Privacy Act of 1974; Establishment of a New System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Privacy Act of 1974; Establishment of a New System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Proposed establishment of a new Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: Federal agencies are required by the Privacy Act of 1974 (Pub.

L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. 552a) to publish a notice in the Federal Register

of a proposed system of records. The Department of Energy (DOE)

proposes to establish a new system of records entitled, ``DOE-87 Human

Radiation Experiments Helpline Records''.

DATES: The proposed new system of records will become effective without

further notice June 26, 1995, unless comments are received on or before

that date that would result in a contrary determination and a notice is

published to that effect.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be directed to the following

address: Director, Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Division,

U.S. Department of Energy, HR-78, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20585. Written comments will be available for inspection

at the above address between the hours of 9 a.m and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: (1) Ellyn R. Weiss, Director, U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Human Radiation Experiments, 1726 M

Street, NW, Washington DC 20036, or (2) GayLa D. Sessoms, Director,

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Division, HR-78, 1000

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585 (202) 586-5955 or (3)

Harold Halpern, Office of General Counsel, GC-80, 1000 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585 (202) 586-7406.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE proposes to establish a new system

of records entitled ``DOE-87, Human Radiation Experiments Helpline

Records''. This system will contain records of telephone calls to the

DOE or the Interagency Helpline (operated by DOE) and correspondence

with or involving the callers. The calls and correspondence were in

response to DOE's December, 1993, announcement that it would declassify

and publicize information pertaining to Human [[Page 26420]] Radiation

Experiments. That term, which includes certain experiments and

environmental releases of radiation, is defined in Executive Order

12891, 59 FR 2935, (January 20, 1994); see Appendix A to the

accompanying Notice of a Proposed New System of Records. The proposed

new system will pertain to members of the public who contacted the DOE

or the Interagency Helpline under the belief that they, or their

deceased relatives, may have participated as subjects in the

experiments or may have been affected by environmental or other

releases of radiation resulting from Government activities. These

records will be used as a source of information to assist the Advisory

Committee on Human Radiation Experiments evaluation of the scientific

and ethical aspects of the experiments and releases. These records will

also be used to enable information to be gathered from other sources

concerning inquirers or their relatives' participation in experiments

and releases, in order to provide such information to the inquirers.

Records in this system may be referred to agencies other than DOE if it

appears that such other agencies may have conducted pertinent

experiments or environmental releases or may administer remedial

programs.

The text of the system notice is set forth below.

Issued in Washington, DC, this 28 day of April, 1995.

Archer L. Durham,

Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration.

DOE-87

Human Radiation Experiments Helpline Records.

None.

U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Human Radiation Experiments,

Washington, DC 20585

This system of records contains records pertaining to persons in

the following categories who contacted the DOE or the Interagency

Helpline (operated by the DOE), after December 1, 1993, to determine or

report their, or their relatives', possible exposure to radiation as a

result of Human Radiation Experiments or environmental releases

conducted or sponsored by the Government or to report possible exposure

to radiation as a result of other Government or non-government

activities:

(1) Members of the public;

(2) Former members of the armed forces;

(3) Employees of the DOE, its predecessor agencies, and their

contractors and subcontractors;

(4) Persons exposed to radiation as a result of proximity to

nuclear facilities or the intentional or accidental release of

radiation.

Data provided by persons contacting the DOE or the Interagency

Helpline after December 1, 1993, to report or inquire about exposure to

radiation consists of records of telephone conversations and

correspondence. Records in this system also include correspondence

between the callers, Members of Congress, attorneys who represent them,

and with Federal agencies that conducted pertinent Human Radiation

Experiments or environmental releases or administer remedial programs.

5 U.S.C. 301; authority incorporated by reference in Title III of

the Department of Energy Organization Act at 42 U.S.C. 7151; including

42 U.S.C. 2201(c) and 42 U.S.C. 5813 and 5817.

The records will be used by DOE as a source of information to

assist the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments in the

evaluation of the Human Radiation Experiments and environmental

releases. See Executive Order 12891, 59 FR 2935, (January 20, 1994).

Additionally, based upon the information reported by the persons that

contacted DOE or the Interagency Helpline after December 1, 1993, to

inquire about or report participation in the experiments or the effects

of the environmental releases, DOE intends to gather pertinent

information about the experiments and releases from other sources, in

order to provide that information to the inquirers. The DOE will also

refer particular cases to other Federal agencies which may have

conducted pertinent experiments or releases or may administer remedial

programs.

1. To assist the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments

perform its assigned task of evaluating the scientific and ethical

aspects of the Human Radiation Experiments and environmental releases,

a record from this system of records may be disclosed to that Committee

to provide it with information concerning experiments or releases of

radiation that were sponsored, financed or conducted by DOE, its

predecessors, or other Federal agencies, and their contractors and

subcontractors. See Executive Order 12891, 59 FR 2935, (January 20,

1994); Appendix A.

2. A record in this system of records may be disclosed as a routine

use to a Member of Congress submitting a written request involving the

individual when the individual is a constituent of the member and has

requested assistance from the member with respect to the subject matter

of the record.

3. A record from this system may be disclosed to DOE contractors in

performance of their contracts, and their officers and employees who

have a need for the record in the performance of their duties, subject

to the same limitations applicable to DOE's officers and employees

under the Privacy Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552a.

4. A record from this system of records pertaining to a particular

Human Radiation Experiment or environmental release may be disclosed to

another Federal agency if it appears from the record, or other

available information, that the other Federal agency conducted the

Human Radiation Experiment or environmental release or that referral to

the other Federal agency is appropriate for remedial purposes.

5. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to the

Department of Justice when: (a) DOE, any predecessor agency, or any

component thereof; (b) any DOE or predecessor agency employee, in an

official capacity; (c) the United States Government; (d) any current or

former DOE, or predecessor agency, contractor, or any of their

employees, is a party to, or has an interest in, litigation and DOE

determines that the records are both relevant to and necessary for the

litigation, and the use of such records by the Department of Justice is

deemed by DOE to be compatible with the purpose for which DOE collected

the records.

6. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a court

or adjudicative body in a proceeding when: (a) DOE, any predecessor

agency, or any component thereof; (b) any current or former DOE, or

predecessor agency, employee in an official capacity, or in an

individual capacity where DOE has agreed to represent the employee; (c)

the United States Government; or (d) any current or former DOE

contractor, or employee of such contractor is a party to, or has an

interest in, the proceeding [[Page 26421]] and DOE determines that the

records are both relevant to and necessary for the proceeding and that

such use is deemed by DOE to be compatible with the purpose for which

DOE collected the records.

7. When a record on its face or in conjunction with other records

indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil,

criminal or regulatory in nature and whether arising by general program

statute or particular program pursuant thereto, the relevant records

may be referred as a routine use to the appropriate agency, whether

Federal, foreign, state, local or tribal, charged with the

responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or

charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, or rule, regulation

or order issued pursuant thereto, if DOE determines that the records

are both relevant to and necessary for such investigation or

prosecution and the use of such records by the appropriate agency is

deemed by DOE to be compatible with the purpose for which DOE collected

the records.

8. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to the

Archivist of the United States, the National Archives and Records

Administration or to the General Services Administration for records

management conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Records are maintained on electromagnetic or optical storage media,

and paper records.

Telephone calls have been placed in a database from which

information is retrieved by the caller's name. Correspondence is

retrieved by name of the person to whom the correspondence pertains or

of the person submitting the correspondence.

Data is kept in secured areas that are locked when not in regular

use and buildings with controlled access. Hard copy data are stored in

locked files. Appropriate safeguards for electronic information are

built into program software as warranted by sensitivity of the data.

Records are retained and disposed of in accordance with authorities

contained in the DOE Order 1324.2 ``Records Disposition.''

ADDRESSES:

U.S. Department of Energy Director, Office of Human Radiation

Experiments, Washington, DC 20585.

Requests by an individual to determine if this system of records

contains information about him or her should be directed to the Privacy

Act Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, HR-78, Washington, DC 20585, in

accordance with the DOE's Privacy Act regulation (10 CFR part 1008,

September 16, 1980, 45 FR 61576). Requests should include the

individual's current full name and address, the individual's name and

address at the time of any possible participation in the Human

Radiation Experiments or environmental release as defined in Appendix

A, and, if the requester is a current or former employee of a

Department contractor, the contractor's name, the individual's

employment dates, and the individual's social security number.

Same as notification procedures.

Same as notification procedures.

Subject individuals, family members, their attorneys, Senators and

Representatives.

None.

Appendix A

As defined in Executive Order 12891, Human Radiation Experiments

include:

(1) Experiments on individuals involving intentional exposure to

ionizing radiation. This category does not include common and

routine clinical practices, such as established diagnosis and

treatment methods, involving incidental exposures to ionizing

radiation;

(2) Experiments involving intentional environmental releases of

radiation that (A) were designed to test human health effects of

ionizing radiation; or (B) were designed to test the extent of human

exposure to ionizing radiation;

(3) The experiment into the atmospheric diffusion of radioactive

gases and test of detectability, commonly referred to as the ``Green

Run test,'' conducted by the former Atomic Energy Commission and the

Air Force in December 1949 in Hanford, Washington;

(4) Two radiation warfare field experiments conducted at the

Atomic Energy Commission's Oak Ridge office in 1948 involving gamma

radiation released from non-bomb point sources at or near ground

level;

(5) Six tests conducted during 1949-1952 of radiation warfare

ballistic dispersal devices containing radioactive agents at the

U.S. Army's Dugway, Utah, site;

(6) Four atmospheric radiation-tracking tests in 1950 at Los

Alamos, New Mexico; and

(7) Other similar human experiments that may later be identified

by the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group.

[FR Doc. 95-12042 Filed 5-12-95; 8:45 am]

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