National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the following committee meeting:

Name: Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Subcommittee Meeting Time and Date: 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., October 19, 2004.

Committee Meeting Times and Dates: 1 p.m.-4:15 p.m., October 19, 2004. 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., October 19, 2004. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., October 20, 2004.

Place: The Westin St. Francis, 355 Powell Street, San Francisco, California 94102, telephone 415/397-7000, fax 415/774-0124.

Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. The meeting room accommodates approximately 65 people.

Background: The ABRWH (“the Board”) was established under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) of 2000 to advise the President, delegated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), on a variety of policy and technical functions required to implement and effectively manage the new compensation program. Key functions of the Board include providing advice on the development of probability of causation guidelines which have been promulgated by HHS as a final rule, advice on methods of dose reconstruction which have also been promulgated by HHS as a final rule, evaluation of the scientific validity and quality of dose reconstructions conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for qualified cancer claimants, and advice on petitions to add classes of workers to the Special Exposure Cohort.

In December 2000 the President delegated responsibility for funding, staffing, and operating the Board to HHS, which subsequently delegated this authority to the CDC. NIOSH implements this responsibility for CDC. The charter was issued on August 3, 2001, and renewed on August 3, 2003.

Purpose: This board is charged with (a) providing advice to the Secretary, HHS on the development of guidelines under Executive Order 13179; (b) providing advice to the Secretary, HHS on the scientific validity and quality of dose reconstruction efforts performed for this Program; and (c) upon request by the Secretary, HHS, advise the Secretary on whether there is a class of employees at any Department of Energy facility who were exposed to radiation but for whom it is not feasible to estimate their radiation dose, and on whether there is reasonable likelihood that such radiation doses may have endangered the health of members of this class.

Matters to be Discussed: Agenda for this meeting will focus on Program Status Reports from NIOSH and Department of Labor; Special Exposure Cohort Petition Process Procedures; Scientific Research Issues Update; Site Profile Reviews; Subcommittee Report and Recommendations; and Board working sessions. There will be an evening public comment period scheduled for October 19, 2004, and a public comment period at midday on October 20, 2004. The Subcommittee will convene on October 19, 2004, from 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

The agenda is subject to change as priorities dictate.

Contact Person for More Information: Larry Elliott, Executive Secretary, ABRWH, NIOSH, CDC, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, telephone 513/533-6825, fax 513/533-6826.

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.