[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7183-7184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3729]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[60Day-02-26]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    In compliance with the requirement of section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on 
proposed data collection projects, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. 
To request more information on the proposed projects or to obtain a 
copy of the data collection plans and instruments, call the CDC Reports 
Clearance Officer on (404) 639-7090.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Send comments to Seleda Perryman, CDC 
Assistant Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road, MS-D24, 
Atlanta, GA 30333. Written comments should be received within 60 days 
of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Levels of Selected Drinking Water Disinfection By-products in Whole 
Blood after Showering: The Effect of Genetic Polymorphisms--NEW--
National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
    Chlorine is the most commonly used chemical for disinfecting U.S. 
water supplies; however, chlorine reacts with organic compounds in the 
water to produce halogenated hydrocarbon by-products. Exposure to these 
disinfection by-products (DBPs) has been associated with liver and 
bladder cancer in humans and is suspected of other adverse health 
outcomes. We recently completed a study of household exposure to one 
class of DBPs in tap water, trihalomethanes (THMs) (Backer et al., 
2000). We found an increase in whole blood levels of one class of 
(THMs) after people showered or bathed in tap water. We also found that 
the increases fell roughly into two groups; one group was clustered 
around a higher level, the other a lower level. It is possible that 
this clustering is the result of individual variations in physiological 
characteristics or it could be the result of differences in the ability 
to metabolize THMs.
    Since several polymorphically expressed enzymes are linked to the 
metabolism of DBPs, these physiologic and genetic differences may be 
important in determining an individual's risk for cancer and other 
health risks associated with exposure to these compounds. We plan to 
measure the change in blood concentration of DBPs after showering. We 
will then examine the association between people with different enzyme 
variants and post-exposure blood THM levels. The study will be 
conducted in two parts. Part 1 will involve recruiting 250 volunteers 
who do not have a history of lung problems and who are willing to 
participate in all aspects of the study. These 250 will be asked to 
provide some demographic information. They will also provide a buccal 
cell sample that will be analyzed in order to find a pool of 100 
volunteers who have the genetic polymorphisms of interest. Part 2 will 
involve the 100 study subjects giving three blood samples before and 
three blood samples after taking a shower. A urine sample will be 
collected and stored for future use in evaluating urine levels of 
haloacetic acids (HAAs), another important class of drinking water 
DBPs. Air and water samples will also be collected.
    Subjects will complete a brief questionnaire in order to obtain 
personal information that might impact the dose of volatized DBPs they 
receive. This data will be analyzed to determine whether the 
physiologic and genetic differences among individuals result in 
differences in blood THM levels after similar exposure. There are no 
costs to respondents.

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                                                                     Number of    Average burden/
                   Respondents                       Number of       responses     response (in    Total burden
                                                    respondents     respondent        hours)        (in hours)
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Healthy, College-age adults.....................             250               1               1             250

[[Page 7184]]

 
Respondents with genetic variants of interest...             110               1               2             220
                                                                                                 ---------------
    Total.......................................  ..............  ..............  ..............             470
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    Dated: February 8, 2002.
Julie Fishman,
Acting Deputy Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-3729 Filed 2-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P