[Federal Register: April 28, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 82)]
[Notices]
[Page 23191-23193]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ap04-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7654-7; E-Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003]
Telephone Conference Call of the World Trade Center Expert
Technical Review Panel To Continue Evaluation on Issues Relating to
Impacts of the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel will hold
a telephone conference call 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 individual
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. Instructions for the
dial-in telephone conference call are in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
DATES: The telephone conference call of this panel will be held on May
12, 2004,
[[Page 23192]]
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., eastern daylight savings time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For call information, please see the
Web site http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel or contact Sarah Bauer by
telephone at (202) 564-3267 or by e-mail at bauer.sarah@epa.gov. The
meeting agenda will be posted on the Web site and EDOCKET and will also
be available in hard copy. For further information only regarding the
technical panel, contact Michael Brown at (202) 564-6766 or
brown.michael@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Call Information
The meeting proceedings can be heard live by following these
instructions for the dial-in telephone conference call:
1. Dial 1-800-341-3088 and follow the voice prompt.
2. At the voice prompt, enter the Conference Code 1646347 and the
key.
3. You will be connected to the conference.
4. If you are disconnected for any reason, you can dial 1-800-341-
3088 and enter Conference Code 1646347 to continue with the
conference or call the Conference Center at 1-800-574-3456 for further
assistance.
Playback Instructions
The conference call will be recorded. To listen to the recording:
1. Dial 1-800-756-3819 after 2 p.m. eastern daylight savings time
on May 12th.
2. At the voice prompt, press 162137 followed by the key.
3. The conference will then be played back to you over the phone.
The nine digits on your keypad will allow you to control the
playback:
1. Slow Rewind;
2. Increase volume;
3. Slow Forward;
4. Medium Rewind;
5. Pause On/Off;
6. Medium Forward;
7. Fast Rewind;
8. Decrease Volume; and
9. Fast Forward.
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: //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 has convened a technical
panel of experts who have been involved with World Trade Center
assessment activities. Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA Science Advisor, serves 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, serves 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 phone call is to discuss a draft sampling program to
evaluate the incidence of contamination in apartments around the World
Trade Center site. 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
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the OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752; facsimile: (202) 566-1753; or e-mail:
ORD.Docket@epa.gov.
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: April 23, 2004.
William H. Farland,
Chief Scientist, Office of the Science Advisor.
[FR Doc. 04-9718 Filed 4-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P