Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee (SRSHES) Meeting

Final Meeting Minutes
January 10, 2002

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Review of Meeting Minutes.
Dr. Bustos entertained a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting; the following corrections were noted for the record:

• Page 1/Executive Summary: Change “November 2-3, 2001” to “November 2-3, 2000”.
• Page 1/Meeting Summary: Change “November 2-3, 2001” to “November 2-3, 2000”.
• Page 1: Change “Jan” Kato to “Jeanne” Kato.
• Page 6: Add the sentence “Ms. Jeanne Kato suggested that fetal exposures be considered in the screening scenarios.” Move the sentence and the response by Ms. Elizabeth Donnelly to the Discussion section.
• Page 7: Delete “Jan” Kato.
• Global: Change “Mr. Utterback” to “Dr. Utterback”.

Dr. Umansky moved to accept the minutes as corrected; Mr. Waters seconded the motion. There being no further discussion, the March 15-16, 2001 Draft SRSHES Meeting Minutes were unanimously approved with the changes outlined above.

Review of Current Action Items and Administrative Issues.
Mr. Paul Renard, the SRSHES Executive Secretary, noted some personnel changes that occurred since the previous meeting. Ms. Jane Perry, of the Georgia Division of Public Health, will now serve as the SRSHES liaison for the State of Georgia. Ms. Natasha Friday, Mr. Phillip Green and Ms. Judy James are new staff members in the Radiation Studies Branch. Mr. Renard announced the third personnel change with mixed feelings. While he was pleased about his new position in the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), he regretted that he will no longer serve as the SRSHES Executive Secretary. He mentioned that his involvement with SRSHES has been one of the most significant milestones in his career. Mr. Green will begin serving as the SRSHES Executive Secretary at the next meeting.

Mr. Renard’s status report of the current action items is outlined below.

• In May 2001, SRSHES reviewed, provided comments and submitted the evaluation report questionnaires to Dr. Bustos. The responses were presented during a meeting with all Health Effects Subcommittee (HES) chairs and Designated Federal Officials (DFOs).
• In May 2001, the DFO convened a conference call with the Membership Workgroup to discuss new and existing SRSHES nominees. A follow-up conference call was held with an SRSHES quorum and consensus was reached on the list of candidates that was forwarded to the CDC Director.
• The Proactive Workgroup drafted a long-range plan for SRSHES. A status report of this activity is scheduled on the agenda.
• In September 2001, the Scenario Workgroup compiled a list of scenarios to be included in the radionuclides screening project. A status report of this activity is scheduled on the agenda.
• In September 2001, the Community Summary Workgroup simplified the Phase II Community Summary. A status report of this activity is scheduled on the agenda.
• In September 2001, the Epidemiologic Data Workgroup began collecting existing information for SRS. A status report of this activity is scheduled on the agenda.

Mr. Renard also described several administrative changes that have occurred to operate HESs. First, priorities have dramatically changed in all government agencies since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and subsequent anthrax outbreaks, but NCEH still hopes SRSHES nominees will be officially appointed by the next meeting. The hiring freeze in HHS agencies has been lifted. Second, time cards for members were processed at the division level, but Committee Management will now undertake this task within the branch. Consultants were required to submit supporting documentation to CDC and wait for payment, but Ms. James will now distribute checks to consultants at the end of each meeting.

If members encounter problems with the new system, the following persons should be contacted: Committee Management staff initially; Mr. Green after two weeks; and Ms. Cindy Ellis, the Technical Services Chief of the CDC Human Resource Management Office after two additional weeks. Committee Management staff can be reached through the toll-free telephone number, while Ms. Ellis can be contacted at 770/488-1574. Third, CDC must now obtain permission from HHS for five or more persons to travel to meetings. The new rule requires CDC to submit requests far in advance of meetings and estimate the exact number of travelers. Substitutions can be made, but new names cannot be added after a request has been submitted.

Fourth, the following ground rules are being proposed to operate SRSHES meetings, but members are welcome to make changes. No safe zone exists. No rank exists during meetings. Participants should freely give of their experiences. All attendees may participate because no individual can dominate a meeting. Discussions should remain on track. All attendees should be active listeners. All attendees should maintain the selfesteem of others by disagreeing with an issue rather than an individual and disagreeing without being disagreeable. One speaker shall be heard at a time. Attendees should have fun.

Dr. Bustos acknowledged Mr. Renard’s instrumental role in establishing and leading SRSHES. His technical knowledge of SRS and expertise in federal activities has been invaluable to the members. Dr. McClain added that Low Country communities applaud Mr. Renard’s advocacy and support of the public involvement process. She recalled that during an early community meeting, he provided Savannah residents with an opportunity to actively participate in defining the mission, composition, decision-making role and purpose of SRSHES. She urged Mr. Renard to continue to advocate for the community involvement process and view progress made by SRSHES as one of his finest accomplishments. The members agreed that Mr. Renard’s leadership of SRSHES will be greatly missed. The attendees recognized his contributions with a standing ovation.