[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12324-12326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5871]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7636-4]


Technical Panel Formation and First Panel Meeting 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the formation of an expert technical review panel whose purpose is 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. 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 World Trade Center attacks. 
The panel will meet several times over the course of approximately two 
years, and these 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.

[[Page 12325]]


DATES: The first meeting of this panel will be held on March 31, 2004, 
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern standard time. On-site registration 
will begin at 9 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. 
Custom House, One Bowling Green, New York, NY in the Auditorium 
(basement level). A government-issued identification (e.g., driver's 
license) is required for entry.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Meeting Information

    Eastern Research Group, Inc., (ERG), an EPA contractor, will 
facilitate the meeting. To attend the 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 at (781) 674-7374 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 will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The 
deadline for pre-registration is March 26, 2004. Registrations will 
continue to be accepted after this date, including on-site 
registration, if space allows. In addition, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For meeting information, registration 
and logistics, please see the 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 technical panel, 
please contact Ms. Lisa Matthews, EPA Office of the Science Advisor, 
(202) 564-4499.

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 on laboratory mice, 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 (http://www.epa.gov/ncea/wtc.htm), has been subjected to public comment and expert peer 
review, and is currently undergoing revisions prior to finalization. 
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 2002 
until December 2002, residents impacted by World Trade Center dust and 
debris in an area of about 1 mile by 1 mile south of Canal Street were 
eligible to request federally funded cleaning and monitoring for 
airborne asbestos or only monitoring of their residences. The cleanup 
continued into the summer of 2003, by which time the EPA had cleaned 
and monitored 3400 apartments and monitored an additional 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 World Trade 
Center Health Registry is a comprehensive and confidential health 
survey of those most directly exposed to the contamination resulting 
from the collapse of the World Trade Center 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 will convene a technical 
panel of experts who have been involved with World Trade Center 
assessment activities. Dr. Paul Gilman, EPA Science Advisor, will serve 
as Chair of the panel, and 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, will serve as Vice Chair. A full list of the panel 
members and a charge statement and operating principles for the panel 
are available from the panel Web site listed above. Panel meetings will 
each be one-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 also to provide brief oral comment. 
The focus of the first meeting is to review the proposed mission 
statement of the panel and the processes and protocols for the conduct 
of the panel. Future meetings will address planned activities by EPA 
regarding monitoring, assessment and health registries. Further 
information on these meetings can be found at the Web site identified 
earlier: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel.

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: 
[email protected].

[[Page 12326]]

    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: March 10, 2004.
Paul Gilman,
EPA Science Advisor and Assistant Administrator for Research and 
Development.
[FR Doc. 04-5871 Filed 3-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P