[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21786-21787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09998]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[Docket No. CDC-2019-0045]
Updating Federal Guidelines Used by Public Health Agencies To
Assess and Respond to Potential Cancer Clusters in Communities
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the opening of
a docket to obtain public comment on updating federal guidelines used
by public health agencies to assess and respond to potential cancer
clusters in communities. CDC is working with the Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to develop updated guidelines
to ensure that state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) public
health agencies and stakeholders have access to information about
current scientific tools and approaches to assess and respond to
potential cancer clusters. The purpose of this notice is to solicit
feedback on best approaches for assessing and responding to potential
cancer clusters in communities.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 15, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CDC-2019-
0045 by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Division of Environmental Health Science and
Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, Attn: Docket No. CDC-2019-0045, 4770 Buford
Highway NE, Mailstop F-60, Atlanta, Georgia 30341.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and Docket Number. All relevant comments received will be posted
without change to http://regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided. For access to the docket to read background
documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alisha Etheredge, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health,
Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, 4770 Buford
Highway NE, Mailstop F-60, Atlanta, GA 30341; Telephone: 770-488-4024;
Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The current guidelines, Investigating Suspected Cancer Clusters and
Responding to Community Concerns: Guidelines from CDC and the Council
of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (2013 Guidelines), were
published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in
September 2013 (see the Supporting & Related Material tab of this
docket). The 2013 Guidelines are a tool to assist state, tribal, local,
and territorial (STLT) public health agencies in applying a systematic
approach when responding to inquiries about suspected cancer clusters
in residential or community settings.
Since publication of the 2013 Guidelines, there have been technical
and scientific advancements in areas such as data availability,
analytic and geospatial methods, and cancer genomics. CDC is updating
the 2013 Guidelines to ensure that STLT public health agencies and
stakeholders have access to information about current scientific tools
and approaches to assess and respond to potential cancer clusters in
communities. The updated guidance will also provide members of the
public with information about how STLT public health agencies may
address individual and community concerns about potential cancer
clusters. CDC will update the 2013 Guidelines based on input from
subject matter experts, STLT public health agencies, the public, and
other stakeholders.
Supporting Material
The 2013 Guidelines can be found in the Supporting Materials tab of
this docket or accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6208a1.htm.
Public Participation
Interested persons or organizations are invited to participate by
submitting written views, information, recommendations, and data. In
addition, CDC invites comments (and supporting data or other material,
if applicable) specifically on these following questions:
1. Based on your personal or professional experience, what are the
best approaches for public health agencies to:
a. Respond to community concerns about potential cancer clusters?
b. assess and evaluate potential cancer clusters?
c. communicate and engage with affected community members and other
stakeholders throughout all stages of assessing and responding to a
potential cancer cluster?
2. If you are familiar with the 2013 Guidelines, please answer the
following questions:
a. What are the strengths of the 2013 Guidelines? What would you
like to see retained in the updated guidelines? Please describe why.
b. What gaps and challenges exist in the 2013 Guidelines? For
stated challenges, what are possible solutions to overcoming them?
3. What other factors should CDC consider when updating the 2013
Guidelines? Please describe why these factors are important to
consider.
Please note that comments received, including attachments and other
supporting materials, are part of the public record and are subject to
public disclosure. Comments will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Therefore, do not include any information in your
comment or supporting materials that you consider confidential or
inappropriate for public disclosure. If you include your name, contact
information, or other information that identifies you in the body of
your comments, that information will be on public display. CDC will
review all submissions and may choose to redact, or withhold,
submissions containing private or proprietary information such as
Social Security numbers, medical information, inappropriate language,
or duplicate/near duplicate examples of a mass-mail campaign. CDC will
carefully consider all comments submitted during the process of
updating federal guidelines used by public health agencies to assess
and respond to potential cancer clusters in communities.
[[Page 21787]]
Dated: May 10, 2019.
Sandra Cashman,
Executive Secretary, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2019-09998 Filed 5-14-19; 8:45 am]
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