[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12324-12326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5871]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7636-4]
Technical Panel Formation and First Panel Meeting to Continue
Evaluation on Issues Relating to Impacts of the Collapse of the World
Trade Center Towers
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing
the formation of an expert technical review panel whose purpose is to
provide for greater input on ongoing efforts to monitor the situation
for New York residents and workers impacted by the collapse of the
World Trade Center. The panel members will help guide the EPA's use of
the available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries
to characterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet
public health needs, and recommend any steps to further minimize the
risks associated with the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks.
The panel will meet several times over the course of approximately two
years, and these panel meetings will be open to the public, except
where the public interest requires otherwise. Information on the panel
meeting agendas, documents (except where the public interest requires
otherwise), and public registration to attend the meetings will be
available from an Internet Web site. EPA has established an official
public docket for this action under Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003.
[[Page 12325]]
DATES: The first meeting of this panel will be held on March 31, 2004,
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern standard time. On-site registration
will begin at 9 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Alexander Hamilton U.S.
Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, NY in the Auditorium
(basement level). A government-issued identification (e.g., driver's
license) is required for entry.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Meeting Information
Eastern Research Group, Inc., (ERG), an EPA contractor, will
facilitate the meeting. To attend the meeting as an observer, please
register by visiting the Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel. You
may also register for the meeting by calling ERG's conference
registration line at (781) 674-7374 or by faxing a registration request
to (781) 674-2906 (include full address and contact information). Pre-
registration is strongly recommended as space is limited, and
registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The
deadline for pre-registration is March 26, 2004. Registrations will
continue to be accepted after this date, including on-site
registration, if space allows. In addition, there will be a limited
time at the meeting for oral comments from the public. Oral comments
will be limited to five (5) minutes each. If you wish to make a
statement during the observer comment period, please check the
appropriate box when you register at the Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For meeting information, registration
and logistics, please see the Web site http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel or
contact ERG at (781) 674-7374. The meeting agenda and logistical
information will be posted on the Web site and will also be available
in hard copy. For further information regarding the technical panel,
please contact Ms. Lisa Matthews, EPA Office of the Science Advisor,
(202) 564-4499.
II. Background Information
Immediately following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on
New York City's World Trade Center, many Federal agencies, including
the EPA, were called upon to focus their technical and scientific
expertise on the national emergency. EPA, other Federal agencies, New
York City, and New York State public health and environmental
authorities focused on numerous cleanup, dust collection and ambient
air monitoring activities to ameliorate and better understand the human
health impacts of the disaster. Detailed information concerning the
environmental monitoring activities that were conducted as part of this
response is available at the EPA Response to 9-11 Web site at http://www.epa.gov/wtc/.
In addition to environmental monitoring, EPA efforts also included
toxicity testing of the dust on laboratory mice, as well as the
development of a human exposure and health risk assessment. This risk
assessment document, Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne
Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster (http://www.epa.gov/ncea/wtc.htm), has been subjected to public comment and expert peer
review, and is currently undergoing revisions prior to finalization.
Numerous additional studies by other Federal and State agencies,
universities, and other organizations have documented impacts to both
the outdoor and indoor environments, and to human health.
While these monitoring and assessment activities were ongoing, and
the cleanup at Ground Zero itself was occurring, EPA began planning for
a program to clean and monitor residential apartments. From June 2002
until December 2002, residents impacted by World Trade Center dust and
debris in an area of about 1 mile by 1 mile south of Canal Street were
eligible to request federally funded cleaning and monitoring for
airborne asbestos or only monitoring of their residences. The cleanup
continued into the summer of 2003, by which time the EPA had cleaned
and monitored 3400 apartments and monitored an additional 800
apartments. Detailed information on this portion of the EPA response is
also available at http://www.epa.gov/wtc/.
A critical component of understanding long-term human health
impacts is the establishment of health registries. The World Trade
Center Health Registry is a comprehensive and confidential health
survey of those most directly exposed to the contamination resulting
from the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. It is intended to
give health professionals a better picture of the health consequences
of 9/11. It was established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the New York City Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene (NYCDHMH), in cooperation with a number of academic
institutions, public agencies and community groups. Detailed
information about the registry can be obtained from the registry Web
site at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/wtc/index.html.
In order to obtain individual advice on the effectiveness of these
programs, unmet needs and data gaps, the EPA will convene a technical
panel of experts who have been involved with World Trade Center
assessment activities. Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA Science Advisor, will serve
as Chair of the panel, and Dr. Paul Lioy, Professor of Environmental
and Community Medicine at the Environmental and Occupational Health
Sciences Institute of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-UMDNJ and
Rutgers University, will serve as Vice Chair. A full list of the panel
members and a charge statement and operating principles for the panel
are available from the panel Web site listed above. Panel meetings will
each be one-day meetings, and they will occur over the course of
approximately a two-year period. Panel members will provide individual
advice on issues the panel addresses. These meetings will occur in New
York City and nearby locations. All of the meetings will be announced
on the Web site and by a Federal Register notice, and they will be open
to the public for attendance and also to provide brief oral comment.
The focus of the first meeting is to review the proposed mission
statement of the panel and the processes and protocols for the conduct
of the panel. Future meetings will address planned activities by EPA
regarding monitoring, assessment and health registries. Further
information on these meetings can be found at the Web site identified
earlier: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel.
III. How To Get Information on E-DOCKET
EPA has established an official public docket for this action under
Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003. The official public docket consists of the
documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments
received, and other information related to this action. Although a part
of the official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. The official public docket is the collection of
materials that is available for public viewing at the Office of
Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the Headquarters EPA Docket
Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading
Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading
Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the OEI Docket is
(202) 566-1752; facsimile: (202) 566-1753; or e-mail:
[email protected].
[[Page 12326]]
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to submit or view public
comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official
public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that
are available electronically. Once in the system, select ``search,''
then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
Dated: March 10, 2004.
Paul Gilman,
EPA Science Advisor and Assistant Administrator for Research and
Development.
[FR Doc. 04-5871 Filed 3-15-04; 8:45 am]
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