[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 110 (Thursday, June 8, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30303-30304]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14046]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[ATSDR-93]


Notice of Intent To Revise the Public Health Assessment Process

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Public Health Service (PHS), Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS).

ACTION: Notice of intent to revise ATSDR's public health assessment 
process.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces proposed revisions in ATSDR's current 
public health assessment process. The revisions are intended to: (1) 
Produce earlier, more targeted evaluations that can be more effectively 
integrated into the Superfund Program and; (2) incorporate 
administrative improvements in ATSDR's Superfund mandates.
    This process will begin through a pilot program, which includes an 
initial appraisal of the impact of program changes by July 30, 1995. 
The purpose of this pilot is to allow us to effect the planned changes 
over time, while receiving valuable feedback from all stakeholders, 
including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State and local 
environmental and health departments and communities. (The term 
``EPA,'' when used to designate the lead Federal remediation agency, 
applies to respective Federal agencies operating Federal Superfund 
facilities). An ongoing evaluation of the success of the revised public 
health assessment process and progress/success of the pilot is 
essential to the design of the program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert C. Williams, P.E., D.E.E., 
Director, Division of Health Assessment and Consultation, Agency for 
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop 
E-32, Atlanta Georgia 30333, telephone (404) 639-0610 or FAX 639-0654.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 104(i)(6)(A) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 
(CERCLA), as amended [42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(6)(A)], requires ATSDR to 
conduct health assessments of sites on or proposed for inclusion on the 
National Priorities List established by the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA). In addition, section 104(i)(6)(B) of CERCLA provides that 
any person or group of persons may submit evidence of a release of or 
exposure to a hazardous substance to ATSDR and request ATSDR to perform 
a health assessment. Further, section 3019(b) of the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act of 1984 (RCRA), as amended [42 U.S.C. 
6939a] provides that when, in the judgment of the U.S. EPA or a State, 
a landfill or surface impoundment poses a substantial potential risk to 
human health, the EPA or State may request ATSDR to perform a health 
assessment.
    Under the revised process, neither the definition nor the purpose 
of public health assessments will change. The purposes of health 
assessments, as defined by CERCLA, are to assist in determining whether 
actions should be taken to reduce human exposure to hazardous 
substances from a facility and whether additional information on human 
exposure and associated health risks is needed. ATSDR's public health 
assessments are evaluations of data and information on the release of 
hazardous substances into the environment in order to assess any 
current or future impact on public health, develop health advisories or 
other recommendations, and identify studies or actions needed to 
evaluate and mitigate or prevent human health effects. These purposes 
will not change.
    Although ATSDR will continue to perform public health assessments, 
as set out in the legislation, we plan to initiate a phased approach to 
conducting them. This means that ATSDR may provide input to the EPA, 
States, and communities at any point in the Superfund process, thus 
allowing for the possible production of several site-related documents 
or reports. Those documents could then be utilized by the EPA or State 
and local health departments as they make decisions (e.g., early 
actions) related to particular sites. This would ensure that public 
health perspectives are considered at critical points in the process.
    Key phases in the revised process, which are designed to coincide 
with the EPA's site evaluation and remediation process under Superfund, 
will include one or more of the following:
    (1) Site Assessment Activities, which could include performing site 
visits, [[Page 30304]] evaluating preliminary environmental 
characterization data, releasing initial findings and public health 
decisions, and initializing community involvement and education 
efforts;
    (2) Sampling Strategies, which could include participating in the 
design of multiple media sampling and analysis plans that assist in 
identifying human exposure pathways;
    (3) Community Health Outreach, such as initiating early community 
contact, designing the public health agenda, developing sampling and 
analysis strategies to help define human exposure levels, and 
collaborating with decision-makers regarding on- and off-site 
remediation strategies for characterizing environmental contamination;
    (4) Public Health Evaluation, which includes the comparison of 
existing morbidity and mortality data on diseases that may be 
associated with the observed levels of exposure. Also included are 
exposure investigations, which involve gathering and analyzing site-
specific information, to determine if human populations have been 
exposed to hazardous substances, and release of comprehensive findings 
from evaluations;
    (5) Public Health Actions, which could be short-term, including 
providing health professional education, medical intervention, and 
health studies; or long-term actions, which could include providing 
surveillance, medical monitoring, and registries;
    (6) Remediation and Site Closure Planning, which could include 
providing a public health analysis of environmental monitoring plans, 
evaluating final sampling data, and releasing comprehensive public 
health findings regarding efficacy of cleanup efforts in mitigating or 
reducing human exposure; and
    (7) Customer Satisfaction Evaluations to confirm the effectiveness 
of activities through reader/customer surveys, pilot projects, 
questionnaires, and community meetings.
    Greater participation of communities and remediation decisionmakers 
will be fundamental to the implementation of the revised process, and 
interaction with stakeholders will be an integral part in each of the 
activities noted above. Community involvement will be emphasized 
throughout ATSDR's activities. In particular, efforts to facilitate 
community outreach will be undertaken through actions such as increased 
use of Public Availability Sessions, poster sessions, direct contact 
with community groups, focus group workshops for team-building, 
distribution of Community Notices and Fact Sheets, and establishing 
Community Assistance Panels. In addition, ATSDR will continue to 
provide independent peer-review of a sample of our public health 
assessments.

    Dated: June 1, 1995.
Claire V. Broome,
Deputy Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
[FR Doc. 95-14046 Filed 6-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P