The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced today plans to conduct a meeting with the Community Assistance Panel (CAP) for the Otis Air Force Base/Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) site. The CAP is made up of community members who live around the site.

The meeting will be held on Monday, January 11, 1999, from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. in Building 330 at the Otis Air National Guard Base. The public is invited to attend.

The Community Assistance Panel was established to enhance effective communication of environmental health concerns to ATSDR by the public, to assist in health activity decisions, and to establish an avenue for ATSDR to inform the community of site-specific scientific findings as they become available.

The main topics for discussion at this meeting will be the Technical Advisors' Report and research updates, followed by a general discussion on the overall plan for CAP activities for the upcoming year. The technical advisors for the CAP are: Dr. Dale Hattis, Clark University; Dr. Robert Goble, Clark University; Dr. Louise Ryan, Harvard University; and Dr. Joel Schwartz, Harvard University.

Community members who cannot attend the session but would like additional information can call ATSDR's Senior Regional Representative Louise House in Boston at (617) 918-1491, or in the Cape area at (508) 968-4362.