[Federal Register: June 7, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 110)]
[Notices]               
[Page 39403]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07jn02-91]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 
Update on the Findings of the Hanford Thyroid Disease Study Final 
Report

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

    Name: Update on the Findings of the Hanford Thyroid Disease 
Study Final Report.
    Time and Date: 6 p.m.-8:30 p.m., June 21, 2002.
    Place: Red Lion Inn-The Hanford House, 802 Washington Way, 
Richland, Washington 99352, telephone 509-946-7611.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting room accommodates approximately 200 people.
    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, which 
concentrates in the thyroid glands of those who eat food 
contaminated by it. The amount of Iodine-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 Nuclear 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 Iodine-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.
    Purpose: 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 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.
    Matters to Be Discussed: Agenda items include a presentation 
from NCEH regarding the findings of the Hanford Thyroid Disease 
Study Final Report. There will be time for public input, questions, 
poster sessions, and comments.
    All agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate.
    For Further Information Contact: General information may be 
obtained from Ms. Maire Holcombe, Health Communicator, Radiation 
Studies Branch (RSB), Division of Environmental Hazards and Health 
Effects (DEHHE), NCEH, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road (E-39), Atlanta, 
Georgia 30333, telephone 404-498-1809. Technical information may be 
obtained from Dr. Paul Garbe, Associate Director for Science, DEHHE, 
NCEH, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road (E-39), Atlanta, Georgia 30333 
telephone 404-498-1305.
    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: June 3, 2002.
Joseph Salter,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-14322 Filed 6-6-02; 8:45 am]
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