[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 19543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9926]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Announces the 
Following Public Meetings

    Name: Update on Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Final Report.
    Dates: Wednesday, May 5, 1999, Thursday, May 6, 1999
    Times: 7 p.m.-9 p.m., 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Place: WestCoast Ridpath Hotel, West 515 Spraque, Spokane, 
Washington 99201,
    Tel: (509) 838-2711, Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport, 18740 
Pacific Highway South, Seattle, Washington 98188, (206) 246-8600.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting room will accommodate approximately 200 people.

Purpose

    The CDC and investigators from Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer 
Research Center (FHCRC) will discuss findings on the Hanford Thyroid 
Disease Study Draft Final Report. The purpose of the study was to 
determine if there was an increased risk for thyroid disease among a 
randomly selected study population exposed to atmospheric releases of 
radioactive iodine-131 (I-131) from the Hanford Nuclear Site in eastern 
Washington State during the 1940s and 1950s. The study, mandated by 
Congress, was conducted by a team of scientists at the FHCRC under 
contract from the CDC.

Background

    In 1986, Freedom of Information Act requests led the Department of 
Energy to make public thousands of pages of documentation indicating 
that large quantities of radioactive materials were released into the 
atmosphere from the Hanford Nuclear Site. The radioactivity was a 
byproduct of nuclear weapons production from December 1944 through 
1957. Most of the radioactivity was released in the form of I-131, 
which concentrates in the thyroid glands of those who eat food 
contaminated by it. The amount of I-131 released during this period was 
more than half a million curies, prompting concern regarding thyroid 
health effects. The government convened a special Hanford Health 
Effects Review Panel to review the documents and recommend steps to 
evaluate possible health consequences among those who live near the 
Hanford Site.
    Two studies were undertaken as a result of these recommendations. 
The first was the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project 
which estimated potential radiation doses to the thyroid among persons 
exposed to Hanford I-131 releases. The second was the Hanford Thyroid 
Disease Study. This study was designed to determine whether the 
exposures from Hanford resulted in an increased risk of thyroid disease 
in a randomly selected study population. In late 1989, a contract to 
perform this study was awarded to the FHCRC.

CONTACT PERSONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: General information may be 
obtained from Mr. Mike Donnelly, Project Officer, Radiation Studies 
Branch (RSB), Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects 
(DEHHE), NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, M/S (F-35), Atlanta, 
Georgia 30341-3724, telephone 770-488-7040, fax 770-488-7044. Technical 
information may be obtained from Dr. Paul Garbe, RSB, DEHHE, NCEH, CDC, 
4770 Buford Highway, NE, (F-35), Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, telephone 
770-488-7040, fax 770-488-7044.
    The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, has been 
delegated the authority to sign Federal Register notices pertaining to 
announcements of meetings and other committee management activities, 
for both CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

    Dated: April 15, 1999.
Carolyn J. Russell,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-9926 Filed 4-20-99; 8:45 am]
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