99-1068. Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Report

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 2903]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1068]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Report

    The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) of the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the following public 
meeting.

    Name: Release of Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Draft Report
    Time and Date: 7 p.m.-9 p.m., January 28, 1999.
    Place: Doubletree Hotel, 802 George Washington Way, Richland, 
Washington 99352. Telephone [phone], fax [phone].
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting room will accommodate approximately 200 people.
    Purpose: Investigators from Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer 
Research Center (FHCRC) and the CDC will present findings to the 
media and general public from the Hanford Thyroid Disease Study 
Draft Report. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was 
an increased risk for thyroid disease among a randomly selected 
study population that was exposed to atmospheric releases of 
radioactive iodine-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 iodine-131 (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.
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  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, (F-35), Atlanta, 
Georgia 30341-3724. Telephone [phone], fax [phone]. 
Technical information may be obtained from Dr. Paul Garbe, RSB. 
DEHHE, NCEH, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, (F-35), Atlanta, Georgia 
30341-3724. Telephone [phone], fax [phone].
    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 8, 1999.
Carolyn J. Russell,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 99-1068 Filed 1-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P