[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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