[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6869-6870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-2517]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7870-6]


Ninth Meeting of the World Trade Center Expert Technical Review 
Panel 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 World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel (or WTC 
Expert Panel) will hold its ninth meeting intended 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 (WTC). 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 WTC attacks. 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.

DATES: The ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel will be held on 
February 23, 2005, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern standard time. On-
site registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The WTC Expert Panel meeting will be held at St. John's 
University, Saval Auditorium, 101 Murray Street (between Greenwich 
Street and West Side Highway), New York City (Manhattan). The 
auditorium is located on the second floor of the building and is 
handicap accessible. A government-issued identification (e.g., driver's 
license) is required for entry.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For meeting information, registration 
and logistics, please see the panel's 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 WTC 
Expert Panel, contact Ms. Lisa Matthews, EPA Office of the Science 
Advisor, telephone (202) 564-6669 or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. WTC Expert Panel Meeting Information

    Eastern Research Group, Inc., (ERG), an EPA contractor, will 
coordinate the WTC Expert Panel meeting. To attend the panel 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 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5:30 
p.m. e.s.t. at (781) 674-7374 or toll free at 1-800-803-2833, 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 are accepted on a first-come, 
first-served basis. The deadline for pre-registration is February 18, 
2005. Registrations will continue to be accepted after this date, 
including on-site registration, if space allows. 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. Please bring a copy 
of your comments to the meeting for the record or submit them 
electronically via e-mail to [email protected], subject line: WTC.

[[Page 6870]]

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/ wtc/.
    In addition to environmental monitoring, EPA efforts also included 
toxicity testing of the dust, 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, is available on the Web at http://www.epa.gov/ncea/wtc.htm). 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 until 
December 2002, residents impacted by WTC dust and debris in an area of 
about 1 mile by 1 mile south of Canal Street were eligible to request 
either federally-funded cleaning and monitoring for airborne asbestos 
or monitoring of their residences. The cleanup continued into the 
summer of 2003 by which time the EPA had cleaned and monitored 3,400 
apartments and monitored 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 WTC Health 
Registry is a comprehensive and confidential health survey of those 
most directly exposed to the contamination resulting from the collapse 
of the WTC 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 has convened a technical 
panel of experts who have been involved with WTC assessment activities. 
A senior official from EPA's Office of Research and Development will 
chair the panel. 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, serves as Vice Chair. A full list of the panel 
members, a charge statement and operating principles for the panel are 
available from the panel Web site listed above. Panel meetings 
typically will be one- or two-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 brief oral comments.
    The focus of the ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel is to 
summarize public comments received on the External Review Draft 
entitled, Draft Proposed Sampling Program to Determine Extent of World 
Trade Center Impacts to the Indoor Environment (EPA/600/R-04/169A), and 
to hear comments from individual panel members on the draft sampling 
plan and the public comments received. The draft proposed sampling plan 
was published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2004 (69 FR 61838) 
for public comment; the public comment period closed on January 18, 
2005. The document is also available on the panel Web site identified 
earlier at: http://www.epa.gov/wtc/panel. EPA will consider all 
comments in revising the document. Additional information on meetings 
of the WTC Expert Panel can be found at the panel Web site.

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].
    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: February 3, 2005.
William H. Farland,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science, EPA Office of 
Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 05-2517 Filed 2-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P