[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 105 (Friday, May 31, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38127-38128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-13639]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Notice of Meeting

    The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
following meeting.
    Name: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 
(NIOSH), Standards Development Efforts for Full Facepiece Air-Purifying 
Respirators (APR) Used to Protect Emergency Response Workers Against 
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Agents.
    Times and Dates: 1 p.m.-5 p.m., June 18, 2002. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., June 
19, 2002.
    Place: Sheraton Station Square, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
    Status: The meeting will be open to the public, limited only by the 
space available. The meeting room accommodates approximately 200 
people.
    Requests to make 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, or e-mailed to [email protected]. All 
requests to present should contain the name, address, and 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. 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.
    The US. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) and 
National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) plan to hold a 
related meeting on June 20, 2002 at the same location to discuss the 
development of chemical and biological personal protection equipment 
standards and guidelines (other than respirators). They are the lead 
agencies associated with the development of standards for personal 
protective equipment, other than respirators, against CBRN agents. For 
information concerning this June 20, 2002 meeting, please contact: Ms. 
Elaine Stewart-Craig, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, SBCCOM, 5183 
Blackhawk Road, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010-5424, ATTN: AMSSB-
REN-HD-T, telephone 410-436-2102, fax 410-436-2998, and/or e-mail 
Elaine.stewartcraig@sbccom.apgea.army.mil.
    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: [email protected]. 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 15, 2002, and should reference 
docket number, NIOSH-002, in the subject heading.
    Purpose: The purpose of the meeting is to present concepts for 
proposed approval standards and testing precesses for full facepiece 
Air-Purifying Respirators (APR) suitable for use by first responders 
against CBRN

[[Page 38128]]

agents; concepts and priorities for the development and implementation 
of standards for other classes of respirators; and research work to 
identify stimulant materials for use as CBRN test surrogates for 
respirator research and development efforts. NIOSH and its standards 
development partners, 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 
development of the concepts and priorities being considered for the 
development of standards for the various classes of respirators. 
Participants will be given an opportunity to ask questions and to 
present individual comments that they may wish to have considered. 
Interested participants may obtain a copy of the APR CBRN standard 
concept paper from the NIOSH contact identified below, or from the 
NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory Web site, 
address: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl.
    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 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 hosted a public meeting April 17 and 18, 
2001, and presented their progress in assessing respiratory protection 
needs of responders to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear 
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 chemical biological, 
radiological, and nuclear respirator standards or guidelines were 
discussed at that meeting. On December 28, 2001, NIOSH announced 
standards for the evaluation and approval of Self Contained Breathing 
Apparatus to protect emergency responders against chemical, biological, 
radiological, and nuclear agents. NIOSH and SBCCOM are in the process 
of developing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear 
respiratory protection standards and guidelines for full facepiece Air-
Purifying Respirators (APR) as well as other classes of respirators. 
The June 18 and 19, 2002 public meeting will provide an update on those 
activities.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jonathan Szalajda, NIOSH, PO Box 
18070, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, telephone 412/386-
6627, fax 412/386-6747 and/or e-mail: [email protected].
    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 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

    Dated: May 24, 2002.
John Burckhardt,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-13639 Filed 5-30-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P