Epidemiology and other health studies financial assistance program.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environment, Safety, and Health announces the availability of funds to provide medical evaluations in order to identify occupationally related health impacts in former DOE workers. This request for applications (RFA) is a follow-up announcement to a more general annual notice of potential availability of grants and cooperative agreements for epidemiologic and other health studies published in the Federal Register (60 FR 50561) on 29 September 1995.

The DOE is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement to fund a medical evaluation program that will serve all former DOE workers nationwide and will incorporate activities currently performed under the Former Worker Medical Screening Program and the Former Beryllium Worker Medical Surveillance Program. It is anticipated that a single award will be made to fund all of these activities.

The Former Worker Medical Screening Program was initiated in 1996 to provide targeted medical screening to former workers subject to health risks as a result of their employment at the DOE's defense nuclear facilities. Since its inception, medical evaluation based on worker exposure has been offered to former workers through 15 projects at 12 DOE sites. To date, more than 215,000 former workers have been invited to participate, approximately 35,000 have indicated interest in participating, and approximately 25,000 have been screened. Information collected is being used both to improve safety and health practices for current and future DOE workers and to assist the DOE in its administration of subtitle D of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

Another component of the program funded through this cooperative agreement will be the activities previously conducted by the DOE's Former Beryllium Worker Medical Surveillance Program, which offers medical testing for beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) to former employees who were potentially exposed to beryllium as a result of their work at various DOE sites not initially covered by the Former Worker Medical Screening Program. To date, more than 75,000 former beryllium workers have been invited to participate, approximately 25,000 have indicated interest in participating, and approximately 21,000 program participants have been screened.

The DOE intends to award one cooperative agreement with a number of specific goals, which include 1) development of efficient methods for contacting and informing former DOE workers about the provisions of this program; 2) establishment of an effective communication system (including, for example, a toll-free number, a webpage, and other resources) that former workers may use to contact the program to ask questions and/or arrange for medical evaluation related to their DOE work, and that will serve as a resource and referral service to specialty physicians when appropriate; 3) provision of a onetime medical evaluation following medical protocol and based on a participant's personal work history (in some cases, a literature review of the exposures potentially associated with specific sites may be useful)--in order to maximize the usefulness of these examinations in detecting conditions with latency periods, the program should focus on potential participants who separated from the DOE before 1998, and symptomatic individuals should enroll as soon as possible; 4) communication of information to former workers regarding the nature of their health risks and recommendations for follow-up, based on test results; 5) provision of a follow-up beryllium sensitization blood test for a symptomatic individual upon request or to an otherwise concerned individual at no greater frequency than once every three years; 6) use of local physicians (especially the participants' personal physicians, when available) to provide these medical evaluations--orientation and education of local physicians regarding the use of the program's medical protocol will be provided as necessary; 7) use of physicians and other health care professionals who are appropriately licensed in the state(s) in which they practice and maintain adequate professional liability insurance; 8) provision of logistical assistance and reimbursement of travel costs to the small number of participants who may have to travel more than 150 miles each way to receive their evaluation (specific details will be decided in conjunction with the DOE program manager); 9) distribution of a DOE-provided flyer with information on various worker compensation alternatives; 10) establishment of quality assurance measures to ensure that program services are delivered according to protocol and verify that all laboratories and radiology facilities used are appropriately certified; 11) submission of detailed monthly financial and quarterly progress reports to the DOE (reporting format and content to be specified) and participation in periodic meetings (approximately one per year) and monthly conference calls with the DOE regarding project status; 12) compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and all relevant portions of the Privacy Act; 13) compliance with DOE data disposition requirements upon project completion; and 14) evaluation of former workers' satisfaction with the project medical services using an acceptable patient satisfaction survey such as those developed for the Johns Hopkins Health Center or the Mayo Clinic.

Subject to fiscal year 2005 congressional appropriations, the maximum amount for a single award made under this announcement is expected to be $6 million per year or $30 million total, and the minimum amount for a single award is expected to be $4 million per year or $20 million total. The actual level of funding will be based on the application selected and the appropriations received. Applications must be prepared using the SF 424 form. The SF 424 form is available at http:// professionals.pr.doe.gov/ma5/ma-5web.nsf/ FinancialAssistance/IIPSFAForms?OpenDocument. Applications must be received by 30 June 2004.

Contact: Ron Barnes, 301-903-1244, e-mail: [e-mail]. Reference: DE-PS02-04EH04022