[Federal Register: February 9, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 26)]
[Notices]
[Page 6869-6870]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr09fe05-59]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7870-6]
Ninth Meeting 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.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: The World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel (or WTC
Expert Panel) will hold its ninth meeting intended 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 (WTC). 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 WTC attacks. 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.
DATES: The ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel will be held on
February 23, 2005, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern standard time. On-
site registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The WTC Expert Panel meeting will be held at St. John's
University, Saval Auditorium, 101 Murray Street (between Greenwich
Street and West Side Highway), New York City (Manhattan). The
auditorium is located on the second floor of the building and is
handicap accessible. A government-issued identification (e.g., driver's
license) is required for entry.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For meeting information, registration
and logistics, please see the panel's 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 WTC
Expert Panel, contact Ms. Lisa Matthews, EPA Office of the Science
Advisor, telephone (202) 564-6669 or e-mail: matthews.lisa@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. WTC Expert Panel Meeting Information
Eastern Research Group, Inc., (ERG), an EPA contractor, will
coordinate the WTC Expert Panel meeting. To attend the panel 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 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5:30
p.m. e.s.t. at (781) 674-7374 or toll free at 1-800-803-2833, 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 are accepted on a first-come,
first-served basis. The deadline for pre-registration is February 18,
2005. Registrations will continue to be accepted after this date,
including on-site registration, if space allows. 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. Please bring a copy
of your comments to the meeting for the record or submit them
electronically via e-mail to meetings@erg.com, subject line: WTC.
[[Page 6870]]
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, 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, is available on the Web at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/wtc.htm
). 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 until
December 2002, residents impacted by WTC dust and debris in an area of
about 1 mile by 1 mile south of Canal Street were eligible to request
either federally-funded cleaning and monitoring for airborne asbestos
or monitoring of their residences. The cleanup continued into the
summer of 2003 by which time the EPA had cleaned and monitored 3,400
apartments and monitored 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 WTC Health
Registry is a comprehensive and confidential health survey of those
most directly exposed to the contamination resulting from the collapse
of the WTC 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 WTC assessment activities.
A senior official from EPA's Office of Research and Development will
chair the panel. 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, a charge statement and operating principles for the panel are
available from the panel Web site listed above. Panel meetings
typically will be one- or two-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 brief oral comments.
The focus of the ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel is to
summarize public comments received on the External Review Draft
entitled, Draft Proposed Sampling Program to Determine Extent of World
Trade Center Impacts to the Indoor Environment (EPA/600/R-04/169A), and
to hear comments from individual panel members on the draft sampling
plan and the public comments received. The draft proposed sampling plan
was published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2004 (69 FR 61838)
for public comment; the public comment period closed on January 18,
2005. The document is also available on the panel Web site identified
earlier at: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel. EPA will consider all
comments in revising the document. Additional information on meetings
of the WTC Expert Panel can be found at the panel Web site.
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:
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: February 3, 2005.
William H. Farland,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science, EPA Office of
Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 05-2517 Filed 2-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P