Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices 30271

pilot may result in changes to this data

set. There will be ongoing sessions with

the trade community and the

participating agencies in the evaluation

of this data.

Note that the fact of participation in

the ITDS pilot is not confidential

information. Lists of participants will be

made available to the public by means

of the Customs Electronic Bulletin

Board, the Customs Administrative

Message System, and upon written

request. All interested parties are

invited to comment on the design,

conduct, and evaluation of the ITDS

pilot at any time during the prototype.

Dated: May 31, 2001.

Bonni G. Tischler,

Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field

Operations.

[FR Doc. 01–14601 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

AFFAIRS

Privacy Act of 1974; System of

Records

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA).

ACTION: Notice of amendment to system

of records ‘‘Ionizing Radiation

Registry—VA’’.

SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy

Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(e), notice is

hereby given that the Department of

Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending and

renumbering the system of records

known as ‘‘Ionizing Radiation

Registry—VA’’ (69VA114) as set forth in

the Federal Register 56 FR 26186 dated

6/6/1991. VA is amending the system by

including Purpose and amending the

System Number; Categories of

Individuals Covered by the System;

Categories of Records in the System;

Authority for Maintenance of the

System; and Policies and Practices for

Storing, Retrieving, Accessing,

Retaining, and Disposing of Records in

the System, including Storage,

Retrievability and Safeguards. Other

sections remain unchanged (i.e., record

source categories.) VA is republishing

the system notice in its entirety at this

time.

DATES: Comments on the amendment of

this system of records must be received

no later than July 5, 2001. If no public

comment is received, the amended

system will become effective July 5,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments

concerning the proposed amended

system of records may be submitted to

the Office of Regulations Management

(02D), Department of Veterans Affairs,

810 Vermont Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20420. Comments will

be available for public inspection at the

above address in the Office of

Regulations Management, Room 1158,

between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30

p.m., Monday through Friday (except

holidays).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

Privacy Act Officer (193B3), Department

of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420,

(727) 320–1839.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

number of the system is changed from

VA (69VA114) to VA (69VA131) to

reflect organizational changes. The

number of individuals covered by this

system has been increased to include

veterans who have received

nasopharyngeal (NP) radium treatments

during active military, naval or air

service and received registry

examinations as authorized by Public

Law 105–368. This system will continue

to include data collected for veterans

who may have been exposed to a

radiation-risk activity, as authorized by

Public Law 99–576, under the following

conditions:

a. On site participation in a test

involving the atmospheric detonation of

a nuclear weapon, between 1945 and

1962, whether or not the testing nation

was the United States.

b. Participation in the occupation of

Hiroshima or Nagasaki from August 6,

1945, through July 1, 1946; or

c. Internment as a Prisoner-of-War in

Japan during World War II that the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines

resulted in an opportunity for exposure

to ionizing radiation comparable to that

of veterans involved in the occupation

of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, and who

(1) Apply for hospital or nursing

home care under Title 38, U.S.C.,

Chapter 17;

(2) File a claim for compensation

under Title 38 U.S.C., Chapter 11; or

(3) Dies and is survived by a spouse,

child, or parent who files a claim for

dependency and indemnity

compensation under Title 38 U.S.C.,

Chapter 13.

In addition to the categories of records

maintained in the Ionizing Radiation

Registry (IRR) system, physicians’

names and titles are included but may

not be retrievable. Outdated information

related to the estimate of the radiation

doses to which the veterans are exposed

while on active military duty has been

deleted from these records.

The System Manager(s) and addresses

have been changed from the Director,

Environmental Agents Service (146A) to

Program Chief for Clinical Matters,

Office of Public Health and

Environmental Hazards (13) and

Management/Program Analyst,

Environmental Agents Service (131),

Department of Veterans Affairs, 810

Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC

20420.

These IRR records may have several

identifiers—Department of Defense data

are identified by military service

number and only 25 percent are

identified by social security numbers.

The IRR program located at the Austin

Automation Center (AAC), Austin,

Texas, is an automated integrated

system containing demographic and

medical data of registry examinations

from 1981 through the current date.

These data were entered manually on

code sheets by VA facility staff and hard

copies sent to the AAC for entry into the

IRR data set. The IRR system of records

located at VA Headquarters,

Washington, DC, is an optical disk

system containing images of paper

records, i.e., code sheets, medical

records, correspondence and

questionnaires relating to the veterans

exposed to ionizing radiation. Once

these paper records are scanned on

optical disks, they are disposed of in

accordance with RCS–10.1.

The purpose of this IRR system of

records is to provide information about

veterans who have had an IRR

examination at a VA facility, to assist in

generating hypotheses for research

studies, provide management with the

capability to track patient

demographics, reported birth defects

among veteran’s children or

grandchildren and radiogenic related

diseases and planning and delivery of

health care services and associated

costs.

The notice of intent to publish and an

advance copy of the system notice have

been sent to the appropriate

Congressional committees and to the

Director of the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) as required by 5

U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy Act) and

guidelines issued by OMB (65 FR

77677), December 12, 2000.

Approved: May 21, 2001.

Anthony J. Principi,

Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

69VA131

SYSTEM NAME:

Ionizing Radiation Registry-VA.

30272 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Character-based data from Ionizing

Radiation Code Sheets are maintained

in a registry data set at the Austin

Automation Center, 1615 Woodward

Street, Austin, Texas 78772. Since the

data set at the Austin Automation

Center (AAC) is not all-inclusive, i.e.,

narratives, signatures, etc., noted on the

code sheets are not entered into this

system, images of the code sheets are

maintained at the Department of

Veterans Affairs, Environmental Agents

Service (131), 810 Vermont Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20420. These are

electronic images of paper records, i.e.,

code sheets, medical records,

questionnaires and correspondence that

are stored on optical disks.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THIS

SYSTEM:

Veterans who may have been exposed

to ionizing radiation while on active

military duty and have had an Ionizing

Radiation Registry (IRR) examination at

a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

medical facility under conditions

described in Title 38 United States Code

(U.S.C.) section 1710(e)(1)(B) and

section 1710(e)(1)(B) and section 1720E.

These conditions include:

1. On-site participation in a test

involving the atmospheric detonation of

a nuclear device (between 1945 and

1962), at a nuclear device testing site—

the Pacific Island, e.g., Bikini, New

Mexico, Nevada, etc. (whether or not the

testing nation was the United States);

2. participation in the occupation of

Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, from

August 6, 1945, through July 1, 1946;

3. internment as a POW in Japan

during World War II which the

Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines

resulted in an opportunity for exposure

to ionizing radiation comparable to that

of veterans involved in the occupation

of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan; and

(a) Veterans who apply for hospital or

nursing home care under Title 38

United States Code, Chapter 17;

(b) Files a claim for compensation

under Title 38 United States Code,

Chapter 11; or

(c) Dies and is survived by a spouse,

child, or parent who files a claim for

dependency and indemnity

compensation under Title 38 United

States Code, Chapter 3;

4. Treatment with nasopharyngeal

(NP) radium irradiation while in the

active military, naval or air service.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

These records consist of: Code sheet

records containing VA facility code

identifier where veteran was examined

or treated; veteran’s name; address;

social security number; military service

serial number; claim number; date of

birth; telephone number; sex; report of

birth defects among veteran’s children

or grandchildren; dates of medical

examinations; consultations; radiogenic

related diseases; and name and

signature of examiner/physician

coordinator.

In addition, there may be medical

records with information relating to the

examination and/or treatment,

including laboratory findings on vision,

hearing, blood tests, electrocardiograms,

chest x-rays, urinalysis, laboratory

report displays, medical certificates to

support diagnosis; progress notes;

military unit assignments;

questionnaires; and correspondence

relating to veteran’s exposure history;

personal history, e.g., education, marital

status, occupational history, family

history, complaints/symptoms; personal

medical history, habits, recreation,

reproductive and family history,

physical measurements; military

discharge records; and VA claims for

compensation.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.)

sec. 1710(e)(1)(B) and sec. 1710(e)(1)(B)

and sec. 1720E.

PURPOSE(S):

The records will be used for the

purpose of providing information about

veterans who have had an IRR

examination at a VA facility; assisting in

generating hypotheses for research

studies; providing management with the

capability to track patient

demographics, reported birth defects

among veterans’ children or

grandchildren and radiogenic related

diseases; and planning and delivery of

health care services and associated

costs.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE

SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND

THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

1. The record of an individual who is

covered by this system may be disclosed

to a member of Congress or staff person

acting for the member when the member

or staff person requests the record on

behalf of, and at the written request of,

that individual.

2. Disclosure of records covered by

this system, as deemed necessary and

proper to named individuals serving as

accredited service organization

representatives and other individuals

named as approved agents or attorneys

for a documented purposes and period

of time, to aid beneficiaries in the

preparation and presentation of their

cases during the verification and/or due

process procedures and in the

presentation and prosecution of claims

under laws administered by the

Department of Veterans Affairs.

3. A record containing the name(s)

and address(es) of present or former

members of the armed services and/or

their dependents may be released from

this system of records under certain

circumstances:

(a) To any nonprofit organization if

the release is directly connected with

the conduct of programs and the

utilization of benefits under Title 38,

and

(b) To any criminal or civil law

enforcement governmental agency or

instrumentality charged under

applicable law with the protection of

the public health or safety if a qualified

representative of such organization,

agency or instrumentality has made a

standing written request that such

name(s) or address(es) be provided for a

purpose authorized by law; provided,

further, that the record(s) will not be

used for any purpose other than that

stated in the request and that the

organization, agency or instrumentality

is aware of the penalty provision of 38

U.S.C. 3301(f).

4. Disclosure may be made to the

National Archives and Records

Administration (NARA) in records

management inspections conducted

under authority of Title 44 U.S.C.

5. Disclosure of information,

excluding name and address (unless

name and address is furnished by the

requestor) for research purposes

determined to be necessary and proper,

to epidemiological and other research

facilities approved by the Under

Secretary for Health.

6. In order to conduct Federal

research necessary to accomplish a

statutory purpose of an agency, at the

written request of the head of the

agency, or designee of the head of that

agency, the name(s) and address(es) of

present or former personnel or the

Armed Services and/or their dependents

may be disclosed.

(a) To a Federal department or agency

or

(b) Directly to a contractor of a

Federal department or agency. When a

disclosure of this information is to be

made directly to the contractor, VA may

impose applicable conditions on the

department, agency, and/or contractor

to insure the appropriateness of the

disclosure to the contractor.

7. Any information in this system may

be disclosed to a Federal grand jury, a

Federal court or a party in litigation, or

a Federal agency or party to an

administrative proceeding being

conducted by a Federal agency, in order

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2001 / Notices 30273

for VA to respond to and comply with

the issuance of a Federal subpoena.

8. Any information in this system may

be disclosed to a State or municipal

grand jury, a State or municipal court or

a party in a litigation, or to a State or

municipal administrative agency

functioning in a quasi-judicial capacity

or a party to a proceeding being

conducted by such agency, in order for

VA to respond to and comply with the

issuance of a State or municipal

subpoena; provided, that any disclosure

or claimant information made under

this routine use must comply with the

provisions of 38 CFR 1.511.

9. In the event that a record

maintained by VA to carry out its

functions indicates a violation or

potential violation of law, whether civil,

criminal or regulatory in nature, and

whether arising by general statute or

particular program statute, or by

regulation, rule or order issued pursuant

thereto, information may be disclosed to

the appropriate agency whether Federal,

State, local or foreign, charged with the

responsibility of investigating or

prosecuting such violation or charged

with enforcing or implementing the

statute or rule, regulation or order

issued pursuant thereto.

10. For program review purposes and

the seeking of accreditation and/or

certification, disclosure may be made to

survey teams of the Joint Commission

on Accreditation of Healthcare

Organizations (JCAHO), College of

American Pathologists, American

Association of Blood Banks, and similar

national accreditation agencies or

boards with whom VA has a contract or

agreement to conduct such reviews but

only to the extent that the information

is necessary and relevant to the review.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING,

RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING AND

DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Electronic data are maintained on

Direct Access Storage Devices at the

AAC, Austin, Texas, and on optical

disks at VA Headquarters, Washington,

DC. AAC stores registry tapes for

disaster back up at an off-site location.

VA Headquarters also have back-up

optical disks stored off-site. In addition

to electronic data, registry reports are

maintained on paper documents and

microfiche. Records will be maintained

and disposed of in accordance with

records disposition authority approved

by the Archivist of the United States.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Documents are retrieved by name of

veteran, social security number and

service serial number.

SAFEGUARDS:

Access to records at VA Headquarters

is only authorized to VA personnel on

a ‘‘need to know’’ basis. Records are

maintained in manned rooms during

working hours. During non-working

hours, there is limited access to the

building with visitor control by security

personnel. Registry data maintained at

the AAC can only be updated by

authorized AAC personnel. Read access

to the data is granted through a

telecommunications network to

authorized VA Headquarters personnel.

AAC reports are also accessible through

a telecommunications network on a

read-only basis to the owner (VA

facility) of the data. Access is limited to

authorized employees by individually

unique access codes which are changed

periodically. Physical access to the AAC

is generally restricted to AAC staff, VA

Headquarters employees, custodial

personnel, Federal Protective Service

and authorized operational personnel

through electronic locking devices. All

other persons gaining access to the

computer rooms are escorted. Backup

records stored off-site for both the AAC

and VA Headquarters are safeguarded in

secured storage areas.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Records will be maintained and

disposed of in accordance with records

disposition authority approved by the

Archivist of the United States.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Program Chief for Clinical Matters,

Office of Public Health and

Environmental Hazards (13) (for clinical

issues) and Management/Program

Analyst, Environmental Agents Service

(131) (for administrative issues,) VA

Headquarters, 810 Vermont Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20420.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

An individual who wishes to

determine whether a record is being

maintained in this system under his or

her name or other personal identifier, or

wants to determine the contents of such

record, should submit a written request

or apply in person to the last VA facility

where medical care was provided or

submit a written request to the Program

Chief for Clinical Matters, Office of

Public Health and Environmental

Hazards (13) or the Management/

Program Analyst, Environmental Agents

Service (131), VA Headquarters, 810

Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20420. Inquiries should include the

veteran’s name, social security number,

service serial number, and return

address.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

An individual who seeks access to

records maintained under his or her

name may write or visit the nearest VA

facility or write to the Program Chief for

Clinical Matters, Office of Public Health

and Environmental Hazards (13) or the

Management/Program Analyst,

Environmental Agents Service (131), VA

Headquarters, 810 Vermont Avenue,

NW., Washington, DC 20420.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:

Refer to previous item ‘‘Record Access

Procedures.’’

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

VA patient medical records, various

automated record systems providing

clinical and managerial support to VA

health care facilities, the veteran, family

members, and records from Veterans

Benefits Administration, Department of

Defense, Department of the Army,

Department of the Air Force,

Department of the Navy and other

Federal agencies.

[FR Doc. 01–14131 Filed 6–4–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P