Advisory Board – Preparing for April Face to Face Meeting

The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, which advises the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), held a teleconference on February 27, 2019 in advance of their face to face meeting in April.

Before the planning began, Ted Katz, Designated Federal Official, updated the board on the status of the Y-12 Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petition #251.  One February 26, 2019 the Secretary of Health and Human Services signed off on the board’s recommendation to include all employees who worked at the Y-12 plant for at least 250 days between January 1, 1958 and December 31, 1976.  Congress now has thirty days to review the recommendation to include the class.   If Congress doesn’t act, then the Department of Labor will begin processing claims.

There will be only one new SEC that will be presented to the board in April.  It is an addendum to the Sandia Laboratory SEC petition 188 which concerns the years between 1977 and 2011.  NIOSH will have the evaluation report to the board shortly before the meeting.

The SEC petition for Superior Steel will be briefly discussed. The board’s contractor, Sanford Cohen and Associates (SC&A) are still reviewing NIOSH’s report.  More importantly, the public from the Pittsburgh area are invited at attend the meeting and will have an opportunity to make comments to the board.

SC&A provided their evaluation of NIOSH’s position on Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory for americium and thorium exposures.  They are also preparing a report on Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) validation and verification for one of INL’s petitions.

The board acknowledged an email they received from the Rocky Flats petitioners asking that SEC status be awarded because relevant documents provided to the Rocky Flats Grand Jury are still under seal by the federal court.  There was no discussion of this issue by the board.

The face-to-face meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 17, 209 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) with the public comment period between 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)

Pittsburgh Marriott City Center
112 Washington Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 471-4000
Fax: (412) 394-1017

For those of you who cannot attend in person you can listen by calling 1-866-659-0537
Participant Code: 9933701