[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 12, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16806]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: July 12, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 

Savannah River Site Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project; 
Public Meeting

    The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the following 
meeting.

    Name: Savannah River Site Environmental Dose Reconstruction 
Project.
    Time and Date: 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., July 27, 1994.
    Place: Savannah Public Library, 2002 Bull Street, Savannah, 
Georgia 31499.
    Status: Open to the public for observation and comment, limited 
only by space available.
    Purpose: Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the 
Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) has been given the responsibility and resources for 
conducting analytic epidemiologic investigations of residents of 
communities in the vicinity of DOE facilities and other persons 
potentially exposed to radiation or to potential hazards from non-
nuclear energy production and use. HHS delegated program 
responsibility to CDC.

    In addition, an MOU was signed in October 1990 and renewed in 
November 1992 between the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry (ATSDR) and DOE. The MOU delineates the responsibilities and 
procedures for ATSDR's public health activities at DOE sites required 
under sections 104, 107, and 120 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or ``Superfund''). 
These activities include health consultations and public health 
assessments at DOE sites listed on, or proposed for, the Superfund 
National Priorities List and at sites that are the subject of petitions 
from the public; and other health-related activities such as 
epidemiologic studies, health surveillance, exposure and disease 
registries, health education, substance-specific applied research, 
emergency response, and preparation of toxicological profiles.
    Community involvement is a critical part of the HHS energy-related 
research and activities. With an environmental dose reconstruction for 
DOE's Savannah River Site near Augusta, Georgia, as well as a worker 
study at the same site, the availability of a formal site-specific 
advisory committee composed of South Carolina and Georgia citizens to 
provide consensus advice to CDC and ATSDR regarding these projects is 
necessary. CDC and ATSDR are currently taking steps to obtain 
authorization for a ``Citizens' Advisory Committee on Public Health 
Service Activities and Research at Department of Energy Sites'' to be 
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
    The draft charter for this proposed committee states, ``Because of 
the varying concerns within communities at each DOE site, operational 
guidelines at each site must be developed separately to clarify the 
scope of activities and the responsibilities of the committee members 
and agencies.'' Therefore, CDC and ATSDR are holding a series of public 
meetings to begin developing operational guidelines at specific DOE 
sites. The purpose of this meeting will be to update the public on the 
status of CDC's and ATSDR's community involvement plans and to seek 
individual advice and recommendations from interested parties 
concerning selection criteria and operating procedures.
    Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Paul Renard, Radiation Studies 
Branch, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, NCEH, 
CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE., (F-35), Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, 
telephone (404) 488-7040.
William H. Gimson,
Acting Associate Director for Policy Coordination, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 94-16806 Filed 7-11-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-M