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September 1997 Forum Summary
Cancer and Environment Forums

The most recent BCERF Ad Hoc Discussion Group meeting was an abbreviated meeting held in conjunction with another event: the 1997 Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology (ICET) Symposium on The Science that Drives Policy: Pesticides, Diet and Breast Cancer Risk. Following a report by June Fessenden MacDonald, Director of BCERF, this breakfast meeting on September 30 featured short presentations by: John Galivan, who has acted as Director of the Breast Cancer Research Education Project at the New York State Department of Health, and will be the Commissioner of Health's designee when the Health Research Science Board convenes; Bill Smith of Cornell University's Pesticide Management Education Program; and Bob Haggerty of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Updates of the three projects they represent are presented below.

Status Report of the Breast Cancer Research Education Project,
Health Research Science Board
 John Galivan, Director,
Division of Molecular Medicine, Wadsworth Center,
NYS Department of Health

The Health Research Science Board is in the process of being formed under amendment of Article 24 of the NYS Public Health Law. The Board will have eleven members appointed by the Governor and the leadership in the Senate and Assembly. There will also be five non-voting members who are representatives of the NYS Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation, the Cornell University Institute for Comparative and Environmental Toxicology, a survivor of breast cancer, and a survivor of testicular or prostate cancer. At the time of writing, the Board is partially filled and is expected to be completed and to convene by the end of this year.

It will be the responsibility of the Board to review the current status of breast cancer research and data. They will also review requests to the Commissioner of Health for access to the Pesticide Use and Sales Registry by qualified investigators. The Board shall also review the correlation between pesticide use and pesticide exposure and will evaluate the utility of the pesticide data generated by the Pesticide Use and Sales Registry.

A major activity of the Board will be to solicit, receive and review applications for funds to conduct research on breast cancer. Following review, they will recommend support of specific projects that will be recommended to the Commissioner by the Health Research Science Board. All funds for these research projects shall be derived from the kind generosity of the citizens of New York State who donated through the breast cancer tax check-off of the New York State Income Tax. It is expected that the first year of activities will be devoted to defining the areas of research to be supported and to establishing the review process. It is estimated that the recruitment of funds in the first year of the tax check-off will exceed $670,000.

Update on Software Development for the Pesticide Use and Sales Registry
William Smith, Senior Extension Associate,
Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP),
Cornell University

PMEP has made significant progress in its involvement in developing the pesticide use and sales reporting database. Necessary equipment has been purchased, including a site-license server and accessories. The five-member project team has moved to new facilities within the Department of Entomology in Comstock Hall at Cornell. PMEP has recently hired four new personnel to work on the project with Robert Warfield, the Database Manager: an office systems specialist and two programmer/analysts and a senior programmer/analyst.

The development of the data model for the pesticide use and sales database has been completed. It is undergoing review by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation personnel, and source code writing is pending upon approval of the model. File specifications have been written to accept electronic reporting by those that have the capability to do so. The project will be ready to accept data from vendors on January 1, 1998.

Report on the Pesticide Use and Sales Registry
Robert Haggerty, Supervisor of the Pesticide Reporting Section,
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Staffing. The central office staff is now at full strength, with eleven people. Six of the eleven positions are non-technical staff, such as clerks and secretaries. The final steps to fill the regional positions are in process. Once everyone is on board, there will be twenty-one staff working in the Pesticide Reporting Section: eleven in the central office and ten in the regions.

Pilot Study of Hand-Held Computers. The Pesticide Reporting Section staff are working with the Governor's Office for Technology to institute a hand-held computer (HPC) pilot program. Eight "Region 7" pesticide firms will participate in the pilot program. A "kick-off" meeting was held on September 3, 1997 in Syracuse. The pilot program runs from September 22-October 10.

Request for Proposals (RFP) for Keypunching Data. This document will be used to hire the data entry firm to input the information from the estimated 80 million records expected from the regulated community.

Draft Technical and Administrative Guidance Memo (TAGM) Documents. Notice of the draft TAGM was published in the Environmental Notice Bulletin on August 20, and mailed to many groups and associations, as well as people who have called in and requested a copy. Respondents had until September 19 to send written comments, and the final document is now being prepared. A second supplementary draft TAGM is in early development.

Reporting From Changes for 1998 Under Discussion. The Pesticide Reporting Section staff are working with the Governor's Office for Technology to institute a scannable reporting form pilot program. The intention of this program is to design a scannable reporting form and run a test pilot to determine the feasibility of using the form for the 1998 reporting year.

Outreach. Recent outreach has included the New York State Fair, the New York State Farm Show, the Cornell University Turfgrass Short Course, the Central New York Flower and Garden Show, and the Cornell Research Turfgrass Field Days. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions about the Pesticide Reporting Law (PRL), and copies of the new PRL brochure were distributed.

Calls continue to come in daily with questions on the PRL. Concerned people are encouraged to call the toll-free number at 1-888-457-0110. Please leave a message and someone will return the call as soon as possible.

The next Ad Hoc Discussion Group meeting will take place on Friday, February 27, 1997 in Room 711A of the Legislative Office Building, Albany NY from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Ad Hoc Discussion Group meetings are open to any and all stakeholders to come together to discuss issues related to breast cancer and environmental risk factors.

Last Update 08.04.05