[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 5951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-2818]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Savannah River Site Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project--
Phase II: Public Workshops

    The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Radiological 
Assessments Corporation announce the following workshops.

    Name: Savannah River Site Environmental Dose Reconstruction 
Project--Phase II: Public Workshops.
    Date: Tuesday, February 24, 1998.
    Time: 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Place: Holiday Inn Coliseum, 630 Assembly Street, Columbia, 
South Carolina 29201.
    Tel: 803/799-7800.
    Date: Wednesday, February 25, 1998.
    Time: 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Place: Holiday Inn Express, 155 Colony Parkway, Aiken, South 
Carolina 29803.
    Tel: 803/648-0999.
    Date: Thursday, February 26, 1998.
    Time: 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Place: Holiday Inn Midtown, 7100 Abercorn Street, Savannah, 
Georgia 31406.
    Tel: 912/352-7100.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting rooms accommodate approximately 50 people.

Background

    Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 1990 
with DOE, replaced by an MOU signed in 1996, the Department of Health 
and Human Services (HHS) was given the responsibility and resources for 
conducting analytic epidemiologic investigations of residents of 
communities in the vicinity of DOE facilities, workers at DOE 
facilities, and other persons potentially exposed to radiation or to 
potential hazards from non-nuclear energy production use. HHS has 
delegated program responsibility to CDC.
    In addition, an MOU was signed in October 1990 and renewed in 
November 1992 between ATSDR and DOE. The MOU delineates the 
responsibilities and procedures for ATSDR's public health activities at 
DOE sites required under sections 104, 105, 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.

Purpose

    The Savannah River Site (SRS) Dose Reconstruction Project supports 
research which evaluates past releases of radioactive materials and 
chemicals from the SRS to the surrounding environment. The CDC and the 
Radiological Assessments Corporation are conducting a study of the SRS 
to determine whether past nuclear materials production caused offsite 
health effects. Phase I of the study involved the most comprehensive 
review of records ever undertaken at any of the U.S. weapons 
facilities. Phase II, to be completed in the fall of 1998, uses 
information from Phase I to estimate past releases of radionuclides and 
chemicals from the SRS. The research team has also analyzed the offsite 
environmental measurements of these materials performed since the early 
1950s.
    This series of public meetings will present the study results to 
date, and will provide an opportunity for individuals to comment on the 
research and to provide any new information concerning past SRS 
operations. Public input and the promise to provide clear and easily 
obtained sources of public information are important parts of this 
study. Newsletters are being published regularly that provide updates 
on the progress of the research and fact sheets, highlighting specific 
research topics, are being released as well. Individuals with 
information of possible value to the study are encouraged to attend 
public workshops. All public workshops will be held in South Carolina 
and Georgia, and will be announced in newsletters.
    Agenda items are identical for each meeting and are subject to 
change as priorities dictate.

Contact Persons for More Information

    Paul G. Renard, Project Officer, Radiation Studies Branch, Division 
of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford 
Highway, NE, M/S F-35, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, telephone 770/488-
7040, fax 770/488-7044.

    Dated: January 29, 1998.
Carolyn J. Russell,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 98-2818 Filed 2-4-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P