EXCERPTS: "DR. MELIUS: And if I'd be correct, then four months
ago that would have shown that the hold-up was at the interview end, getting people out to interview and — and getting claimants interviewed. Now it would appear to be getting from the interview into a final dose reconstruction and review. Is that. . . " Note: Dr. Melius was “cut off.” “MR. SUNDIN: Well, I mean that is the way the pig moves through the python.” At the outset there were a lot of claims that weren't even automated, that then a DOE request had not been made. So as each claim is with us longer, then it progresses more toward the end of the process. We do have significantly more interviewers doing interviews right now, so that -- that trend as you see is going up fairly sharply. There will be a lag between that and the dose reconstructions as these claims then find their way to a dose reconstruction. So I don't know that there's any single hang-up. I think we've got things sort of balanced. It's just that the life cycle of a claim will lead to more things being done on claims that are supposed to be done early on a claim than later. . . “DR. SLOVAK: Thanks very much, John. I'm going to briefly run through -- review some of the technical scheme. And particularly I'm going to draw out some comparisons with your scheme and some rather particular features about where it's going. remarks by saying that I had wonderful sense of familiarity with the delays and the frustrations and the irritations associated with the setup of your scheme. The running of it, I can assure the same, and especially any challenges and adaptations in the future. I was particularly taken also with the concept of pigs going down pythons, and I should add to that that greasing is sometimes difficult, and it doesn't get you past the pinch point. Very briefly, you will see a series of resonances in what you're doing and what we've been doing for over 20 years, and the process of the Technical Working Party of which I chair is to make sure that all of these are in line with the advancement of science and understanding in these areas. ”* * * * * * * * * *
