Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee (SRSHES) Meeting

Final Meeting Minutes
September 15, 2005

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Dr. Steven Ahrenholz of NIOSH noted that the findings and conclusions in his presentation were not formally disseminated by NIOSH and should not be construed to represent any NIOSH determination or policy. NIOSH’s completed activities that are of relevance to SRS are outlined as follows. Three projects were completed in January 2005, including the reconstruction of doses among Chernobyl liquidators; studies on measurement error methods for underground uranium miners; and research on correcting measurement errors in radiation exposures. An update on the Hanford mortality study was completed in June 2005 to focus on age at exposure to ionizing radiation.

A mortality update for the Pantex Weapons Facility was completed in March 2005. An epidemiologic study of mortality and radiation-related cancer risk among 63,561 civilian INL workers is expected to be completed in October 2005. A cohort mortality study and leukemia case-control study at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS) were completed in June 2005. A cooperative agreement was undertaken with the International Agency for Research on Cancer to complete a multi-national study in June 2005 on cancer risk following low doses of ionizing radiation covering 15 countries and 407,391 workers.

NIOSH expects to complete several priority research projects in the near future. Follow-up analyses, a systematic literature review and evaluations of potential associations between chronic lymphocytic leukemia and ionizing radiation are expected to be completed in 2005. A multi-site case-control study on leukemia and ionizing radiation and a chemical laboratory worker mortality study are expected to be completed in FY’06 and will include a cohort of SRS workers. A PNS lung cancer nested case-control study, a multiple myeloma case-control study at the K-25 Plant and the Fernald cohort mortality update study are expected to be completed in FY’06.

A study on susceptibility and occupational radiation risks will be continued with ~24,000 SRS workers followed during the 50-year period of 1953-2002. A study on stochastic models for radiation carcinogenesis will be continued with radiation workers to focus on temporal factors and dose-rate effects. A worker mortality study at the Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Louisville, Kentucky will also be continued. NIOSH’s agenda and budget for public health activities at DOE sites from FY’05-FY’10 are now available on the NIOSH web site for review. Public comments must be submitted to sahrenholz@cdc.gov by November 1, 2005.

NIOSH will convene a public meeting on October 27, 2005 in Washington, DC to inform workers and other stakeholders about its programs and current research activities. A notice of the meeting will be published in the Federal Register and the public will be invited to provide comments. More information about all of NIOSH’s completed and ongoing worker studies at DOE sites can be obtained from the web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh or the toll-free telephone number at 800/356-4674.