[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71174-71175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-9587]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special 
Exposure Cohort

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice 
of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Los Alamos 
National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, as an addition to the 
Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On November 9, 2006, the 
Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an 
addition to the SEC:

    Employees of the Department of Energy predecessor agencies and 
their contractors or

[[Page 71175]]

subcontractors who were monitored or should have been monitored for 
exposure to ionizing radiation associated with radioactive lanthanum 
(RaLa) operations at Technical Area 10 (Bayo Canyon Site), Technical 
Area 35 (Ten Site), and Buildings H, Sigma, and U (located within 
Technical Area 1) for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 
work days during the period from September 1, 1944, through July 18, 
1963, or in combination with work days within the parameters 
established for one or more classes of employees in the SEC.

    This designation will become effective on December 9, 2006, unless 
Congress provides otherwise prior to the effective date. After this 
effective date, HHS will publish a notice in the Federal Register 
reporting the addition of this class to the SEC or the result of any 
provision by Congress regarding the decision by HHS to add the class to 
the SEC.
    Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec.  7384q, in a October 11, 2006 letter to 
the Secretary of HHS, the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health 
(``the Board'') advised the Secretary of HHS to designate the class as 
an addition to the SEC. The Board further stated,

    ``In their evaluation, NIOSH determined that it was difficult to 
identify people who worked in these areas of LANL based on job 
classifications. Therefore, the Board recommends that determination 
of eligibility for this class take into account this difficulty and 
in the absence of work history or other information to the contrary, 
workers at the LANL facility during the period in question should be 
presumed to have worked in the areas in question.''

    Since determination of eligibility is not within the authority of 
HHS, the Board's recommendation on this issue was not included in the 
HHS designation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Larry Elliott, Director, Office of 
Compensation Analysis and Support, National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, MS C-46, Cincinnati, OH 
45226, Telephone 513-533-6800 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Information requests can also be submitted by e-mail to [email protected].

    Dated: November 30, 2006.
John Howard,
Director, National Institute for Occupational, Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 06-9587 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am]
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