[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 163 (Friday, August 22, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50777-50778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21517]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30 Day-65-03]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 498-1210. Send written 
comments to CDC, Desk Officer, Human Resources and Housing Branch, New 
Executive Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503 or by fax 
to (202) 395-6974. Written comments should be received within 30 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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                                                                                      No. of       Avg. burden/
                           Respondents                                No. of        responses/     response (in
                                                                    respondents     respondent        hours)
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Screening Interview.............................................             250               1           20/60
Consent Form....................................................             100               1           20/60
Questionnaire...................................................             100               1           20/60
Blood Samples...................................................             100               6            5/60
Shower..........................................................             100               1           20/60
Urine Sample....................................................             100               2           10/60
Tap Water Sample................................................             100               1           10/60
Misc. Study Activities..........................................             100               1           40/60
Remain at Study Site............................................             100               1               2
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[[Page 50778]]

    Dated: August 18, 2003.
Nancy E. Cheal,
Acting Deputy Director for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-21517 Filed 8-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P