[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 208 (Tuesday, October 28, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55815-55816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28483]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry


Notice of Meeting

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry announces the 
following meeting.

    Name: Expert Workshop <greek-i>3 Regarding Medical Monitoring in 
Bunker Hill, Idaho.
    Times and Dates: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., November 5, 1997; 8 a.m.-5 p.m., 
November 6, 1997.
    Place: Elk's Temple #1841, 202\1/2\ McKinley Avenue, Kellogg, 
Idaho 83837, telephone 208/786-3901.
    Status: Open to the public, limited only by the space available. 
The meeting room accommodates approximately 100 people.
    Purpose: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 
(ATSDR) is considering the appropriateness of medical monitoring for 
populations who lived around the Bunker Hill former lead smelting 
facility (the Bunker Hill Superfund Site) in the Silver Valley of 
Idaho at a time of excess exposures of public health significance. 
As part of this consideration process, ATSDR is convening a series 
of workshops to examine the appropriateness and feasibility of a 
medical monitoring program.
    The purpose of the medical monitoring program is to provide a 
public health service to communities affected by exposures to 
hazardous substances by screening target populations at significant 
risk of a specific

[[Page 55816]]

health effect or outcome, identifying individuals in need of further 
diagnosis or treatment, and arranging for appropriate referrals.
    Section 104(i)(9) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 
9604(i)(9)), provides for the Administrator, ATSDR to initiate a 
health surveillance program for populations at significantly 
increased risk of adverse health effects as a result of exposure to 
hazardous substances released from a facility. A program included 
under health surveillance is referred to as ``medical monitoring or 
screening'' by ATSDR and is defined in the legislation as ``the 
periodic medical testing to screen people at significant increased 
risk for disease.''
    ATSDR has established criteria to determine when medical 
monitoring is an appropriate health activity and the requirements 
for establishing a medical monitoring program at a site. The 
legislation also states that a mechanism to refer people for 
treatment should be included in the program. This statutory 
provision does not authorize ATSDR to provide medical treatment. 
Medical monitoring is a community service, not a health study.
    ATSDR is convening three expert workshops to assist in the 
evaluation of a medical monitoring program at the Bunker Hill site. 
If a program is deemed appropriate, the agency will develop a 
medical monitoring plan for the target population(s). The first 
workshop, considering the first four ATSDR medical monitoring 
criteria, took place on August 19-20, 1997. The second workshop, 
which took place on September 23-24, 1997, examined more closely the 
health outcomes recommended by the first workshop and considered 
screening tests and protocols appropriate to a medical monitoring 
program. This document gives notice of the third workshop.
    Matters to be Considered: The third workshop will reconvene the 
first workshop's participants and other experts as needed to:
    <bullet> Consider the application of the final three medical 
monitoring criteria as developed by ATSDR, and review ATSDR's 
application of these criteria, to the Bunker Hill site
    <bullet> Provide individual recommendations and guidance on 
issues of science and public health practice related to program 
implementation
    <bullet> Provide individual expertise and guidance in conducting 
a medical outcome and decision analysis to evaluate the public 
health benefits and risks of a medical monitoring program related to 
the Bunker Hill site.
    The experts will use information from the first and second 
workshops and other relevant data to make individual recommendations 
and answer questions related to key issues including the logistics, 
program infrastructure, benefit analysis, and other aspects of the 
medical monitoring system criteria for each candidate health 
outcome.
    Agenda items are subject to change as priorities dictate.
    Contact Person for More Information: Vivian Rush, M.D., Medical 
Officer, ATSDR, Division of Health Education and Promotion, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE, M/S E-33, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone 404/
639-5080, or Gregory Thomas, Senior Regional Representative, ATSDR 
Region X, telephone 206/553-2113.

    Dated: October 22, 1997.
Julia M. Fuller,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 97-28483 Filed 10-27-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P