers within CalEPA, the California Department of Public Health, and other agencies and non-governmental organizations. This also includes the assessment of health and environmental risks from:
- Carcinogens
- Reproductive toxins (e.g. teratogens )
- Air pollution
- Pesticides
- Chemical contamination in food and water
- Chemical exposure in the workplace
- Climate change in California
In the media
In May 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed that the functions of OEHHA (and other agencies) be "eliminated and transferred" as part of his May review for the 2009-2010 budget . Details about the transfer of functions including mandates , funding , human resources and the new principal agency have been limited. The removal of the OEHHA will have little impact on budget problems for several reasons:
- The OEHHA budget is very small compared to the national deficit (1/500. Of 1% of the total fund or 1 / 50,000.); $ 8.3 million of the OEHHA budget is generally fund
- around half of the OEHHA's budget is financed by special funds (e.g. Proposition 65 , biomonitoring)
- government mandates, the transfer of which to other agencies or departments will still require funding.
By order of the governor in February 2009, all government employees are on vacation two days a month , or two days off without pay, which is a 10% wage cut. On May 28, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed an additional 5% wage cut for all government employees (without adjusting the number of working days), resulting in an overall wage cut of 15%; this additional reduction must be approved by the legislator.
history
The OEHHA was founded in its current form on July 17, 1991 by Governor Pete Wilson with the establishment of Cal / EPA . OEHHA was created in the 1950s for air epidemiology in the Department of Public Health and evolved over time with increasing public environmental awareness . OEHHA is the smallest of the six organs, departments and offices within Cal / EPA. OEHHA does not have a regulator but remains the risk assessment and scientific arm of Cal / EPA and provides health protective scientific advice to Cal / EPA. In addition, OEHHA is the lead agency for the implementation of Proposition 65, a ballot measure approved in 1986 entitled The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 . The very experienced team of experts is highly regarded in the scientific community and has been built up over more than twenty years. The quality and depth of OEHHA's commitment to public health, the environment and sound science is evident from the scientific quality of the risk assessments it produces .
OEHHA is headquartered in the Cal / EPA building in Sacramento and has an office in the Oakland Elihu Harris State Building. Prior to the state building, the Oakland office was across from the University of California, Berkeley ; OEHHA has academic relationships with this institution.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ May Revise 2009-2010: Savings in State Government. (No longer available online.) In: Office of Governor. State of California May 14, 2009; Archived from the original on June 13, 2009 ; accessed on May 19, 2009 (English).
- ^ Matthew Yi: SFGate: Governor slashes state workers' pay 5%. In: SFGate.com. Hearst Communications, Inc., May 29, 2009, accessed May 29, 2009 .
- ^ The History of the California Environmental Protection Agency. (No longer available online.) California Environmental Protection Agency January 19, 2006, archived from the original on May 20, 2009 ; accessed on May 19, 2009 (English).