Review of the Worker and Public Health Activities Program Administered by the Department of Energy and the Department of Health and Human Services (2006) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 5-18
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 5... ...
. Funded at approximately $10 million to $20 million annually for more than 20 years, DOE's Worker and Public Health Activities Program was established to study the consequences of exposures to ionizing radiation and other hazardous materials used in DOE operations on workers and the general public in surrounding communities.
|
From page 6... ...
In addition, the National Academies' committee was asked to address the following aspects of the program: · The congressional mandate in establishing the MOU, and how well its goals have been met through FY 2004; · Evaluating research priorities for projects from FY 1990 through FY 2004 and for projects included in the agenda; · Research project selection from FY 1990 through FY 2004 and for projects included in the agenda; · Usefulness of results and dissemination of completed research through FY 2005; and · Other aspects to be identified by the committee. The committee was asked to propose other appropriate measures or indicators to be used in evaluating this program.
|
From page 7... ...
ASSESSMENT OF PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ISSUES: STRENGTHEN THE MOU TO UTILIZE THE UNIQUE STRENGTHS OF DOE AND HHS TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS The MOU approach for carrying out the worker and public health programs for DOE through HHS partly solved the problems that were building during the time period prior to 1990 in which DOE managed the program internally. The committee found that the MOUs, while setting up an overall operating structure for the worker and public health program at DOE, stopped short of defining specific operating elements that, if implemented, could have improved results and the effectiveness of the program in addressing the health needs of workers and the public.
|
From page 8... ...
The committee recommends that all contractor-assembled data be submitted to DOE's Office of Environment, Safety and Health1 for compila tion, management, and storage in centralized databases, using standardized formats. DOE should consider developing a process that captures current exposure data as well as health outcome data, including external radiation 1On August 30, 2006, the DOE announced the creation of a new office, the Office of Health, Safety and Security, which will assume the responsibilities of the previous Offices of Environment, Safety and Health and Security and Safety Performance Assurance.
|
From page 9... ...
The committee therefore recommends that: DOE and HHS should reestablish and maintain oversight and coordination of the program at the Assistant Secretary level.2 Communication and coordi nation at a senior level within an organization enhances the probability of 2The committee developed and unanimously approved this recommendation prior to a recent reorganization within DOE that merged existing safety and health functions into another unit. Because we believe that occupational and environmental health issues remain critically important to DOE workers and surrounding communities, and because we believe that senior-level management engagement is a pre-requisite for effective safety and health program management, the committee recommends that DOE and HHS should establish and maintain oversight and coordination of the program at the Assistant Secretary level in HHS and the equivalent level in DOE.
|
From page 10... ...
It is critical that the resources committed to funding the worker and public health research program be spent in the most efficient manner, yielding the most useful information to understand the potential health and environmental impacts of activities at DOE facilities. Both HHS and DOE can provide important perspectives, based on their extensive expe riences in this realm.
|
From page 11... ...
2. As noted earlier, "one of the biggest challenges affecting the program has been the difficulty researchers have had in obtaining exposure and other relevant data to use in their epidemiological studies." Therefore, the committee further recommends that: DOE should consider developing a process that captures current exposure data, including external radiation exposure, internal radiation exposure, chemi cal exposure, and other demographic information (e.g., gender, age, social security number)
|
From page 12... ...
Therefore, the committee recommends that: A phased approach toward further pooling of DOE and international nuclear workers studies should be undertaken. The initial phase would be for NIOSH to provide a justification for pooling particular DOE sites and cohorts based on the completeness and accuracy of radiation exposure data and on the site specific potential for confounding between measured external radiation ex posures and unmeasured (e.g., internal doses, chemical, asbestos)
|
From page 13... ...
These registries provide the opportunity to link future follow-up of the DOE cohorts to state cancer registries to identify incident cancers in this population for a follow-up period beginning in the mid- to late 1990s. An intramural NIOSH project examined population-based state cancer registries to determine their feasibility and suitability for occupational studies.
|
From page 14... ...
These studies have provided valuable data to the communities surrounding DOE facilities in particular, and to the public in general, about the historic operations of those facilities, the environmental impacts, and the doses or health risks of individuals exposed to releases from the site. Therefore, the committee recommends that: NCEH continue to make the findings of its dose reconstruction studies avail able to the public on-line, ideally including a direct link to the study results from the facility's web site.
|
From page 15... ...
As a result, the committee recommends the following: DOE funding of ATSDR activities at the five DOE sites should continue. EVALUATION OF DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION: IMPROVE DISSEMINATION AND COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS TO WORKERS AND THE PUBLIC In reviewing the dissemination and communication efforts of this program, the committee observed various types of information dissemination but few examples of effective communication with workers and the public at or near DOE sites.
|
From page 16... ...
Guiding principles for effective risk communication and best practices recommended in previous studies of other nuclear and hazardous operations could be applied to improve efforts to communicate the risks involved at DOE sites to both workers and community groups. As a result, the committee recommends the following: · Both DOE and HHS agencies should develop improved long-term com munication plans that incorporate risk communication lessons learned during the past 15 years from scholars and practitioners (including those at these agencies)
|
From page 17... ...
Best practices in risk communication require professional evaluation, particularly to meet the needs of different stakeholders. As a result the committee recommends the following: · HHS agencies and DOE should engage in periodic and systematic evalu ations of their communication efforts using the most current risk commu nication research and practices available.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.