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

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

August 28, 2013

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 (FMPC) in Fernald, 

Ohio, under the statutory requirements established by the Energy 

Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 and 

incorporated into 42 CFR Sec. 83.13. 

The Board respectfully recommends that SEC status be accorded to:

“All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor 

agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at 

the Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC) in Fernald, Ohio, 

from January 1, 1954, through December 31, 1967, 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 working at this facility may have been 

subjected. 

• The Board also determined that health may have been 

endangered for these FMPC employees during the time period in 

question.

Based on these considerations and the discussion at the July 16 and 17, 

2013, Board meeting held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the Board recommends 

that this class be added to the SEC.
Page 2

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