E6-11097. Study Team for the Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Assessment (LAHDRA) Project

AGENCY:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), HHS.

ACTION:

Notice of meeting.

Name:

Public Meeting of the Study Team for the Los Alamos Historical Document Retrieval and Assessment Project.

Time and Date:

5 p.m.-7 p.m., (mountain time), Wednesday, July 26, 2006.

Place:

Homewood Suites at the Buffalo Thunder Road exit in Pojoaque (15 miles north of Santa Fe on U.S. 84/285), 18 Buffalo Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87506, telephone [phone].

Status:

Open to the public, limited only by the space available. The meeting room accommodates approximately 50 people.

Background:

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 1990 with the Department of Energy (DOE) and replaced by MOUs signed in 1996 and 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was given the responsibility and resources for conducting analytic 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 delegated program responsibility to CDC.

In addition, a memo was signed in October 1990 and renewed in November 1992, 1996, and in 2000, between the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (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:

This study group is charged with locating, evaluating, cataloguing, and copying documents that contain information about historical chemical or radionuclide releases from facilities at the Los Alamos National Laboratory since its inception. The purpose of this meeting is to review the goals, methods, and schedule of the project, discuss progress to date, provide a forum for community interaction, and serve as a vehicle for members of the public to express concerns and provide advice to CDC.

Matters To Be Discussed:

Agenda items include a presentation from the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) and its contractor regarding the status of project work and a summary of recent activities, such as completion of reviews of some key document collections, an investigation of early plutonium processing in D Building during World War II, and launching of a new project information database. There will be time for public input, questions, and comments. All agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Phillip R. Green, Public Health Advisor, Radiation Studies Branch, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, NCEH, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, NE. (MS-E39), Atlanta, GA 30333, telephone [phone], fax [phone], or e-mail address: [e-mail].

Dated: July 6, 2006.

James D. Seligman,

Chief Information Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.