Communications and Outreach Work Group Meeting Minutes
May 27, 2004

Attendees:

Members attending:

James Lewis (Chair), Peggy Adkins (phone), Karen Galloway, David Johnson, and Susan Kaplan

ATSDR Staff attending:

Loretta Bush (phone), Marilyn Horton (phone), and Bill Taylor

Others attending:

Tim Joseph (DOE)

ERG Contractor:

Liz Bertelsen (phone)

Purpose:

James Lewis called the meeting to order. He asked for motions to accept the May 10, 2004, meeting minutes. Loretta Bush had a few comments about the meeting minutes, but she did not have these with her during the meeting. Susan Kaplan asked if the comments were significant, and if so, if Ms. Bush could provide a summary of the changes to the COWG. Ms. Bush's comments were in reference to inaccurate dates and the mention of Don Box's pastor in the minutes instead of a physician at Mr. Box's church. Mr. Lewis motioned to approve the minutes with minor changes; the minutes were unanimously approved.

The purpose of the meeting was to review and comment on ATSDR's advertisement, press release, and information flyer announcing the joint ATSDR/EPA meeting on June 7, 2004.

Discussion of the Press Materials
Facilitator: James Lewis, Chair

James Lewis explained that the primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the advertisement and notice for the ATSDR/EPA public meeting. He noted that they had planned on also discussing potential advertising methods for the cancer incidence review, but that this had not seemed to "pan out right now."

James Lewis asked Loretta Bush if her management had reviewed materials from the last COWG meeting. Ms. Bush replied that she had forwarded the information from the flip chart notes and that Marilyn Horton had forwarded the meeting minutes to management. Mr. Lewis asked if ATSDR's management had read the materials and if anyone had made comments. Ms. Bush stated that if there were comments, they were not shared with her.

Susan Kaplan asked Loretta Bush if ATSDR had a proposed action plan. James Lewis noted that the COWG had not submitted any formal recommendations. Ms. Bush said that Mr. Lewis was correct; no formal recommendations were submitted. Again, Mr. Lewis asked if Ms. Bush's management had read these materials from the last meeting and if they were familiar with the information discussed. Ms. Bush knew that the materials were passed onto ATSDR management, but she could not say whether or not her management had read the information.

Susan Kaplan explained that they could not make formal recommendations because they were a work group. James Lewis said he was talking about bringing these recommendations to ORRHES, but Ms. Kaplan noted that it would be too late. Loretta Bush assumed that her management had read the materials. Mr. Lewis wanted to ensure that the discussion was passed onto the appropriate levels within ATSDR. When they have minutes and other materials from a meeting, he wanted to make sure that these were forwarded and considered by ATSDR. Ms. Kaplan stated that the ORRHES meeting was after the meeting that they were discussing. She said that all they could do was "go from us to them." She asked if ATSDR had an action plan for reaching out to churches, as they had discussed previously, or did their suggestions go into the "black cloud." Mr. Lewis did not think that ATSDR would deal with this until it was passed though ORRHES. Ms. Kaplan said that it was "too late." Mr. Lewis did not know what else they could do at this point.

Loretta Bush asked if Susan Kaplan could repeat her concern. Ms. Kaplan reiterated that she was concerned because the ORRHES meeting to discuss the EPA meeting was after the EPA meeting takes places. If the COWG hoped to have any input on what was occurring, ATSDR had to take what the work group said during these meetings and take action. She questioned if ATSDR had developed an action plan and asked if "this is it." Mr. Lewis assumed that they had the marketing materials that ATSDR would distribute to the public. He added that they "poured their hearts out" in their comments and suggestions made in this work group.

James Lewis asked Loretta Bush if the distribution list was in accordance with what was discussed previously, including sending materials to various churches. Ms. Bush responded that this was correct. Susan Kaplan said that these documents did not say that ATSDR was going to talk to the churches. She accused ATSDR of "going to buy an ad and put flyers where nobody is going to see them."

Loretta Bush commented on the distribution list. She said that the group had suggested that ATSDR contact the Roane County Health Department because the department was working with churches in the area. She had spoken with Art Miller at the health department who had obtained a list of churches. Ms. Bush noted that the information would be shared with the health department in advance and contact would be made with the churches. Ms. Bush also received information from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding people on its mailing list. In addition, Ms. Bush included the Chamber of Commerce and the Oak Ridger, both of which had lists of organizations. Ms. Bush had conducted research and had a list of churches in the Oak Ridge area. She added that the information would be shared and distributed to these parties. James Lewis thought the distribution list was well assembled.

James Lewis thought they needed to address the content of the marketing documents. He wanted Loretta Bush to explain what ATSDR had hoped to accomplish with these materials. Ms. Bush asked if Mr. Lewis was talking about the flyer or advertisement. Mr. Lewis said he was discussing both of the documents. Ms. Bush restated that, as they know, she forwarded the flip chart notes from the last meeting to ATSDR management. Based on COWG's recommendations, the work group wanted to see copies of the flyer and the advertisement prior to distribution. ATSDR had to use language that both agencies (ATSDR and EPA) agreed upon. Mr. Lewis was not aware that both agencies had to agree on the language used in these materials. Mr. Bush explained that ATSDR could not release documentation without both agencies approving the wording because this was a joint meeting. She added that Jerry Pereira (project manager) and other ATSDR management had met with EPA on May 18 and May 27, 2004, to discuss the materials, and as a result, this was the final language agreed upon by both agencies.

James Lewis asked if Loretta Bush had the list of their comments in front of her. He wanted to discuss the historical perspective issue and asked how this topic was incorporated into the body of the document. He asked what the historical perspective issue meant to Ms. Bush. Susan Kaplan said that this perspective related to dealing with past issues and past exposures. Mr. Lewis stated that the historical perspective was about the debate between ATSDR and EPA—not the historical perspective of ATSDR and EPA. Ms. Kaplan thought they needed to be more specific. She said that the marketing materials did not mention that ATSDR and EPA were going to talk about issues related to the Y-12 public health assessment (PHA) at the meeting. She wanted to know where these materials mentioned the Y-12 PHA. Mr. Lewis said that the PHA was noted in the body of the text of both the flyer and advertisement.

Loretta Bush wanted the group to "be assured" that their comments were submitted, as well as their proposed language. However, the project manager and other management staff at ATSDR and EPA made the final decisions regarding these materials. James Lewis noted that they were only advisors; Ms. Bush said that he was correct. She added that their advice was forwarded to management, as well as a draft document that incorporated the work group's ideas and proposed language. However, the language agreed upon by ATSDR and EPA management was contained within these current materials.

Susan Kaplan asked if these materials were final. Loretta Bush did not think they were "absolutely final," as she thought the purpose of this meeting was to discuss the materials. Though, Ms. Bush pointed out that they were "pushed for time." Ms. Kaplan noted that EPA would have to give its "buy-in" again for any changes that were made to the materials. She thought that they could not change anything except for peripheral items. Bill Taylor noted that they could make recommendations for changes.

James Lewis explained that he brought the document to an investment company that was located next door to ATSDR's Oak Ridge Field Office. He asked a person to read the document to see if 1) he could identify what the meeting was about, 2) he would attend the meeting based on the information presented, and 3) he could tell what was taking place during the meeting. Mr. Lewis asked Loretta Bush how she thought the man responded. Ms. Bush said she could not answer the question. She said that she submitted the draft language based on the COWG's comments and suggestions. Once the document was submitted to the management staff and to EPA, she did not have control over the document. She wanted the group to know that their comments were shared with management. She was not trying to "pass the buck," but she wanted them to understand that their suggestions had been forwarded to the appropriate people. She explained that although it would have been beneficial to bring these materials to churches to review and conduct other outreach activities beforehand, she is not the one who makes these decisions. She had played her part in disseminating the information, but she did not have control over how ATSDR and EPA management changed the material.

James Lewis asked Karen Galloway to discuss the comments from the investment banker. According to Ms. Galloway, the banker thought that the information did not appear to be anything for the public and that it "went over his head" because it was too technical.

James Lewis planned to distribute the materials at the Scarboro Center. He questioned the language that the management teams at ATSDR and EPA used in their efforts to reach people. He wanted to know if this was their "concept of communicating" with the public. Mr. Lewis thought they should refer back to the record because the last time they saw something similar to this was when they accused George Washington University (GWU) of producing a product that was "so vague" that no one attended. He added that, "at least they gave a $10 gift certificate" and that this was "really sad."

Susan Kaplan asked if they could draft recommendations.

David Johnson noted an observation for Loretta Bush. He said that the public meeting flyer, which depicted a boardroom setting, was rather insensitive considering today's economic climate. He considered this to be a "turn off" for the mainstream audience. He suggested using a picture of an infant to generate some level of interest among the community. Ms. Bush asked if he thought they should use a picture of a family. Mr. Johnson believed that this would be more appropriate for their audience. James Lewis asked Karen Galloway if these materials would draw any interest from her community in the area.

James Lewis proposed a change to the language. He referred to the first sentence that ended with "community." Susan Kaplan thought they should add the words "to discuss issues associated with the recently released Y-12 PHA on uranium releases" in order to draw attention. She then referred to the next to last sentence that ended in "sites." She wanted to add "such as Oak Ridge and the public health assessment process." She said that the document did not discuss the PHA process, except in a box that no one would read if he or she was not interested in attending the meeting. Loretta Bush noted that she had included this language in her original draft document.

Susan Kaplan planned to speak with Paul Parsons on May 28, 2004, to put "a little box" in the paper that would discuss these issues more clearly. Ms. Kaplan had spoken with Mr. Parsons earlier that day and he was upset that he had not heard anything from ATSDR about this meeting. She said it could be their fault because they were late, but he wanted to put an article in the paper on Tuesday, June 1, 2004. She thought they were "a little late in the game to write something."

James Lewis discussed a document produced by Al Brooks, a former ORRHES member. Mr. Lewis thought that this document summarized and identified key outstanding issues. Susan Kaplan noted that the document was called the "OREIA Alert." Regardless of the title, Mr. Lewis thought the document did a better job of making people aware of the issues. Mr. Lewis explained that Mr. Brooks either distributed the document or presented the information, but he thought that the Oak Ridge community was interested in receiving this type of document. Ms. Kaplan noted that Mr. Brooks was going out into the community to circulate his information.

James Lewis discussed a few topics regarding the marketing materials. He said that the document discusses ATSDR's mission, mandate, and scientific approaches. He asked how many times they had heard this information already. Loretta Bush started to speak, but Mr. Lewis said that she did not "need to say anymore." Ms. Bush wanted to ensure that the COWG understood that she forwarded their recommendations from the flip chart notes, including their proposed language. However, this was the wording that she received back from management. She said that none of the ATSDR representatives on this call were management, but that management could address the COWG's questions and concerns. Mr. Lewis understood and appreciated Ms. Bush's efforts. Ms. Bush added that she was not sure why both agencies selected this language and rationale, but this was the language she was given to use.

Susan Kaplan asked when ATSDR would send out the press kits. Marilyn Horton replied that the press release was scheduled for June 1, 2004. James Lewis asked if the materials could be changed. Loretta Bush noted that anything was possible, and that the purpose of today's meeting was to discuss the documents. She added that ATSDR's Public Affairs Office was in a situation where they had to send a copy of the advertisement to the Knoxville News-Sentinel because many people were leaving for vacation. Mr. Lewis asked if the advertisement they were looking at was the same advertisement that had been sent to the newspaper. Ms. Bush believed that was the portion sent out, but that it was not sent to any other newspapers. Ms. Horton noted that Ms. Bush was correct; ATSDR had to send the advertisement to this one newspaper to make its deadline. Ms. Bush thought that all of the other newspapers could wait until the following week, and added that all advertisements would be printed twice.

James Lewis responded that the Knoxville News-Sentinel reached the largest audience of any newspapers in the area. He noted that this newspaper captured the surrounding counties, and in his opinion, this was the newspaper that they should have sent information to earlier. He added that this lack of planning was not helpful for them.

At a minimum, James Lewis thought that they should include the three topics presented in Al Brooks's letter. Loretta Bush had not seen the letter. Mr. Lewis explained that the letter discussed three areas of concern: 1) Scarboro community as a residential reference area for Y-12, 2) use of subjective uncertainty analysis, and 3) safe dose criterion of 5,000 millirem (mrem) over 70 years. Although technical people might understand these topics, he thought they should list an explanation under each issue for non-technical community members. Mr. Lewis added that they should also include historical perspectives of the issues.

Susan Kaplan believed that Al Brooks was going around in the community and doing the "leg work" for his document. James Lewis noted that it was the agency's responsibility to do this type of outreach. Ms. Kaplan noted that Mr. Brooks was doing this type of outreach, but that they were not. Mr. Lewis was commenting that they needed to do these types of things. He added that ATSDR, as an agency, was taking the lead on this because Jerry Pereira said that ATSDR would do it.

Susan Kaplan had made editorial comments to the flyers and planned to talk to Paul Parsons the following day. She needed to decide what they should publish in the paper. James Lewis pointed out that they were giving advice to ATSDR during this meeting. Loretta Bush asked Mr. Lewis to send information that they wanted included and the language for the three items via electronic mail (e-mail address is lsbush@cdc.gov; fax number is 404-498-1744). Mr. Lewis wanted ATSDR to interpret the material for the lay public. He had been waiting to receive ATSDR's materials to assess if they were similar to Al Brooks's document, but they were not. Ms. Kaplan was concerned that they would deter the public if they started discussing uncertainty analysis. Mr. Lewis's point was that ATSDR was being paid to take this type of language and explain the issues to the masses.

James Lewis did not want ATSDR to use the words directly from the document. He wanted ATSDR to include the three major outstanding topics and provide an explanation for each issue. Mr. Lewis added that he hoped Loretta Bush accepted his criticism in a positive manner. Ms. Bush replied that she did not take it personally.

Bill Taylor asked James Lewis to repeat his plan. Mr. Lewis responded that he would give ATSDR the three headings that he wanted addressed. Susan Kaplan asked if they wanted these topics added or mentioned because the flyer did not contain much room for additional text. Mr. Lewis did not have a preference on how ATSDR included the issues; he just wanted the information addressed. Loretta Bush asked if this would include language for the flyer and advertisement. Mr. Lewis said that Ms. Bush was correct; he wanted these major topics of discussion identified in both materials. He also wanted clarification of the topics and what the issues represented. Ms. Kaplan noted that fact sheets could address these issues.

David Johnson agreed with Susan Kaplan. He thought she made a good point in that they needed to identify their audience and determine whom they want to attract with these materials. He said that, "too much information is sometimes just as bad as not enough information." Ms. Kaplan added that too much "specific technical information" on a flyer that targets the lay public is not going to get them to attend the meeting.

James Lewis reiterated that they needed to decipher the three major topics and put these into appropriate language. Susan Kaplan said that he was getting into specifics, but the general issue was associated with the Y-12 PHA on uranium releases. Mr. Lewis commented that, in general, no one in the public had read this document. Ms. Kaplan agreed, but said that the general public is interested in public health. She thought words that appeal to all types of people, such as "public health" would grab more attention than using scientific terms, such as "uncertainty analysis." She thought by using these scientific terms, they might get technical people to attend, but not others in the lay public. Mr. Lewis thought they could reword the language so that it would appeal to the general public.

Loretta Bush wanted to confirm that the work group would fax over the suggested language that they would like to see in the first paragraphs of the flyer and the advertisement. James Lewis said they would send the three topics to Ms. Bush. He suggested that they break down the three topics into language that they wanted to use so that the general public would understand the information. Susan Kaplan explained that if Mr. Lewis did not provide Ms. Bush with specific details, then Ms. Bush did not have anything "tangible to work with." Ms. Bush suggested that the COWG write the proposed language out for her and she would forward the language to her management staff. Mr. Lewis thought that this was the best that they could do at this point in time.

Peggy Adkins said that if the work group e-mailed her the information, then she could help re-write the language. She noted that most of her career had consisted of adapting technical material into language that could be understood by children and teenagers.

Susan Kaplan said that they had to understand that this needed to go out on Tuesday, and that today was already Thursday. She noted that after Friday, everyone would leave for the long weekend. Logistically, she did not know how anything else that they created could change the materials that were in the press package. Loretta Bush said if they mailed the material out tomorrow, then it was possible that it would not be mailed out until Tuesday. At the latest, Ms. Bush needed to send the flyer out by Tuesday. James Lewis replied that he would prepare something and send it to Ms. Bush tonight.

Peggy Adkins asked Loretta Bush about the distribution list. She wanted to make sure that materials would be sent to the Kingston Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in Kingston, Tennessee, and the Church of Christ on Kentucky Street because these churches had a lot of members who had lived in the area for a long time. Ms. Adkins asked about the Kingston Church of Christ and the Baptist Church on Kentucky Street in Kingston, Tennessee, because these were older churches as well. Ms. Bush said she would check to make sure, but that she had Kingston Methodist Church, Kingston Presbyterian Church, and Roane County Church of Christ on her distribution list. Ms. Adkins also asked about the Homemaker Club; Ms. Bush noted that this group was on her list.

James Lewis adjourned the meeting at 6:20 pm.