[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 246 (Monday, December 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78364-78365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30288]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


National Toxicology Program (NTP); Office of Liaison, Policy and 
Review; Meeting of the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors

AGENCY: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), 
National Institutes of Health.

ACTION: Meeting announcement and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to Public Law 92-463, notice is hereby given of a 
meeting of the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors (NTP BSC). The NTP 
BSC is a federally chartered, external advisory group composed of 
scientists from the public and private sectors that provides primary 
scientific oversight to the NTP and evaluates the scientific merit of 
the NTP's intramural and collaborative programs.

DATES: The NTP BSC meeting will be held on February 24, 2009. The 
deadline for submission of written comments is February 6, 2009, and 
for pre-registering to attend the meeting, including providing notice 
of intent to present oral comments, is February 17, 2009. Persons 
needing interpreting services in order to attend should contact 301-
402-8180 (voice) or 301-435-1908 (TTY). For other accommodations, 
contact 919-541-2475 or e-mail [email protected]. Requests should 
be made at least 7 days in advance of the event.

[[Page 78365]]


ADDRESSES: The NTP BSC meeting will be held in the Rodbell Auditorium, 
Rall Building at the NIEHS, 111 T. W. Alexander Drive, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27709. Public comments and any other correspondence 
should be submitted to Dr. Barbara Shane, Executive Secretary for the 
NTP BSC, NTP Office of Liaison, Policy and Review, NIEHS, P.O. Box 
12233, MD A3-01, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; telephone: 919-541-
4253; fax: 919-541-0295; or e-mail: [email protected]. Courier 
address: NIEHS, 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Room K2138, Research Triangle 
Park, NC 27709.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Barbara Shane (telephone: 919-541-
4253 or e-mail: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Preliminary Agenda and Availability of Meeting Materials

    The primary agenda topic is the peer review of draft substance 
profiles for some candidate substances under review for the 12th Report 
on Carcinogens (RoC). The draft substance profiles will be available by 
December 24, 2008, on the NTP BSC meeting Web site (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165) or may be requested in hardcopy from the 
Executive Secretary for the NTP BSC (see ADDRESSES above). Other 
materials for the meeting will be posted on the Web site as available. 
Following the meeting, summary minutes will be prepared and made 
available on the meeting Web site.

Attendance and Registration

    This meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2009, beginning at 8:30 
a.m. and continuing until adjournment. It is open to the public with 
attendance limited only by the space available. Individuals who plan to 
attend are encouraged to register online at the NTP BSC meeting Web 
site by February 17, 2009, to facilitate access to the NIEHS campus. 
The NTP is making plans to videocast the meeting through the Internet 
at http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/video/live.

Request for Comments

    Written comments are invited on the draft substances profiles and 
should be received by February 6, 2009. Persons submitting written 
comments should include their name, affiliation (if applicable), phone, 
e-mail, and sponsoring organization (if any) with the document. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be provided to the 
NTP BSC and NTP staff and posted on the meeting Web site. The submitter 
will be identified by name, affiliation, and/or sponsoring 
organization, if applicable.
    Time will be allotted during the meeting for the public to present 
oral comments to the NTP BSC on the draft substance profiles. Each 
organization is allowed one time slot per draft profile. At least 7 
minutes will be allotted to each speaker, and if time permits, may be 
extended to 10 minutes at the discretion of the NTP BSC chair. 
Registration for oral comments will also be available at the meeting, 
although time allowed for presentation by on-site registrants may be 
less than that for pre-registered speakers and will be determined by 
the number of persons who register on-site.
    Persons registering to make oral comments are asked, if possible, 
to send a copy of their statement to the Executive Secretary for the 
NTP BSC (see ADDRESSES above) by February 6, 2009, to enable review by 
the NTP BSC prior to the meeting. Written statements can supplement and 
may expand the oral presentation. If registering on-site and reading 
from written text, please bring 40 copies of the statement for 
distribution to the NTP BSC and NTP staff and to supplement the record.

Background Information on the Report on Carcinogens

    The RoC is a public information document prepared for the U.S. 
Congress by the NTP in response to Section 301(b)(4) of the Public 
Health Service Act, as amended. The intent of the document is to 
provide a listing of those agents, substances, mixtures, or exposure 
circumstances that are either known or reasonably anticipated to cause 
cancer in humans and to which a significant number of people in the 
United States are exposed.
    The NTP is following a multi-step scientific review process with 
multiple opportunities for public input for preparation of the 12th RoC 
(http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/29353) that was announced in the Federal 
Register on April 16, 2007 [72FR18999]. Information about the review of 
the candidate substance for the 12th RoC, including public comments and 
background documents, is available on the RoC Web site (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/10091).

Background Information on the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors

    The NTP BSC is a technical advisory body comprised of scientists 
from the public and private sectors that provides primary scientific 
oversight to the overall program and its centers. Specifically, the NTP 
BSC advises the NTP on matters of scientific program content, both 
present and future, and conducts periodic review of the program for the 
purpose of determining and advising on the scientific merit of its 
activities and their overall scientific quality. Its members are 
selected from recognized authorities knowledgeable in fields such as 
toxicology, pharmacology, pathology, biochemistry, epidemiology, risk 
assessment, carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, molecular biology, behavioral 
toxicology, neurotoxicology, immunotoxicology, reproductive toxicology 
or teratology, and biostatistics. Members serve overlapping terms of up 
to four years. NTP BSC meetings are held annually or biannually.

    Dated: December 12, 2008.
Samuel H. Wilson,
Acting Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 
and National Toxicology Program.
 [FR Doc. E8-30288 Filed 12-19-08; 8:45 am]
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