Meetings: National Center for Environmental Health Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Final Report; update,
FR, April 21, 1999 › Notices › Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Federal Register: April 21, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 76)NoticesPage 19543From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr21ap99-54
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Announces the Following Public Meetings
Name: Update on Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Final Report.
Dates: Wednesday, May 5, 1999, Thursday, May 6, 1999
Times: 7 p.m.-9 p.m., 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Place: WestCoast Ridpath Hotel, West 515 Spraque, Spokane, Washington 99201,
Tel: (509) 838-2711, Doubletree Hotel Seattle Airport, 18740 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, Washington 98188, (206) 246-8600.
Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. The meeting room will accommodate approximately 200 people.
Purpose
The CDC and investigators from Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) will discuss findings on the Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Final Report. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was an increased risk for thyroid disease among a randomly selected study population exposed to atmospheric releases of radioactive iodine-131 (I-131) from the Hanford Nuclear Site in eastern Washington State during the 1940s and 1950s. The study, mandated by Congress, was conducted by a team of scientists at the FHCRC under contract from the CDC.
Background
In 1986, Freedom of Information Act requests led the Department of Energy to make public thousands of pages of documentation indicating that large quantities of radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere from the Hanford Nuclear Site. The radioactivity was a byproduct of nuclear weapons production from December 1944 through 1957. Most of the radioactivity was released in the form of I-131, which concentrates in the thyroid glands of those who eat food contaminated by it. The amount of I-131 released during this period was more than half a million curies, prompting concern regarding thyroid health effects. The government convened a special Hanford Health Effects Review Panel to review the documents and recommend steps to evaluate possible health consequences among those who live near the Hanford Site.
Two studies were undertaken as a result of these recommendations. The first was the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project which estimated potential radiation doses to the thyroid among persons exposed to Hanford I-131 releases. The second was the Hanford Thyroid Disease Study. This study was designed to determine whether the exposures from Hanford resulted in an increased risk of thyroid disease in a randomly selected study population. In late 1989, a contract to perform this study was awarded to the FHCRC.
CONTACT PERSONS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: General information may be obtained from Mr. Mike Donnelly, Project Officer, Radiation Studies Branch (RSB), Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects (DEHHE), NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, M/S (F-35), Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, telephone 770-488-7040, fax 770-488-7044. Technical information may be obtained from Dr. Paul Garbe, RSB, DEHHE, NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, (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 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Dated: April 15, 1999. Carolyn J. Russell, Director, Management Analysis and Services Office Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
FR Doc. 99-9926Filed4-20-99; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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