Enc.

ADVISORY BOARD ON RADIATION AND WORKER HEALTH

4676 Columbia Parkway, MS: C-46 

Cincinnati, Ohio 45226

(513) 533-6825

CHAIRMAN

James M. Melius, M.D., Dr. PH.

 Albany, New York

MEMBERS

Henry Anderson, M.D.

 Madison, Wisconsin

Josie Beach

 Kennewick, Washington 

Bradley P. Clawson

 Rexburg, Idaho

R. William Field, Ph.D. 

 Iowa City, Iowa

Michael H. Gibson

 Franklin, Ohio

Mark A. Griffon

 Salem, New Hampshire

David Kotelchuck, Ph.D.

 New York, New York

Richard Lemen, Ph.D.

 Canton, Georgia

James E. Lockey, M.D.

 Cincinnati, Ohio

Wanda I. Munn

 Richland, Washington

John W. Poston, Sr., Ph.D.

 College Station, Texas

David B. Richardson, Ph.D.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Genevieve S. Roessler, Ph.D.

 Elysian, Minnesota

Phillip Schofield

 Bosque Farm, New Mexico

Loretta R. Valerio

 Santa Fe, New Mexico

Paul L. Ziemer, Ph.D.

 Lafayette, Indiana

STAFF

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Theodore M. Katz, MPA

 Atlanta, Georgia

COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT 

Zaida Burgos

 Atlanta, Georgia

May 29, 2012

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary 

Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Madam Secretary:

The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (The Board) has 

evaluated Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) Petition 0046 concerning 

workers at the Feed Materials Productions Center under the statutory 

requirements established by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) and incorporated into 42 

CFR Sec. 83.13. 

The Board respectfully recommends that SEC status be accorded to:

“All employees of DOE, its predecessor agencies, and their 

contractors, or subcontractors who worked at the Feed Materials 

Production Center (FMPC) in Fernald, Ohio, from January 1, 1968 

through December 31, 1978, for a number of work days 

aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under 

this employment, or in combination with work days within the 

parameters established for one or more other classes of 

employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort."

This recommendation is based on the following factors:

• Workers at this facility during the time period in question were 

involved in operations related to nuclear weapons production. 

• The Board’s review of available monitoring data, as well as 

available process and source term information for this facility 

found that NIOSH lacked the sufficient information to allow it to 

estimate with sufficient accuracy the potential internal doses 

from exposure to thorium, which employees at this facility may 

have been subjected. 

• The Board also determined that health may have been 

endangered for these Feed Materials Production Center 

employees during the time period in question. 
The Secretary May 29, 2012

Based on these considerations and the discussion at the April 26, 2012, Board teleconference 

meeting, the Board recommends that this class be added to the SEC. Enclosed is the 

documentation from the Board meeting(s) where this SEC class was discussed. The 

documentation includes copies of the petition, the NIOSH review thereof, and related materials. 

If any of these items are unavailable at this time, they will follow shortly.

 Sincerely,

 [Signature on file]

James M. Melius, M.D., Dr. PH

 Chairman, ABRWH

Enclosure