[Federal Register: January 27, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 17)]
[Notices]               
[Page 4108-4109]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ja99-64]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 
Savannah River Site Phase II Environmental Dose Reconstruction 
Project (Source Term): Public Meetings

    The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Risk Assessment 
Corporation (RAC) announce the following public meetings.

    Name: Savannah River Site (SRS) Phase II Environmental Dose 
Reconstruction Project (Source Term): Public Meetings.
    Dates: The meeting dates are:
    1. Thursday, February 4, 1999, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    2. Tuesday, February 9, 1999, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    3. Wednesday, February 10, 1999, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Addresses: The meeting locations are:
    1. Hilton Savannah DeSoto, 15 East Liberty Street, Savannah, 
Georgia 32412-8207. Telephone 912/232-9000.
    2. Holiday Inn Express, 155 Colony Parkway, Aiken, South 
Carolina 29803. Telephone 803/648-0999.
    3. Holiday Inn Coliseum, 630 Assembly Street, Columbia, South 
Carolina 29201. Telephone 803/799-7800.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting rooms accommodate approximately 50 people.
    Background: Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 
December 1990 with the Department of Energy (DOE), replaced by an 
MOU signed in 1996, the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS) was given the responsibility and resources for conducting 
analytic

[[Page 4109]]

epidemiologic investigations of residents of communities in the 
vicinity of DOE facilities, workers at DOE facilities, and other 
persons potentially exposed to radiation or to potential hazards 
from non-nuclear energy production use. HHS has delegated program 
responsibility to CDC.
    In addition, an MOU was signed in October 1990 and renewed in 
November 1992 between ATSDR and DOE. The MOU delineates the 
responsibilities and procedures for ATSDR's public health activities 
at DOE sites required under sections 104, 105, 107, and 120 of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act (CERCLA or ``Superfund''). These activities include health 
consultations and public health assessments at DOE sites listed on, 
or proposed for, the Superfund National Priorities List and at sites 
that are the subject of petitions from the public; and other health-
related activities such as epidemiologic studies, health 
surveillance, exposure and disease registries, health education, 
substance-specific applied research, emergency response, and 
preparation of toxicological profiles.
    Purpose: The SRS Dose Reconstruction Project supports research 
that evaluates past releases of radioactive materials and chemicals 
from the SRS to the surrounding environment. The CDC and RAC are 
conducting a study of the SRS to determine whether past nuclear 
materials production caused offsite health effects. Phase I of that 
study involved the most comprehensive review of records ever 
undertaken at any of the U.S. Weapons facilities. Phase II of the 
study, to be completed in August of 1999, uses that information to 
estimate past releases of radionuclides and chemicals from the SRS. 
The research team has also analyzed the offsite environmental 
measurements of these materials performed since the early 1950's. 
Phase II of the project is nearing completion, with the release of a 
draft, 1400-page report for technical peer review in February of 
1999.
    This series of public meetings will present the study's draft 
results, and will provide an opportunity for individuals to comment 
on the research and to provide additional information concerning 
past SRS operations.
    Public input and the promise to provide clear and easily 
obtained sources of public information are important parts of this 
study, from start to finish. Newsletters have been published 
regularly to provide updates on the progress of the research. Fact 
sheets highlighting specific research topics have been released 
throughout the work as well.
    Contact Person for More Information: Paul G. Renard, Project 
Officer, Radiation Studies Branch, Division of Environmental Hazards 
and Health Effects, NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, M/S F-35, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724. Telephone 770/488-7040, fax 770/488-
7044.
    The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office has been 
delegated the authority to sign Federal Register notices pertaining 
to announcements of meetings and other committee management 
activities, for both CDC and ATSDR.

    Dated: January 20, 1999.
Carolyn J. Russell,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 99-1837 Filed 1-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P