Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee (SRSHES) Meeting

Executive Summary

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List of Acronyms
	ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention DFO Designated Federal Official DOE  Department of Energy HES  Health Effects Subcommittee NCEH National Center for Environmental Health NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health SRSHES Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee

During the opening session of the SRSHES meeting on January 10-11, 2002, the March 15-16, 2001 meeting minutes were unanimously approved with changes as noted in the record; status reports were provided for current action items; personnel changes were announced for SRSHES and NCEH staff members; and administrative issues were reviewed.

The NIOSH update covered SRS research, other studies nearing completion, administrative activities, and outreach mechanisms. DOE workers participating in the studies were examined for leukemia, lung cancer and lung fibrosis. Research findings can be reviewed in the NIOSH 2001 program book on the Web site. NIOSH now distributes user-friendly one-page summaries of final reports and also collaborates with a point of contact at each DOE site to disseminate research findings to additional worker populations.

ATSDR’s report of toxicity of heavy metals and radionuclides focused on potential health effects from exposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and uranium. These heavy metals can cause kidney problems, gastrointestinal effects, central nervous system dysfunction, pain in extremities, or death at high chronic doses. Previous studies of heavy metals have not linked toxicity and adverse health effects, but making a causal association is extremely difficult with existing evidence.

The Scenario Workgroup status report covered activities completed since the previous meeting: review the six scenarios, appoint lead reviewers, select locations, identify required actions and make recommendations. The workgroup expects to submit an initial draft of the scenarios to CDC within two weeks. Individual doses will not be generated during the screening process, but SRSHES pointed out that screening level calculations require dose to be estimated before risk.

The Epidemiologic Data Workgroup status report covered activities completed since the previous meeting: define frequently used terms in epidemiologic research; identify sources and limitations of existing data; list challenges in implementing epidemiologic studies; and conduct searches to locate relevant studies on SRS workers, populations contiguous to SRS and non-human subjects at and around SRS. The workgroup hoped the data would help CDC to determine whether an epidemiologic study or risk assessment needs to be conducted in the future. SRSHES noted the lack of racespecific data collected for black SRS workers prior to 1979. Other epidemiologic data sources were suggested for the workgroup’s consideration.

The Community Summary Workgroup status report covered activities completed since the previous meeting. The existing 935-word summary was decreased to 629 words. The document was revised to be more user-friendly and understandable to communities, but the meaning was not changed. SRSHES will provide comments and reach consensus on the final version that will be distributed to communities.

The Outreach Workgroup status report covered tasks that will be completed in the near future. SRSHES materials will be distributed to the public, particularly the updated brochure. Communities will be actively recruited to participate in SRSHES activities. NCEH will make every effort to provide funding for the workgroup to update and distribute the brochure. SRSHES recommended that high school students and local civic organizations be considered as additional target audiences for outreach initiatives.

A DFO/chair meeting was held in May 2001 to discuss the evaluation report. The need for each HES to establish ground rules to govern its operation was one of the key evaluation findings. SRSHES agreed that a modified version of Roberts Rules of Order will serve as its ground rules.

ATSDR’s training program for health professionals is implemented through grand rounds, peer-reviewed publications and cooperative agreements. ATSDR grantees are currently conducting the SRS environmental health education needs assessment. Data for the target counties were collected and community leaders were identified during the initial phases of the project. Community input on SRS was recently obtained through focus group meetings in the target counties. This process will help to strengthen capacity building and networking at the local level.

The Proactive Workgroup status report covered the draft SRSHES long-range plan. Workgroup roles and responsibilities were proposed for several activities: the Phase III dose reconstruction, health-related research, and education and outreach initiatives. The evaluation recommendations and milestones would be addressed by the full SRSHES. The document will serve as the SRSHES plan for the next four to five years after approval by SRSHES and CDC.

The update on the SRS former production worker health project focused on the 25,580 former workers located to date. Retirees represent the largest portion of the study population, but the list is still incomplete. None of the clinical evaluations showed chronic beryllium disease, but work-related hearing loss and respiratory problems were frequently detected. Overweight conditions, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal problems were the most common non-occupational health effects found among SRS former production workers. SRSHES emphasized the need for testing to be conducted by an outside group since DOE is responsible for worker exposure and is also funding the project.

During the SRSHES open discussion, assignments and future directions for the Scenario, Outreach and Epidemiologic Data Workgroups were clarified. During the deliberations on new SRSHES business, the action and agenda items were reviewed. Consensus recommendations were unanimously approved for NIOSH and NCEH to examine health effects from exposure to SRS radionuclide and chemical releases among female and black workers and offsite populations. The beginning of plant operations to the present should serve as the time period for the worker study.

The Chair opened the floor for public comment at all times as designated on the agenda. The next SRSHES meeting is tentatively scheduled for the first week in June 2002 in Augusta, Georgia; the following meeting is tentatively scheduled for the second week in September 2002 in Savannah, Georgia.