[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53001-53003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17615]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7964-9]


Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee; Science Advisory Board 
(SAB) Staff Office; Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) 
Lead Review Panel; Request for Nominations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is announcing the formation 
of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Lead Review 
Panel (Panel) and is soliciting nominations for this Panel. Nominees in 
response to this request for nominations will be considered for 
membership on the CASAC Lead Review Panel. This process supplements 
other efforts to identify qualified candidates for this Panel.

DATES: New nominations should be submitted by September 27, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Mr. Fred Butterfield, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), EPA Science 
Advisory Board Staff: by telephone at (202) 343-9994; by e-mail at 
[email protected]; or by mail at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office (Mail Code 
1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20640. General 
information concerning the CASAC or the SAB can be found on the EPA Web 
site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) was established 
under section 109(d)(2) of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) (42 U.S.C. 
7409) as an independent scientific advisory committee. CASAC provides 
advice, information and recommendations on the scientific and technical 
aspects of air quality criteria and national ambient

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air quality standards (NAAQS) under sections 108 and 109 of the Act. 
The CASAC Lead Review Panel will consist of the seven members of the 
chartered CASAC, supplemented by additional subject matter experts. 
This solicitation is seeking nominations for the additional experts. 
The CASAC is a Federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, 5 U.S.C., App. The CASAC 
Lead Review Panel will comply with the provisions of FACA and all 
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
    The CAA Act requires periodic review and, if appropriate, revision 
of the criteria and NAAQS for lead. EPA's Air Quality Criteria Document 
(AQCD) for Lead was first published in 1978, and revised in 1986. An 
addendum was published in 1986, and a Supplement to the Lead AQCD was 
published in 1990. The latter document evaluated lead effects on 
cardiovascular endpoints, pregnancy, and early postnatal exposures. The 
1990 supplement did not lead to revision of the primary and secondary 
lead standards issued in 1978. The National Center for Environmental 
Assessment, Research Triangle Park, NC (NCEA-RTP), in EPA's Office of 
Research and Development, released a draft Project Work Plan for 
Revised Air Quality Criteria for Lead in January 2005. The chartered 
CASAC conducted a consultation on this draft work plan on March 28, 
2005. The Agency is scheduled to release the First External Review 
Draft AQCD for Lead (First Draft Lead AQCD) in January 2006. At that 
time, the Agency will also invite public comments on the First Draft 
Lead AQCD. The Agency has asked CASAC to peer-review the First Draft 
Lead AQCD at a public meeting in May 2006.
    The SAB Staff Office is announcing the formation of the CASAC Lead 
Review Panel to review the criteria and the Agency's Staff Paper for 
Lead. The Staff Paper for Lead evaluates policy implications of the key 
scientific and technical information contained in the AQCD for Lead. As 
such, the staff paper bridges the gap between the science in the Lead 
AQCD, and the public health and welfare policy judgments that the EPA 
Administrator must also consider when reviewing the Lead National 
Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).
    The SAB Staff Office is soliciting nominations for qualified 
scientists to serve on the CASAC Lead Review Panel. The CASAC Lead 
Review Panel will operate for two to four years, and will be provided 
with a separate charge for each review or project.

Technical Contact

    Any questions concerning the AQCD for Lead should be directed to 
Dr. Robert Elias, NCEA-RTP, at phone: (919) 541-4167; or e-mail: 
[email protected]. NCEA-RTP expects to release and post the First 
Draft Lead AQCD on the NCEA Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/ncea/ for 
external review in January 2006.

Nominator's Assessment of Expertise

    The SAB Staff Office requests nominees who are nationally-
recognized experts in one or more of the following disciplines:
    (a) Chemistry, environmental sources, transport and deposition of 
lead. Includes expertise in: (1) Inorganic and organometallic chemistry 
of lead; (2) methods of measuring environmental sources and source 
strengths from smelters, coal combustion plants, vehicles (historic and 
modern) and natural sources; (3) atmospheric transport, including 
methods of detecting transported lead (e.g., isotope analysis) in the 
gas phase, liquid phase, particle phase (both primary and resuspended); 
and (4) deposition of lead, including measurement of deposition rate as 
a function of surface properties.
    (b) Multimedia routes of human exposure to lead. Includes knowledge 
of measurement methods (e.g., air sampling methodology) and observed 
environmental concentrations for multimedia human exposure pathways via 
inhalation and ingestion (relevant concentrations for various sources: 
soil, dust, drinking water, food, as well as others such as lead-based 
paint, pica for paint or soil, etc.).
    (c) Modeling of multimedia human exposure uptake/absorption of lead 
to predict internal biokinetic distribution (blood/bone lead burdens):
    (1) Lead exposure pathway assessment. Expertise in the physical and 
chemical properties of lead and the biogeochemical processes involved 
in the pathways involved in human exposure to lead. These pathways 
include:
    (i) Air (both direct inhalation and deposition to surfaces likely 
to be contacted by humans);
    (ii) drinking water (from typical sources including municipal 
systems, bottled water, public drinking fountains, and private wells);
    (iii) food (including market sources, home gardens and recreational 
and subsistence fishing/hunting); and
    (iv) soil/dust ingestion.
    (2) Lead uptake/absorption. Expertise in the processes of uptake or 
absorption of lead in the digestive tract and lungs, including 
knowledge of digestive processes that affect the form of lead thus 
making it more (or less) available for absorption. Experience on the 
fate of inhaled particles is also desirable, including olfactory 
uptake.
    (3) Internal biokinetic distribution and physiological effects of 
lead. Expertise on the physiological processes that determine the 
distribution of absorbed lead among the various organs and tissues of 
the human body. This would include expertise on the mechanisms of 
transport within the human body, the organs and tissues that accumulate 
significant amounts of lead, the concentrations at the organ/tissue 
level that might impair physiological processes, and the residence 
times (or other measures of potential impact) of lead in these tissues 
and organs. Expertise on the various mechanisms and routes of 
elimination and the mechanisms of this elimination is desirable.
    (4) Tissue concentrations of lead. Includes expertise on 
measurement methods and observed concentrations for various biological 
tissues, including blood, teeth, and bone lead concentrations and lead 
levels in soft tissues such as brain, kidney, etc.
    (5) Human growth and activity patterns. Expertise on growth 
patterns and typical human activity patterns from prenatal to elderly, 
including recreational, occupational, leisurely, and household 
activities. This would include knowledge of published data and of 
modeling applications.
    (6) Exposure assessment modeling. Expertise and experience in 
measuring human population exposure to lead and/or in modeling human 
exposure to ambient and indoor pollutants. Expertise in relating 
indicators of human exposure to potential health outcomes and 
quantification of risk related to adverse health outcomes.
    (d) Lead-induced health effects. Experience in epidemiologic/
clinical evaluation and/or evaluation in laboratory animals or in in 
vitro test systems of lead-induced effects on:
    (1) Neurological development and other neurological endpoints;
    (2) Cardiovascular function;
    (3) Immune system function;
    (4) Heme synthesis;
    (5) Genotoxic effects; and
    (6) Carcinogenicity.
    (e) Risk assessment and uncertainty characterization. Expertise in 
human health risk assessment for lead or other pollutants causing non-
cancer and cancer health effects, including Bayesian statistical 
approaches and biostatistics. Expertise in designing

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uncertainty characterization frameworks for complex multi-media health 
assessments involving use of PBPK models, empirical data, 
microenvironmental exposure modeling and concentration-response 
functions drawing on both toxicological and epidemiological data. 
Specific areas of expertise should include probabilistic methods and 
Bayesian techniques.
    (f) Evaluation of environmental effects of lead on terrestrial and 
aquatic ecosystems. Includes expertise and/or knowledge of most current 
methods and state-of-the-science for assessing: modes of action of lead 
in plants, animals, and microorganisms; exposure of aquatic and 
terrestrial organisms to lead in various forms and from various 
sources; bioavailability of lead and factors which modify the lead 
uptake by aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; ecosystem responses at a 
range of spatial and temporal scales; lead sources, fate, transport, 
and mobility using stable isotopes; and critical loads for lead in 
aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
    (g) Evaluation of economic effects of lead. Experience in 
evaluating economic effects of lead on consumptive-use ecological 
entities such as agriculture, commercial forests, aquaculture, shell 
fisheries, and commercial fisheries; and ability to monetize non-
consumptive-use ecological entities such as recreation, aesthetics, 
biodiversity, and other ecological goods and services that are not 
typically assigned a monetary value.

Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations

    Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified 
individuals to add expertise to the CASAC Lead Review 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 Mr. 
Fred Butterfield, DFO, as indicated above in this notice. Nominations 
should be submitted in time to arrive no later than September 27, 2005.
    To be considered, all nominations should include: a current 
curriculum vitae (C.V.) which provides the nominee's background, 
qualifications, relevant research expertise and publications for 
service on the Panel; and a brief biographical sketch (``biosketch''). 
The biosketch should be no longer than one page and should contain the 
following information for the nominee:
    (a) Current professional affiliations and positions held;
    (b) Area(s) of expertise, and research activities and publications 
relevant to the Panel;
    (c) Leadership positions in national associations or professional 
publications or other significant distinctions;
    (d) Educational background, especially advanced degrees, including 
when and from which institutions these were granted;
    (e) Service on other advisory committees or professional societies, 
especially those associated with issues under discussion in this 
review; and
    (f) Sources of recent (i.e., within the preceding two years) grant 
and/or other contract support, from government, industry, academia, 
etc., including the topic area of the funded activity.
    Please note that even negative responsive information (e.g., no 
recent grant or contract funding) should be indicated on the biosketch 
(by ``N/A'' or ``None''). Incomplete biosketches will not be 
considered. The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of 
nominations.
    The credentials of nominees received in reply to this notice will 
be compared to the specific expertise sought for the CASAC Lead Review 
Panel. Qualified nominees will be included in a smaller subset (known 
as the ``Short List''). The Short List will be posted on the SAB Web 
site at: http://www.epa.gov/sab, and will include, for each candidate, 
the nominee's name and their biosketch. Public comments will be 
accepted for 21 calendar days on the Short List. During this comment 
period, the public will be requested to provide relevant information or 
other documentation on nominees that the SAB Staff Office should 
consider in evaluating candidates. Panelists will be selected from the 
Short List.
    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 Panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider public 
responses to the Short List, information provided by candidates, and 
background information independently-gathered by the SAB Staff Office 
on 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 Short List 
candidates 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.
    Prospective candidates will also be required to fill-out 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/sge_course/pdf_sge/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: August 30, 2005.
Anthony Maciorowski,
Acting Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 05-17615 Filed 9-2-05; 8:45 am]
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