ORRHES Meeting Minutes
March 26, 2002

Recommendations

RECOMMENDATION 1:
Karen Galloway recommended from the Guidelines and Procedures Work Group that the ORRHES adopt the following as amendments to the bylaws of the ORRHES to improve the functioning of the work groups (amendments italic):

Article IX. Work Groups

.9 All work group meetings shall be open to the public, and the public shall be permitted free participation as members of the work group. Work group members may participate either as voting members or non-voting members. In order to be a voting member of any given work group meeting, the member must (1) have participated in at least one of the two past consecutive meetings, either in person or by conference phone, for the entire meeting; and (2) be present for the entire meeting where a vote is to be cast, arriving no later than 10 minutes after the scheduled start of the meeting. Non-voting members may participate in all discussions.

.14 Work group members who are absent either by conference phone or in person from three consecutive work group meetings and do not provide advance notification of their absence to the work group chair, shall have their names removed from the roster of the work group. The member may be reinstated after providing notification to the work group, prior to the next work group meeting, of their intention to rejoin the work group.

This recommendation was referred back to the Guidelines and Procedures Work Group for further work on the wording of the recommendation.

RECOMMENDATION 2:
The ORRHES recommended that the letter to Dr. Henry Falk, Assistant Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, regarding the need for public availability of the references and interviews for the Oak Ridge Dose Reconstruction, not be sent in light of what we have learned about the availability of these references from Dr. Timothy Joseph at the February 11, 2002 ORRHES meeting.

This recommendation received a motion, was seconded, and was passed by the Subcommittee by vote count of 11 in favor and none opposed.

RECOMMENDATION 3:
Bob Craig recommended from The Public Health Assessment Work Group that the ORRHES urge the ATSDR to expedite the generation of maps (in color) showing where all soil, water, and air sampling was done for each contaminant of concern as soon as possible because of the importance of this information to the credibility of the public health assessment.

This recommendation was referred back to the Public Health Assessment Work Group for further work on the wording of the recommendation.

RECOMMENDATION 4.1:
The ORRHES recommended ATSDR develop a detailed Project Management plan by the next ORRHES meeting which:

1. shows all the tasks within the various divisions and branches of ATSDR
2. outlines how those efforts will come together to support the Public Health Assessment
3. designates who will be delegated to manage the effort and how the authority to manage will be provided across divisions
4. shows the anticipated schedule and budget
5. explains how ATSDR will manage around the yo-yo funding

This recommendation received a motion, was seconded, and was passed by the Subcommittee by vote count of 9 in favor and 2 opposed.

RECOMMENDATION 4.2:
The ORRHES recommended that ATSDR work with ORRHES to:

1. develop a complete list of work groups, work group activities, other public health activities, (including meetings) that are considered essential to achieve the goals and mission of the ORRHES as outlined in the project plan (Recommendation 4.1)
2. prioritize all significant activities in a top down ranking according to the contribution and value to ATSDR in meeting the mission of the ORRHES
3. relate available and anticipated funding according to the top down ranking
4. identify shortfalls in funding and relate it to the top down ranking
5. identify mission components that cannot be funded
6. identify impact on mission success

This recommendation received a motion, was seconded, and was passed by the Subcommittee by vote count of 11 in favor, 1 abstention, and none opposed.

RECOMMENDATION 4.3:
James Lewis recommended that the ORRHES recommend to ATSDR that ATSDR organize, formally lobby, and fight to maintain appropriate level of funding and resources required to carry out the mission of the ORRHES. In that effort ATSDR should explain how and why the efforts in Oak Ridge rank paramount in the public health activities nationwide because the Oak Ridge Reservation is considered by many to be the most complex of DOE facilities. (This makes it not only important, but sets a model for future successes.) ATSDR should outline how they intend to do this and keep the ORRHES apprized of such activities. Where advantageous, ATSDR should involve the ORRHES in that effort.

This recommendation did not receive a motion.

ACTION ITEMS

ACTION 1: Jerry Pereira will bring to the Subcommittee a break down of the ATSDR budget/expenditures for the Oak Ridge site last year and a break down of the new ATSDR budget for the Oak Ridge site when the impact of reductions in the current DOE budget are known.

ACTION 2: The Guidelines and Procedures Work Group will re-examine their recommendation to amend the bylaws concerning the operation of work groups toward improving the function of the work groups without being excessively burdensome on work group members. Included in this action will be the task of preparing the official roster of each work group and designation of the basis for compensation of work group members.

ACTION 3: La Freta Dalton will re-send an e-mail to Subcommittee members containing a link to the web site and the request that all Subcommittee members review the web site and provide any input on it to ATSDR within a week.

ACTION 4: Kathleen Taimi will query the ongoing projects of the DOE Medical and Exposure Surveillance Program to ask whether local communities appear to have modeled any community health assessment/screening projects on the DOE Medical and Exposure Surveillance projects.

ACTION 5: Timothy Joseph will pursue within DOE information about the reductions in DOE budget that will impact the ASTDR effort at the Oak Ridge site.

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