[Federal Register: April 7, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 65)]
[Notices]
[Page 15723-15724]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07ap09-41]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8790-3]
Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of
Experts To Provide Advice on Mold Issues in Indoor Environments
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice request for nominations.
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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is
requesting nominations to form an Ad Hoc panel, under the auspices of
the SAB, to provide advice to the EPA on mold issues in indoor
environments.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted by April 28, 2009 per the
instructions below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact
Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9984; via e-mail at
kooyoomjian.jack@epa.gov or at the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board
(1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. General
information about the SAB can be found in the SAB Web site at http://
www.epa.gov/sab. The EPA technical contact for this review is Dr. Mary
E. Clark, Assistant Director for Science, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air (ORIA), who may be contacted via telephone at (202) 343-9348
or by e-mail at clark.marye@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: Physical inspection for water damage and mold is a key
part of the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air's (ORIA's) mold
remediation guidance (http://www.epa.gov/mold/). EPA's current indoor
air guidance does not recommend routine sampling for mold. Rather,
guidance for mitigating indoor mold states that if mold growth occurs
in a building, the water problem must be fixed and the mold growth
removed. The Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD) has
developed a tool, the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI)
(http://www.epa.gov/microbes/moldtech.htm) to screen indoor
environments. The ERMI relies on collection of a dust sample from the
building in question. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) from mold in the dust
is analyzed using a mold-specific quantitative Polymerase Chain
Reaction (PCR) methodology. The analytical results are then compared to
the ERMI, which generates a numeric score that predicts whether the
tested space is likely to have higher or lower mold levels than
outdoors, and by extension, predicts whether occupants are more or less
likely to be exposed to mold. The analysis also indicates some of the
types of mold present. The ERMI may also have utility in screening
buildings where mold is suspected, but not visible.
ORD and ORIA view the ERMI as a prototype research tool at the
current state of development. However, the Agency has received
questions from the general public, other government agencies and non-
governmental organizations concerning mold issues. There have also been
requests for guidance on the broader use of the ERMI and its
relationship to existing EPA mold sampling, as well as other mold
issues. Since the ERMI has not been validated for such applications,
the Agency is interested in clarifying the role and use of ERMI in mold
remediation guidance, especially in the aftermath of water-related
emergencies, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Agency has
requested that the SAB provide advice on the technical applicability
and limitations of the ERMI; its utility for identifying natural
background and mold contaminated environments, identifying mold species
and associated mycotoxins; the need for guidance on the use of ERMI for
emergency response situations (such as flooding); the pros and cons of
ERMI; and other approaches that might be employed.
Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting
nominations to form an Ad Hoc panel to provide advice to the Agency on
mold issues as described above. The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C.
4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice,
consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The Ad Hoc panel
will provide advice through the chartered SAB, and will comply with the
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all
appropriate SAB procedural policies.
To address EPA's need for scientific and technical advice, the SAB
Staff Office is seeking individuals with nationally recognized
expertise, experience, knowledge, and field experience in the following
disciplinary areas with a specific focus on mold growth, exposure,
effects, biodeterioration, building evaluation, and mold remediation in
indoor environments:
(1) Epidemiology related to molds, fungi and bacteria; Microbiology
related to molds, fungi and bacteria;
(2) Toxicology of molds, fungi and bacteria;
(3) Risk assessment related to indoor air quality, dampness and
mold producing and mold biodeterioration conditions;
(4) Measurement statistics, bio-statistics, modeling and analysis
of data on mold remediation;
(5) Emergency response and remediation associated with
environmental microbiology and bio-aerosols;
(6) Environmental medicine, industrial hygiene, public health, or
other medical fields related to mold exposures; and
(7) Risk perception and risk communication.
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to this Ad
Hoc panel in the areas of expertise described above. Nominations should
be submitted in electronic format through the SAB Web site at the
following URL http://www.epa.gov/sab; or directly via the Form for
Nominating Individuals to Panels of the EPA Science Advisory Board link
found at URL: http://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/paneltopics.html. Please
follow the instructions for submitting nominations carefully. To be
considered, nominations should include all of the information required
on the associated forms. Anyone unable to submit nominations using the
electronic form and who has any questions concerning the nomination
process may contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, DFO, as indicated above in
this notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later
than April 28, 2009.
For nominees to be considered, please include: Contact information;
a curriculum vitae; a biosketch of no more than two paragraphs
(containing information on the nominee's current position, educational
background, areas of expertise and research activities, service on
other advisory committees and professional societies; the candidate's
special expertise related to the panel being formed; and sources of
recent grant and/or contract support).
The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations.
The names and biosketches of qualified
[[Page 15724]]
nominees identified by respondents to the Federal Register notice and
additional experts identified by the SAB Staff will be posted on the
SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on this ``Short
List'' of candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar days. The public
will be requested to provide relevant information or other
documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff Office should consider in
evaluating candidates.
For the EPA SAB Staff Office, a balanced subcommittee or review
panel includes candidates who possess the necessary domains of
knowledge, the relevant scientific perspectives (which, among other
factors, can be influenced by work history and affiliation), and the
collective breadth of experience to adequately address the charge. In
establishing the final Ad Hoc panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider
public comments on the ``Short List'' of candidates, information
provided by the candidates themselves, and background information
independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office. Specific criteria to be
used for panel membership include: (a) Scientific and/or technical
expertise, knowledge, and experience (primary factors); (b)
availability and willingness to serve; (c) absence of financial
conflicts of interest; (d) absence of an appearance of a lack of
impartiality; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and
advisory panels; and, for the panel as a whole, (f) diversity of, and
balance among, scientific expertise, viewpoints, etc.
The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial
conflicts of interest will include a review of the ``Confidential
Financial Disclosure Form for Special Government Employees Serving on
Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency'' (EPA Form 3110-48). This confidential form allows Government
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between
that person's public responsibilities (which includes membership on an
EPA Federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities,
or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by Federal
regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded from the following
URL address http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects
subcommittees and review panels is described in the following document:
Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental Protection
Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is posted on
the SAB Web site at http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.
Dated: March 31, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-7829 Filed 4-6-09; 8:45 am]
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