By McClendon                                          H.R. No. 1355

         75R17552 EFD-D                           

                                 R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, The health and well-being of the citizens of the

 1-2     State of Texas are of paramount importance, and a vital part of the

 1-3     effort to promote the health of individuals throughout the state

 1-4     includes providing the public with a high level of environmental

 1-5     health protection; and

 1-6           WHEREAS, There is growing public concern about the possible

 1-7     impact of solid waste facilities on the communities in which they

 1-8     are located; anxiety exists over the health effects that such

 1-9     facilities have on nearby residents, students attending schools in

1-10     the area, children in day-care facilities, and worshippers

1-11     attending neighborhood churches, as well as the possible

1-12     degradation of public parks and drinking water supplies; and

1-13           WHEREAS, There is no doubt that the cumulative effects of

1-14     exposure to air pollution from a multitude of sources are having a

1-15     detrimental impact on more vulnerable segments of the population,

1-16     especially children; physiological characteristics, such as the

1-17     fact that children's lungs are still developing and their

1-18     biological defenses against air pollution are not yet fully mature,

1-19     make our children far more susceptible to chronic lung diseases,

1-20     including asthma and bronchitis; and

1-21           WHEREAS, It is imperative to examine the impact of solid

1-22     waste facilities on public health, to determine whether the

1-23     presence of multiple sources of pollution and different kinds of

1-24     pollutants have a harmful immediate or cumulative effect on the

 2-1     surrounding population, and to investigate the synergistic effects

 2-2     that these multiple pollutants have in combination with one

 2-3     another; now, therefore, be it

 2-4           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

 2-5     Legislature urge the House Committee on Public Health to conduct a

 2-6     study on the cumulative and synergistic effects of substances in

 2-7     the releases, emissions, or discharges from solid waste facilities

 2-8     on the health of citizens in surrounding communities, including

 2-9     information on health effects in communities where the number of

2-10     solid waste facilities is above average for the state; and, be it

2-11     further

2-12           RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the house forward an

2-13     official copy of this resolution to the chair of the House

2-14     Committee on Public Health.