[Federal Register: October 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 205)]
[Notices]
[Page 62258-62259]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24oc06-46]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8233-5]
EPA Science Advisory Board; Notification of a Public Telephone
Conference of the Homeland Security Advisory Committee
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory
Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public telephone conference of the
Homeland Security Advisory Committee (HSAC) to be briefed on the status
of the Agency's Standard Analytical Methods (SAM) and WaterSentinel
(WS) projects and upcoming projects by the National Homeland Security
Research Center in the Office of Research and Development.
DATES: November 13, 2006, the meeting will begin at 12 p.m. and end by
3 p.m. (Eastern Time).
ADDRESSES: Telephone conference call only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing to
obtain general information concerning this teleconference should
contact Ms. Vivian Turner, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA
Science Advisory Board (1400F), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; via telephone/
voice mail (202) 343-9697; fax (202) 233-0643; or e-mail at:
turner.vivian@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA Science
Advisory Board and the Homeland Security Advisory Committee can be
found on the EPA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the EPA SAB HSAC
will hold a public teleconference to be briefed on the status of the
Agency's Standard Analytical Methods (SAM) and WaterSentinel (WS)
projects and upcoming projects by the National Homeland Security
Research Center in the Office of Research and Development. The SAB was
established by 42 U.S.C. 4365 to provide independent scientific and
technical advice to the Administrator on the technical basis for Agency
positions and regulations. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee
chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended,
5 U.S.C., App. As a subcommittee of the SAB, the HSAC will comply with
the provisions of FACA and all appropriate EPA and SAB Staff Office
procedural policies.
Background
The purpose of the public teleconference is: (1) To obtain Agency
feedback on the HSAC's comments presented to the Agency on its SAM and
WS Programs discussed at the consultation held on January 30-31, 2006;
and (2) to be briefed on three upcoming HSAC projects, including
Provisional Advisory Levels (PALS), the Emergency Consequence
Assessment Tool (ECAT), and Preliminary Microbial Risk Assessment
Methodologies.
Standard Analytical Methods (SAM) and WaterSentinel (WS)
On January 30-31, 2006 the HSAC provided a consultation with the
Agency on its SAM and WS projects (Federal Register Notice dated
December 19, 2005, Volume 70, Number 242, pages 75173-75174). The SAM
project standardizes the analytical methods for use by all laboratories
when responding to incidents that require rapid analysis. The WS
program is being developed by the EPA in partnership with drinking
water utilities and other key stakeholders. This initiative involves
designing, deploying, and evaluating a model contamination warning
system for drinking water security. The Agency will provide updates to
the HSAC on WS and SAM.
Provisional Advisory Levels (PALs)
Health-based exposure guidelines to identify acceptable re-entry
levels following a terrorist attack of natural disaster are not
available for most chemical and biological agents. The National
Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) is developing health-based
exposure levels for the general public, including the susceptible and
sensitive subpopulations of all age groups. In particular, the
developed PALs will address the limitations of other derived exposure
values. For example, PALs can fill the critical exposure gap between
acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) and short-term RfC/RfD exposure
values.
The PALs can be applied for national emergency programs, community
planning, and public health protection. Specifically, PALs are
appropriate for establishing health-based criteria for re-entry into
buildings, reuse of drinking water, and cleanup of contaminated
facilities.
Emergency Consequence Assessment Tool (ECAT)
The NHSRC is developing an interactive online risk assessment
software tool designed to provide health advisors and other emergency
response officials with rapid access to critical information during an
environmental emergency or training exercise. ECAT is designed to (1)
Assess and provide site-specific numeric estimates of health risks
(where feasible) for selected chemical, biological, and radiological
threat agents, (2) identify what response actions might be appropriate
to mitigate health risks, and (3) provide guidance on how to
effectively communicate key risk messages to the public.
Preliminary Microbial Risk Assessment Methodologies
The NHSRC conducts research in support of safe buildings, secure
water systems and the rapid assessment of risk. The question ``How
clean is safe?'' has confronted several EPA program offices. Recent
national homeland security interests have increased demand for answers
to this question. Because consensus methodologies for evaluating
biological contaminants and establishing cleanup levels are not
available, NHSRC is developing a biological risk assessment
methodology. NHSRC has compiled a Compendium of Prior and Current
Microbial Risk Assessment Methods. This Compendium has been used to
develop a Microbial Risk Assessment Framework for Incident Response to
Bioagents. The preliminary framework considers inhalation, ingestion,
and dermal exposure pathways and is designed as a two-tier process to
support risk management decisions for evacuation
[[Page 62259]]
and site re-entry. A Tier I Site Assessment supports rapid decisions,
such as when evacuating populations within hours of an incident is
required. Tier II provides an incident-based site assessment approach
and requires site-specific data to support re-entry decisions. The Tier
II consists of Hazard Identification, Dose-Response Assessment and
Exposure Assessment, which are combined to characterize risk to exposed
population(s) at a site.
Availability of Meeting Materials
The draft agenda and other materials will be posted on the SAB Web
site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/ prior to the meeting.
Procedures for Providing Public Input
Interested members of the public may submit relevant written or
oral information for these SAB committees to consider during the
advisory process. Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups
requesting an oral presentation at a public SAB teleconference will be
limited to three minutes per speaker, with no more than a total of one-
half hour for all speakers. Interested parties should contact Ms.
Vivian Turner, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), by November 6,
2006, at the contact information noted above, to be placed on the
public speaker list for this meeting. Written Statements: Written
statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office by November 2,
2006, so that the information may be made available to the HSAC for its
consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements should be
supplied to the DFO in the following formats: One hard copy with
original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file
format: Adobe Acrobat PDF, WordPerfect, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or Rich
Text files in IBM-PC/Windows 98/2000/XP format).
Accessibility
For information on access or services for individuals with
disabilities, please contact Ms. Vivian Turner at (202) 343-9697 or
turner.vivian@epa.gov. To request accommodation of a disability, please
contact Ms. Turner preferably at least ten days prior to the meeting,
to give EPA as much time as possible to process your request.
Dated: October 17, 2006.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Associate Director for Science, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff
Office.
[FR Doc. E6-17804 Filed 10-23-06; 8:45 am]
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