[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 4, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10240-10241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5029]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7457-6]


EPA Science Advisory Board, Environmental Health Committee, 
Notification of an Upcoming Meeting and Request for Information on the 
Proposed Panel for the Review of the Supplemental Guidance for 
Assessing Cancer Susceptibility From Early-life Exposure to Carcinogens 
(SGACS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Request for Information on the Panel and Notification of an 
Upcoming Meeting.

DATES: April 24, 2003--Teleconference meeting of the Environmental 
Health Committee Submissions concerning the proposed panel are due by 
March 18, 2003.

ADDRESSES: U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), Suite 6450P EPA, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001 (zip code for 
FedEx--20004).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Suhair Shallal, Designated Federal 
Officer, by telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4566, by fax at (202) 
501-0582; or via e-mail at [email protected]. General information 
concerning the EPA Science Advisory Board can be found on the EPA SAB 
Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Background on the EPA Science Advisory Board: The U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board 
(SAB) is providing notification of an upcoming meeting and requesting 
information on the proposed SCAGS review panel.
    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. This panel will comply with the provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all appropriate SAB procedural 
policies. Those selected to serve on the SCAGS review panel will review 
the draft materials identified in this notice and respond to the 
appropriate charge questions. Upon completion, the panel's report will 
be submitted to the SAB executive committee for final approval.
    2. Background on this advisory activity: Pursuant to a request by 
EPA's Office of Research and Development, the SAB will conduct a peer 
review of the draft document entitled Supplemental Guidance for 
Assessing Cancer Susceptibility from Early-Life Exposure to 
Carcinogens. In a separate FR Notice, EPA announced the availability 
of, and the opportunity to comment on the above mentioned document.
    The SAB was selected to lead this review due to its experience in 
reviewing various documents associated with the EPA's Draft Cancer 
Guidelines and the relevance of the expertise of its members to this 
review. In 1996, EPA published for public comment proposed revisions to 
EPA's 1986 Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment (61 FR 17960, 
April 23, 1996). Since the 1996 proposal, EPA's Science Advisory Board 
(SAB) has conducted three scientific peer reviews. In February 1997, 
the Science Advisory Board's Environmental Health Committee (SAB EHC) 
was asked to review the proposed revisions to the Agency's first cancer 
guidelines issued in 1986 (http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ehc9710.pdf). In 
January 1999, the EHC met again to consider selected sections of the 
draft Guidelines that were revised to address recommendations from the 
public and the earlier SAB review (1997) of the Guideline (http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec15.pdf). A third meeting took place in July 1999 
to provide advice and comment to the EPA on issues related to applying 
the provisions of EPA's proposed revised Cancer Risk Assessment 
Guidelines to children (http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec0016.pdf).
    Availability of the Meeting Materials--The materials for this 
review are available from the Office of Research and Development's 
National Center for Environmental Assessment, Risk Assessment Forum Web 
site, located at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/raf/index.cfm. For 
questions and information concerning the materials, please contact Dr. 
William P. Wood, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20460; tel. (202) 564-3361, or e-
mail: [email protected].
    3. Meeting via Teleconference of the Environmental Health 
Committee--April 24, 2003: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given that the Environmental 
Health Committee of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet 
on Thursday, April 24, 2003 via teleconference at 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time (EST) to begin the review of the EPA's Office of Research 
and Development draft document entitled, Supplemental Guidance for 
Assessing Cancer Susceptibility From Early-Life Exposure to Carcinogens 
(SGACS). This document provides a possible approach for assessing 
cancer susceptibility from early-life exposure to carcinogens. The 
purpose of the teleconference is: (a) To discuss the charge and the 
adequacy of the review materials provided to the SGACS Review Panel; 
(b) to clarify any questions and issues relating to the charge and the 
review materials; (c) to discuss specific charge assignments to the 
SGACS Review Panelists; and (d) to clarify specific points of interest 
raised by the Panelists in preparation for the face-to-face meeting. 
All times noted are Eastern Standard Time. The meeting is open to the 
public, however, seating is limited and available on a first come 
basis. Important Notice: Documents that are the subject of SAB reviews 
or consultations are normally available from the originating EPA office 
and are not available from the SAB Office--information concerning 
availability of documents generated by the SAB and the relevant Program 
Office is included above.
    The meeting will begin on April 24, 2003 at 3 p.m. EST and adjourn 
no later than 5 p.m. EST that day. The meeting will be held at EPA 
Headquarters, Washington, DC, Ariel Rios North, room 6013. For further 
information concerning this meeting, please contact the individuals 
listed at the beginning of this Federal Register notice. A copy of the 
draft agenda for the meeting will be posted on the SAB Web site 
(www.epa.gov/sab) (under the AGENDAS subheading) approximately 10 days 
before the meeting. Information concerning a subsequent face to face 
meeting will be forthcoming in a separate Federal Register notice.
    Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings--It is the 
policy of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) to accept written public 
comments of any

[[Page 10241]]

length, and to accommodate oral public comments whenever possible. The 
EPA SAB expects that public statements presented at its meetings will 
not be repetitive of previously submitted oral or written statements. 
Oral Comments: In general, each individual or group requesting an oral 
presentation at a face-to-face meeting will be limited to a total time 
of ten minutes (unless otherwise indicated). For teleconference 
meetings, opportunities for oral comment will usually be limited to no 
more than three minutes per speaker and no more than fifteen minutes 
total. Interested parties should contact the DFO at least one week 
prior to the meeting in order to be placed on the public speaker list 
for the meeting. Speakers may attend the meeting and provide comment up 
to the meeting time. Speakers should bring at least 35 copies of their 
comments and presentation slides for distribution to the reviewers and 
public at the meeting. Written Comments: Although the SAB accepts 
written comments until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise 
stated), written comments should be received in the SAB Staff Office at 
least one week prior to the meeting date so that the comments may be 
made available to the review panel for their consideration. Comments 
should be supplied to the DFO at the address/contact information noted 
below in the following formats: one hard copy with original signature, 
and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable file format: Adobe 
Acrobat, WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/Windows 95/98 
format). Those providing written comments and who attend the meeting 
are also asked to bring 35 copies of their comments for public 
distribution. Should comment be provided at the meeting and not in 
advance of the meeting, they should be in-hand to the DFO up to and 
immediately following the meeting. The SAB allows a grace period of 48 
hours after adjournment of the public meeting to provide written 
comments supporting any verbal comments stated at the public meeting to 
be made a part of the public record.
    Meeting Access--Individuals requiring special accommodation at this 
meeting, including wheelchair access to the conference room, should 
contact Ms. Zisa Lubarov-Walton ([email protected]) or by 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4533 at least five business days 
prior to the meeting date so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
    4. Solicitation of information on the Proposed Review Panel: To 
provide the Agency with meaningful input, we have determined that the 
following expertise is needed for the review: toxicology including 
carcinogenicity; biostatistics; epidemiology; pediatrics; radiation 
biology; risk assessment and the application of the Agency's risk 
assessment guidelines. As requested by EPA's ORD, the EPA Science 
Advisory Board's Environmental Health Committee, a standing committee 
of the Board, will conduct this review. The SAB EHC will be augmented 
with members from the SAB Radiation Advisory Committee, the FIFRA 
Science Advisory Panel (SAP) and the Children's Health Protection 
Advisory Council (CHPAC) to form the SGACS review Panel. By including 
members of the three EPA advisory bodies in the review of this 
document, the requesting office hopes to benefit from their unique 
expertise in children's risk assessment and to receive a peer review 
report which reflects the views of these bodies on the charge questions 
in an expedited manner. Therefore, we are not soliciting additional 
experts for this review.
    The SAB Staff Office will post the names and biosketches for 
members of the review Panel on the SAB Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab. The public has the opportunity to provide information, analysis or 
other documentation relevant to the membership of the panel before the 
SAB Staff Office makes a final decision. Information, analysis or 
documentation must be received by the Designated Federal Officer (DFO) 
no later than March 18, 2003. Please see the address/contact 
information noted above. The complete SAB process for panel formation 
described in the Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the 
Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board, which can found 
on the SAB's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.
    For the EPA SAB, a balanced review panel (i.e., committee, 
subcommittee, or panel) is characterized by inclusion of 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. Information provided by the public will 
be considered in the selection of the panel, along with information 
provided by candidates and information gathered by EPA SAB Staff 
independently on the background of each candidate (e.g., financial 
disclosure information and computer searches to evaluate a nominee's 
prior involvement with the topic under review). Specific criteria to be 
used in evaluating an individual subcommittee member 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) scientific credibility 
and impartiality; and (e) ability to work constructively and 
effectively in committees.

    Dated: February 26, 2003.
Robert Flaak,
Acting Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board.
[FR Doc. 03-5029 Filed 3-3-03; 8:45 am]
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