ATSDR MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT

Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee to Hold
Federal Advisory Committee Meeting in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

For Immediate Release: September 15, 2005

ATLANTA - The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), will hold a meeting of the Oak Ridge Reservation Health Effects Subcommittee (ORRHES) on Sept. 22 in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The meeting will be held from 12:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Mall in the Alpine Meeting Room, 333 East Main St. in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Agenda items include presentations and discussions on the following items:

Members of the community are encouraged to attend and will have the opportunity to make comments from 2:20 to 2:30 p.m. and 5:00 to 5:30 p.m.

ORRHES, a federal advisory committee created in 1999, is comprised of a representative group of citizens who live in the communities surrounding the Oak Ridge Reservation.

The group provides advice and recommendations to ATSDR and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the two agencies' public health activities and research regarding the Oak Ridge Reservation site.

ORRHES members work with private citizens, advocacy groups, and state and federal agencies in the region and provide community members with opportunities to communicate directly with federal public health agencies. The group holds regular meetings to update the community on ongoing activities.

Members of the community who have questions about this public health assessment or ATSDR activities at the Oak Ridge Reservation may contact Dr. William Taylor in ATSDR's Oak Ridge Field Office at 865-220-0295.

ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.

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Members of the news media can request an interview by calling the NCEH/ATSDR Office of Communication at 770-488-0700.