[Federal Register: June 4, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 107)]
[Notices]
[Page 33494-33495]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04jn03-93]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Announces the
Following Meeting
Name: Continue Conceptual Discussions for Escape Respirator
Standards Development Efforts Used for Respiratory Protection Against
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Agents, and
Provide an Update on the Quality Assurance/Administrative Module.
Date and Time: June 25, 2003; 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Place: Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe, 1000 Corporate
Drive, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
Status: This meeting is hosted by NIOSH and will be open to the
public, limited only by the space available. The meeting room will
accommodate approximately 175 people. Interested parties should make
hotel reservations directly with the Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/
Southpointe (724/743-5000/ 1-800-HILTON) before the cut-off date of
June 10, 2003. A group rate of $55 per night has been negotiated for
meeting guests. The NIOSH/NPPTL Public Meeting must be referenced to
receive this special rate. Interested parties should confirm their
attendance to this meeting by completing a registration form and
forwarding it by e-mail (confserv@netl.doe.gov) or fax (304-285-4459)
to the Event Management Office. A registration form may be obtained
from the NIOSH Homepage (www.cdc.gov/niosh) by selecting Conferences
and then the event.
An opportunity to make presentations regarding the conceptual
discussions of standards and testing processes for escape respirator
standards suitable for respiratory protection against CBRN Agents will
be given. Requests to make such presentations at the public meeting
should be mailed to the NIOSH Docket Officer, Robert A. Taft
Laboratories, M/S C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226,
Telephone 513-533-8303, Fax 513-533-8285, E-mail niocindocket@cdc.gov.
All requests to present on the CBRN topics should contain the name,
address, telephone number, relevant business affiliations of the
presenter, a brief summary of the presentation, and the approximate
time requested for the presentation. Oral presentations should be
limited to 15 minutes. Participants will be given the opportunity to
comment on the Quality Assurance/Administrative module.
After reviewing the requests for presentations, NIOSH will notify
each presenter of the approximate time that their presentation is
scheduled to begin. If a participant is not present when their
presentation is scheduled to begin, the remaining participants will be
heard in order. At the conclusion of the meeting, an attempt will be
made to allow presentations by any scheduled participants who missed
their assigned times. Attendees who wish to speak but did not submit a
request for the opportunity to make a presentation may be given this
opportunity at the conclusion of the meeting, at the discretion of the
presiding officer.
Comments on the topics presented in this notice and at the meeting
should be mailed to the NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft
Laboratories, M/S C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226,
Telephone 513-533-8303, Fax 513/533-8285. Comments may also be
submitted by e-mail to niocindocket@cdc.gov. E-mail attachments should
be formatted as WordPerfect 6/7/8/9 or Microsoft Word. Comments should
be submitted to NIOSH no later than July 25, 2003, and should reference
docket number, NIOSH-002, in the subject heading if they pertain to the
CBRN topics, or reference docket number, NIOSH-001, in the subject
heading if they pertain to the Quality Assurance/Administrative Module.
Purpose: NIOSH will continue conceptual discussions of standards
and testing processes for escape respirator standards suitable for
respiratory protection against CBRN Agents. In addition, an update on
the development of the Quality Assurance/ Administrative module will be
presented.
NIOSH, along with the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical
Command (SBCCOM) and the National Institute for Standards and
Technology (NIST), will present information to attendees concerning the
concept development for the Escape Respirator CBRN standard.
Participants will be given an opportunity to ask questions on these
topics and to present individual comments for consideration. Interested
participants may obtain the latest copy of the Escape Respirator CBRN
concept paper, as well as earlier versions of the concept papers used
during the standard development effort, from the NIOSH contact
identified below, or from the NIOSH National Personal Protective
Technology Laboratory Web site, address: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl.
The June 15, 2003, concept paper will be used as the basis for
discussion at the public meeting, as well as forming the basis for the
new Escape Respirator CBRN statement of standard.
Recent acts of terrorism have created an urgent awareness of
domestic security and preparedness issues. Municipal, states, and
federal responder groups, particularly those in locations considered
potential targets, have been developing and modifying response and
consequence management plans. Since the World Trade Center and anthrax
incidents, most emergency response agencies have operated with a
heightened appreciation of the potential scope and sustained resources
requirements for coping with such events. The federal Interagency Board
for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability (IAB) has worked to
identify personal protective equipment that is already available on the
market for responders' use. The IAB has identified the development of
standards or guidelines for respiratory protection equipment as a top
priority. NIOSH, NIST, National Fire Protection Association, and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration have
[[Page 33495]]
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding defining each agency or
organization's role in developing, establishing, and enforcing
standards or guidelines for responders' respiratory protective devices.
NIST has initiated Interagency Agreements with NIOSH and SBCCOM to aid
in the development of appropriate protection standards or guidelines.
NIOSH has the lead in developing standards or guidelines to test,
evaluate, and approve respirators.
NIOSH, SBCCOM, and NIST have hosted public meetings on April 17 and
18, 2001; June 18 and 19, 2002; October 16 and 17, 2002; and April 29,
2003, presenting their progress in assessing respiratory protection
needs of responders to CBRN incidents. The methods or models for
developing hazard and exposure estimates, and the status in evaluating
test methods and performance standards that may be applicable as future
CBRN respirator standards or guidelines were discussed at these
meetings.
The Quality Assurance/Administrative update module had been under
development prior to the introduction of the CBRN topics and has been
previously presented in an open format, the last of which were public
meetings held on August 8, 2000, in Washington, DC, and on August 16,
2000, in San Francisco, California. More recent developments have
necessitated revisions that will be highlighted at this meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Event Management, P.O. Box 880, 3610
Collins Ferry Road, Morgantown, WV 26507, Telephone 304-285-4750, Fax
304-285-4459, E-mail confserv@netl.doe.gov. The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, has been
delegated the authority to sign Federal Register Notices pertaining to
announcements of meetings and other committee management activities,
for both CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Dated: May 29, 2003.
Alvin Hall,
Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 03-13969 Filed 6-3-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-19-P