[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34706-34711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-14807]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Docket Number CDC-2011-0006]
[RIN 0920-ZA03]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

ACTION: Notification of proposed altered system of records; 
clarification.

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SUMMARY: On May 27, 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), located within the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS), published a Notification of Proposed Altered System of 
Records for its system of records, 09-20-0147, ``Occupational Health 
Epidemiological Studies and EEOICPA Program Records, HHS/CDC/NIOSH.'' 
This document offers clarifications to the May publication.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 27, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments, identified by the Privacy 
Act System of Records Number 09-20-0147, to the following address: HHS/
CDC Senior Official for Privacy (SOP), Office of the Chief Information 
Security Officer (OCISO), 4770 Buford Highway--M/S: F-35, Atlanta, GA 
30341.
    You may also submit written comments electronically to http://www.regulations.gov. Comments must be identified by Docket No. CDC-
2011-0006. Please follow directions at http://www.regulations.gov to 
submit comments.
    All relevant comments received will be posted publicly to http://www.regulations.gov without change, including any personal or 
proprietary information provided. An electronic version of the draft is 
available to download at http://www.regulations.gov.
    Written comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2011-0006, and/or 
Privacy Act System of Records Number 09-20-0147, will be available for 
public inspection Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays, 
from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, at 4770 Buford 
Highway--M/S: F-35, Atlanta, GA 30341. Please call ahead to (770) 488-
8660, and ask for a representative from Office of the Chief Information 
Security Officer (OCISO) to schedule your visit. Comments may also be 
viewed at http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly E. Walker, Chief Privacy 
Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford 
Highway--M/S: F-35, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, (770) 488-8660. This is not 
a toll-free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the May 27, 2011, notice (76 FR 31212), 
CDC provided information regarding the

[[Page 34707]]

amendment of the categories of individuals covered by the system of 
records; the categories of records; the authorities; and the purposes 
for maintenance of the system of records. In addition, we proposed to 
add new routine uses. The purpose of these modifications was to provide 
notice as to how the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH), a component of CDC, is complying with the Privacy Act 
in executing its responsibilities under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health 
and Compensation Act of 2010 found at Title XXXIII of the Public Health 
Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300mm--300mm-61 (Title XXXIII). CDC offers the 
following clarifications.
    1. We are adding a clause to the first sentence of the section 
entitled ``Categories of records in the system'' to address the 
information that is in the record system for individuals presumed to be 
enrolled in the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program as of July 1, 
2011. We are also adding a sentence at the end of the section to notify 
individuals that information that is provided to HHS that is from a 
system of records under the control of the Terrorist Screening Center 
(TSC), Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, remains 
law enforcement information and retains the exemptions listed in 
Justice/FBI-019, 72 FR 47073 (Aug. 22, 2007) and promulgated under 28 
CFR 16.96(r).
    Accordingly, that section now reads, in relevant part:
    Categories of records in the system: * * * Also included are 
applications for enrollment in the World Trade Center (WTC) Health 
Program and, information on individual enrolled or otherwise claiming 
eligibility and qualification for enrollment; once enrolled, 
information on these individuals may include screening and medical 
records, and financial records related to payment and reimbursements 
for care under the WTC program. Information that is provided to HHS 
that is from a system of records under the control of the Terrorist 
Screening Center (TSC), Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of 
Justice, remains law enforcement information and retains the exemptions 
listed in Justice/FBI-019, 72 FR 47073 (Aug. 22, 2007) and promulgated 
under 28 CFR 16.96(r).
    2. Provisions of the Zadroga Act mandate that no individual on the 
terrorist watchlist may be qualified as eligible to receive the 
benefits under this Act. In order to implement this provision, NIOSH 
published a routine use that would permit disclosure of certain 
personal identifying information to the Department of Justice and its 
contractors to provide terrorist screening support in accordance with 
this statutory obligation to qualify individuals under this program. We 
are retaining the language that describes the information released to 
the Department of Justice and that this disclosure is for the purpose 
of permitting the Department of Justice to perform the terrorist 
screening required by Title XXXIII of the Public Service Act. We have 
added a sentence at the end of the description of the routine uses for 
the WTC Health Program records affirming that NIOSH will comply with 
applicable Federal law with respect to the records in this system. We 
have also added language to provide a more complete explanation of the 
information the Department of Justice will retain consistent with 
Justice/FBI-019, Terrorist Screening Center Records System. That 
routine use has been clarified, as follows:

    Disclosure to the Department of Justice and its contractors to 
provide terrorist screening support in accordance with NIOSH's 
statutory obligation to determine whether an individual is on the 
``terrorist watch list'' as specified in Section 3311 and Section 
3321 of the Zadroga Act and is eligible and qualified to be enrolled 
or certified in the WTC Health Program as specified by statute. 
Disclosure by NIOSH, under this routine use, will be limited to only 
the information that is necessary to determine eligibility and 
qualification under the statute. The Department of Justice will only 
retain information provided by HHS that relates to (1) Individuals 
known or appropriately suspected to be or have been engaged in 
conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to 
terrorism (``known or suspected terrorists''); (2) individuals 
identified during the terrorism screening process as a possible 
identity match to a known or suspected terrorist; (3) individuals 
who are misidentified as a possible identity match to a known or 
suspected terrorist in order to expedite future screening of those 
individuals and to support the appeals process; and/or (4) 
individuals about whom a terrorist watchlist-related appeal inquiry 
has been made. Information that does not fall into one of the above 
listed categories will not be retained by the Department of Justice.

    3. We are modifying the Retention and disposal section to delete 
any reference to the Department of Justice which adheres to its own 
records retention schedule. This section will now read as follows:
    Retention and disposal: Records are retained and disposed of 
according to the provisions of the CDC Electronic Records Control 
Schedule for NIOSH records. Research records are maintained in the 
agency for three years after the close of the study. Records 
transferred to the Federal Records Center when no longer needed for 
evaluation and analysis are destroyed after 75 years for epidemiologic 
studies, unless needed for further study. Records from health hazard 
evaluations will be retained at least 20 years. Energy Employees 
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) program records 
are transferred to the Federal Records Center 15 years after the case 
file becomes inactive and are destroyed after 75 years. WTC Health 
Program records are transferred to the Federal Records Center 15 years 
after the case file becomes inactive and are destroyed after 75 years.
    In our May 27, 2011, notice, we provided opportunity to comment 
until June 27, 2011, on the new routine uses in the altered system of 
records as is required under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11). By 
publishing in the Federal Register, the agency provides individuals 
with notice of the information that the agency will be disclosing and 
the purpose of that disclosure. Britt v. Naval Investigative Service, 
886 F.2d 544, 548 (3rd Cir. 1989). ``A new `routine use' is one which 
involves disclosure of records for a new purpose * * * or to a new 
recipient or category of recipients.'' 40 FR 28948, 28966 (July 9, 
1975). In the May 27, 2011, notice, we specified we would be providing 
information to the Department of Justice for the purpose of that agency 
conducting the terrorist screening under specified provisions of Title 
XXXIII of the Public Health Service Act and that the information 
disclosed would be limited to that information needed for this 
screening purpose. The clarifications provided in this notice do not 
establish a new purpose, new recipient or category of recipients, 
notwithstanding additional information provided as to the retention by 
the Department of Justice of certain information identified in the May 
27, 2011, notice. Since the additional information does not create a 
new routine use or substantively alter the language pertaining to the 
information that NIOSH will disclose or why it is disclosing it, the 
comment period will remain the same and comments must be received on or 
before June 27, 2011 as specified in the May 27, 2011 notice specified 
above. The entire resulting system of records notice, as amended and 
clarified, appears below.


[[Page 34708]]


    Dated: June 7, 2011.
James D. Seligman,
Chief Information Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


System name:
    Occupational Health Epidemiological Studies and EEOICPA Program 
Records and WTC Health Program Records, HHS/CDC/NIOSH

Security classification:
    None.

System location:
    WTC Health Program, NIOSH, Century Center Boulevard, Building 2400, 
Mail Stop E-74, Atlanta, GA 30329.
    Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluation, and Field Studies 
(DSHEFS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 4676 Columbia Parkway, 
Cincinnati, OH 45226.
    Division of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS), National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 1095 Willowdale Road, 
Morgantown, WV 20505-2888.
    Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15156.
    Spokane Research Laboratory, NIOSH, 315 E. Montgomery Avenue, 
Spokane, WA 99207.
    Office of Compensation Analysis and Support (OCAS), NIOSH, Robert 
A. Taft Laboratories, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, 
and Federal Records Center, 3150 Bertwynn Drive, Dayton, OH 45439.
    Data are also occasionally located at contractor sites as studies 
are developed, data collected, and reports written. A list of 
contractor sites where individually identifiable data are currently 
located is available upon request to the system manager.
    Also, occasionally data may be located at the facilities of 
collaborating researchers where analyses are performed, data collected 
and reports written. A list of these facilities is available upon 
request to the system manager. Data may be located only at those 
facilities that have an adequate data security program and the 
collaborating researcher must return the data to NIOSH or destroy 
individual identifiers at the conclusion of the project.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    That segment of the population exposed to physical and/or chemical 
agents or other workplace hazards that may damage the human body in any 
way. Some examples are: (1) Organic carcinogens; (2) inorganic 
carcinogens; (3) mucosal or dermal irritants; (4) fibrogenic materials; 
(5) acute toxic agents including sensitizing agents; (6) neurotoxic 
agents; (7) mutagenic (male and female) and teratogenic agents; (8) 
bio-accumulating non-carcinogen agents; (9) chronic vascular disease-
causing agents; and (10) ionizing radiation. Also included are those 
individuals in the general population who have been selected as control 
groups. Workers employed by the Department of Energy and its 
predecessor agencies and their contractors are also included, as are 
cancer-related claimants under the Energy Employees Occupational 
Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA). Individuals 
enrolled in or otherwise claiming eligibility and qualification for 
enrollment in the WTC Health Program created under Title XXXIII of the 
Public Health Service Act.

Categories of records in the system:
    Physical exams, sputum cytology results, questionnaires, urine test 
records, X-rays, medical history, pulmonary function test records, 
medical disability forms, blood test records, hearing test results, 
smoking history, occupational histories, previous and current 
employment records, union membership records, driver's license data, 
demographic information, exposure history information and test results 
are examples of the records in this system. The specific types of 
records collected and maintained are determined by the needs of the 
individual study. Also included are records of cancer-related claimants 
under EEOICPA.'' Also included are applications for enrollment in the 
World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program and information on individuals 
enrolled in or otherwise claiming eligibility and qualification for 
enrollment; once enrolled, information on these individuals may include 
screening and medical records, and financial records related to payment 
and reimbursements for care under the WTC program. Information that is 
provided to HHS that is from a system of records under the control of 
the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
Department of Justice remains law enforcement information and retains 
the exemptions listed in Justice/FBI-019, 72 FR 47,073 (Aug. 22, 2007) 
and promulgated under 28 CFR 16.96 (r).

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    Public Health Service Act, Section 301, ``Research and 
Investigation'' (42 U.S.C. 241); Occupational Safety and Health Act, 
Section 20, ``Research and Related Activities'' (29 U.S.C. 669); the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, Section 501, ``Research'' 
(30 U.S.C. 951) and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) (42 U.S.C.S. 7384, et seq.); 
and the Public Health Service Act, Title XXXIII, ``World Trade Center 
Health Program'' (42 U.S.C. 300mm-300mm-61).

Purpose(s):
    Studies carried out under this system are to evaluate mortality and 
morbidity of occupationally related diseases and injuries, to determine 
their causes, and to lead toward prevention of occupationally related 
diseases and injuries in the future. EEOICPA records are maintained to 
enable NIOSH to fulfill its dose reconstruction responsibilities under 
the Act. WTC Health Program records in this system are maintained and 
used to enable NIOSH to fulfill WTC Program Administrator 
responsibilities make determinations about eligibility and 
qualification, provide for medical care, pay for that care, and 
coordinate with other health benefit programs under Title XXXIII of the 
Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300mm-300mm-61.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In the event of litigation where the defendant is: (a) The 
Department, any component of the Department, or any employee of the 
Department in his or her official capacity; (b) the United States where 
the Department determines that the claim, if successful, is likely to 
directly affect the operations of the Department or any of its 
components; or (c) any Department employee in his or her individual 
capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent such 
employee, for example, in defending a claim against the Public Health 
Service based upon an individual's mental or physical condition and 
alleged to have arisen because of activities of the Public Health 
Service in connection with such individual, disclosure may be made to 
the Department of Justice to enable that Department to present an 
effective defense, provided that such disclosure is compatible with the 
purpose for which the records were collected.
    Records may be disclosed to the Department of Justice when (1) HHS, 
or

[[Page 34709]]

any component thereof; or (2) any employee of HHS in his or her 
official capacity; or (3) any employee of HHS in his or her individual 
capacity where the Department of Justice or HHS has agreed to represent 
the employee; or (4) the United States, is a party to litigation or has 
an interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the 
Department of Justice is deemed by HHS to be relevant and necessary to 
the litigation; provided, however, that in each case it has been 
determined that the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which 
the records were collected.
    Records may be disclosed to a contractor performing or working on a 
contract for HHS and who has a need to have access to the information 
in the performance of its duties or activities for the HHS in 
accordance with law and with the contract. The contractor is required 
to comply with the applicable provisions of the Privacy Act.
    Records subject to the Privacy Act are disclosed to private firms 
for data entry, scientific support services, nosology coding, computer 
systems analysis and computer programming services. The contractors 
promptly return data entry records after the contracted work is 
completed. The contractors are required to maintain Privacy Act 
safeguards.
    Certain diseases or exposures may be reported to State and/or local 
health departments where the State has a legally constituted reporting 
program for communicable diseases and which provides for the 
confidentiality of the information.
    Disclosure of records or portions of records may be made to a 
Member of Congress or a Congressional staff member submitting a 
verified request involving an individual who is entitled to the 
information and has requested assistance from the Member or staff 
member. The Member of Congress or Congressional staff member must 
provide a copy of the individual's written request for assistance.
    Disclosure may be made to NIOSH collaborating researchers (e.g., 
NIOSH contractors, grantees, cooperative agreement holders, or other 
Federal or State scientists) in order to accomplish the research 
purpose for which the records are collected. The collaborating 
researchers must agree in writing to comply with the confidentiality 
provisions of the Privacy Act and NIOSH must have determined that the 
researchers' data security procedures will protect confidentiality.

THE FOLLOWING ROUTINE USES APPLY ONLY TO EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES:
    In the event of litigation initiated at the request of NIOSH, the 
Institute may disclose such records as it deems desirable or necessary 
to the Department of Justice and to the Department of Labor, Office of 
the Solicitor, where appropriate, to enable the Departments to 
effectively represent the Institute, provided such disclosure is 
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected. The 
only types of litigation proceedings that NIOSH is authorized to 
request are: (1) Enforcement of a subpoena issued to an employer to 
provide relevant information; and (2) administrative search warrants to 
obtain access to places of employment and relevant information therein 
and related contempt citations against an employer for failure to 
comply with a warrant obtained by the Institute; and (3) injunctive 
relief against employers or mine operators to obtain access to relevant 
information.
    Portions of records (name, Social Security number if known, date of 
birth, and last known address) may be disclosed to one or more of the 
sources selected from those listed in Appendix I, as applicable. This 
may be done for obtaining a determination regarding an individual's 
health status and last known address. If the sources determine that the 
individual is dead, NIOSH may obtain death certificates, which state 
the cause of death, from the appropriate Federal, State or local 
agency. If the individual is alive, NIOSH may obtain information on 
health status from disease registries or on last known address in order 
to contact the individual for a health study or to inform him or her of 
health findings. This information on health status enables NIOSH to 
evaluate whether excess occupationally related mortality or morbidity 
is occurring.
    Disclosure of epidemiologic study records pertaining to uranium 
workers may be made to the Department of Justice to be used in 
determining eligibility for compensation payments to the uranium 
workers or their survivors.
    Records may be disclosed by CDC in connection with public health 
activities to the Social Security Administration for sources of 
locating information to accomplish the research or program purposes for 
which the records were collected.

THE FOLLOWING ROUTINE USES APPLY ONLY TO EEOICPA PROGRAM RECORDS:
    Disclosure of dose reconstructions, epidemiologic study records and 
employment and medical information pertaining to Department of Energy 
employees and other cancer-related claimants covered under the Energy 
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act may be made to 
the Department of Labor to be used in determining eligibility for 
compensation payments to such claimants and in defending its 
determinations under the Act.
    Disclosure of personal identifying information associated with 
cancer-related claims under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act may be made to the Department of Energy, other 
Federal agencies, other government or private entities and to private-
sector employers to permit these entities to retrieve records required 
to reconstruct radiation doses and to enable NIOSH to evaluate 
petitions for inclusion in the Special Exposure Cohort.
    Completed dose reconstruction reports for cancer-related claims 
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program 
Act may be released to the Department of Energy and the Department of 
Labor to permit these entities to fulfill EEOICPA and HHS dose 
reconstruction regulation requirements to notify claimants of their 
dose reconstruction results.
    Disclosure of personal identifying information associated with 
cancer-related claims under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 
Compensation Program Act may be made to identified witnesses as 
designated by the Office of Compensation Analysis and Support to assist 
NIOSH in obtaining information required to complete the dose 
reconstruction process and to enable NIOSH to evaluate petitions for 
inclusion in the Special Exposure Cohort.
    Records may also be disclosed when deemed desirable or necessary, 
to the Department of Justice, and/or the Department of Labor, to enable 
those Departments to effectively represent the Department of Health and 
Human Services and/or the Department of Labor in litigation involving 
the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 
2000 (EEOICPA).

THE FOLLOWING ROUTINE USES APPLY ONLY TO WTC HEALTH PROGRAM RECORDS:
    Disclosure to the Department of Justice and its contractors to 
provide terrorist screening support in accordance with NIOSH's 
statutory obligation to determine whether an individual is on the 
``terrorist watch list'' as specified in Section 3311 and Section 3321 
of the Zadroga Act and is

[[Page 34710]]

eligible and qualified to be enrolled or certified in the WTC Health 
Program as specified by statute. Disclosure by NIOSH, under this 
routine use, will be limited to only the information that is necessary 
to determine eligibility and qualification under the statute. The 
Department of Justice will only retain information provided by HHS that 
relates to (1) Individuals known or suspected to be or have been 
engaged in conduct constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or 
related to terrorism (``known or suspected terrorists''); (2) 
individuals identified during the terrorism screening process as a 
possible identity match to a known or suspected terrorist; (3) 
individuals who are misidentified as a possible identity match to a 
known or suspected terrorist in order to expedite future screening of 
those individuals and to support the appeals process; and/or (4) 
individuals about whom a terrorist watchlist-related appeal inquiry has 
been made. Information that does not fall into one of the above listed 
categories will not be retained by the Department of Justice. 
Disclosure of personally identifying information to applicable entities 
for the purpose of reducing or recouping WTC Health Program payments 
made to individuals under a workers' compensation law or plan of the 
United States, a State, or locality, or other work-related injury or 
illness benefit plan of the employer of such worker or public or 
private health plan as required under Title XXXIII of the Public Health 
Service Act. NIOSH will maintain, use, and disclose the information in 
the System of Records in accordance with applicable Federal law.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Manager files, card files, electronic computer tapes, disks, files 
and printouts, microfilm, microfiche, and other files as appropriate.

Retrievability:
    Name, assigned identification number, or social security number.

Safeguards:
1. Authorized Users:
    A database software security package is utilized to control 
unauthorized access to the system. Access is granted to only a limited 
number of physicians, scientists, statisticians, and designated support 
staff or contractors, as authorized by the system manager to accomplish 
the stated purposes for which the data in this system have been 
collected.

2. Physical Safeguards:
    Hard copy records are kept in locked cabinets in locked rooms. 
Guard service in buildings provides screening of visitors. The limited 
access, secured computer room contains fire extinguishers and an 
overhead sprinkler system. Computer workstations and automated records 
are located in secured areas. Electronic anti-intrusion devices are in 
operation at the Federal Records Center.

3. Procedural Safeguards:
    Data sets are password protected and/or encrypted. Protection for 
computerized records both on the mainframe and the NIOSH Local Area 
Network (LAN) includes programmed verification of valid user 
identification code and password prior to logging on to the system, 
mandatory password changes, limited log-ins, virus protection, and user 
rights/file attribute restrictions. Password protection imposes user 
name and password log-in requirements to prevent unauthorized access. 
Each user name is assigned limited access rights to files and 
directories at varying levels to control file sharing. There are 
routine daily backup procedures and secure off-site storage is 
available for backup tapes. Additional safeguards may be built into the 
program by the system analyst as warranted by the sensitivity of the 
data.
    Employees and contractor staff who maintain records are instructed 
to check with the system manager prior to making disclosures of data. 
When individually identified data are being used in a room, admittance 
at either government or contractor sites is restricted to specifically 
authorized personnel. Privacy Act provisions are included in contracts, 
and the Project Director, contract officers and project officers 
oversee compliance with these requirements. Upon completion of the 
contract, all data will be either returned to CDC or destroyed, as 
specified by the contract.

4. Implementation Guidelines:
    The safeguards outlined above are in accordance with the HHS 
Information Security Program Policy and FIPS Pub 200, ``Minimum 
Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information 
Systems.'' Data maintained on CDC's Mainframe and the NIOSH LAN are in 
compliance with OMB Circular A-130, Appendix III. Security is provided 
for information collection, processing, transmission, storage, and 
dissemination in general support systems and major applications. The 
CDC LAN currently operates under a Microsoft Windows Server and is in 
compliance with applicable security standards.

Retention and disposal:
    Records are retained and disposed of according to the provisions of 
the CDC Electronic Records Control Schedule for NIOSH records. Research 
records are maintained in the agency for three years after the close of 
the study. Records transferred to the Federal Records Center when no 
longer needed for evaluation and analysis are destroyed after 75 years 
for epidemiologic studies, unless needed for further study. Records 
from health hazard evaluations will be retained at least 20 years. 
EEOICPA program records are transferred to the Federal Records Center 
15 years after the case file becomes inactive and are destroyed after 
75 years. WTC Health Program records are transferred to the Federal 
Records Center 15 years after the case file becomes inactive and are 
destroyed after 75 years.
    Paper files that have been scanned to create electronic copies are 
disposed of after the copies are verified. Disposal methods include 
erasing computer tapes and burning or shredding paper materials.

System manager(s) and address:
    Director, WTC Health Program, NIOSH, Century Center Boulevard, 
Building 2400, Mail Stop E-74, Atlanta, GA 30329.
    Program Management Officer, Division of Surveillance, Hazard 
valuations, and Field Studies (DSHEFS), National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Robert A. Taft Laboratories, 
Rm. 40A, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226.
    Director, Division of Respiratory Disease Studies (DRDS), National 
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Bldg. ALOSH, Rm. 
H2920, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505-2888.
    Director, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, NIOSH, 626 Cochrans Mill 
Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15156.
    Director, Spokane Research Laboratory, NIOSH, 315 E. Montgomery 
Avenue, Spokane, WA 99207.
    Director, Office of Compensation and Support (OCAS), NIOSH, Robert 
A. Taft Laboratories, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226
    Policy coordination is provided by: Director, National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Bldg. HHH, Rm. 715H, 200 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201.

[[Page 34711]]

Notification procedure:
    An individual may learn if a record exists about himself or herself 
by contacting the system manager at the above address. Requesters in 
person must provide driver's license or other positive identification. 
Individuals who do not appear in person must either: (1) Submit a 
notarized request to verify their identity; or (2) certify that they 
are the individuals they claim to be and that they understand that the 
knowing and willful request for or acquisition of a record pertaining 
to an individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense under the 
Privacy Act subject to a $5,000 fine.
    An individual who requests notification of or access to medical 
records shall, at the time the request is made, designate in writing a 
responsible representative who is willing to review the record and 
inform the subject individual of its contents at the representative's 
discretion. A subject individual will be granted direct access to a 
medical record if the system manager determines direct access is not 
likely to have adverse effect on the subject individual.
    The following information must be provided when requesting 
notification: (1) Full name; (2) the approximate date and place of the 
study, if known; and (3) nature of the questionnaire or study in which 
the requester participated.

Record access procedures:
    Same as notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably 
specify the record contents being sought. An accounting of disclosures 
that have been made of the record, if any, may be requested.

Contesting record procedures:
    Contact the official at the address specified under System Manager 
above, reasonably identify the record and specify the information being 
contested, the corrective action sought, and the reasons for requesting 
the correction, along with supporting information to show how the 
record is inaccurate, incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant.

Record source categories:
    For research studies, vital status information is obtained from 
Federal, State and local governments and other available sources 
selected from those listed in Appendix I, but information is obtained 
directly from the individual and employer records, whenever possible. 
EEOICPA records are obtained from the individual subject and the 
employer's records. WTC Health Program Records are obtained from 
individual applicants and enrollees, from medical providers who have 
treated eligible individuals, and from data centers that are 
repositories of demographic and clinical information about WTC 
responders and survivors.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the act:
    None.

Appendix I--Potential Sources for Determination of Health Status, Vital 
Status and/or Last Known Address

Military records
Appropriate State Motor Vehicle Registration Departments
Appropriate State Driver's License Departments
Appropriate State Government Division of: Assistance Payments 
(Welfare), Social Services, Medical Services, Food Stamp Program, 
Child Support, Board of Corrections, Aging, Indian Affairs, Worker's 
Compensation, Disability Insurance

Retail Credit Association follow-up
Veterans Administration files
Appropriate employee union or association records
Appropriate company pension or employment records
Company group insurance records
Appropriate State Vital Statistics Offices
Life insurance companies
Railroad Retirement Board
Area nursing homes
Area Indian Trading Posts
Mailing List Correction Cards (U.S. Postal Service)
Letters and telephone conversations with former employees of the 
same establishment as cohort member
Appropriate local newspaper (obituaries)
Social Security Administration
Internal Revenue Service
National Death Index
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation
State Disease Registries
Commercial Telephone Directories

[FR Doc. 2011-14807 Filed 6-10-11; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P