[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 179 (Friday, September 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56845-56846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22653]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Multi-Agency Informational Meeting Concerning Compliance With the 
Federal Select Agent Program; Public Webcast

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of public webcast.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the notice of a 
public webcast concerning compliance with the Federal Select Agent 
Program. The purpose of this notice is to notify all interested 
parties, including individuals and entities possessing, using, or 
transferring biological agents and toxins listed in 7 CFR 331.3, 9 CFR 
121.3 and 121.4, or 42 CFR 73.3 and 73.4, of the webcast. The webcast 
is organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS), the Department of Health and 
Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (HHS/CDC), 
and the Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 
Issues to be discussed include changes to the select agent regulations; 
occupational health, information and physical security; personnel 
suitability; Bioterrorism Security Risk Assessment Form (FD-961 form); 
and changes to the Application for Laboratory Registration for 
Possession, Use, and Transfer of Select Agents and Toxins (APHIS/CDC 
Form 1).

DATES: The webcast will be held on Friday, November 16, 2012 from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. All who wish to join the webcast must register by 
October 16, 2012. Registration instructions are found on the Federal 
Select Agent Program Web site, http://www.selectagents.gov.

[[Page 56846]]


ADDRESSES: The webcast will be broadcast from the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention facility, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE., Atlanta, GA 
30329.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    CDC: LCDR. Jacinta Smith, Division of Select Agents and Toxins, 
Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., MS A-46, Atlanta, GA 
30333; [email protected].
    APHIS: Dr. Lidia Carrera, APHIS Select Agent Program, APHIS, 4700 
River Road, Unit 2, Riverdale, MD 20737; [email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title II of the Public Health Security and 
Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, ``Enhancing 
Controls on Dangerous Biological Agents and Toxins'' (sections 201 
through 231), provides for the regulation of certain biological agents 
and toxins by the Department of Health and Human Services (subtitle A, 
sections 201-204) and the Department of Agriculture (subtitle B, 
sections 211-213). Additionally, the statute provides for interagency 
coordination between the two departments regarding overlap agents and 
toxins (subtitle C, section 221). For the Department of Health and 
Human Services(HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) oversees entities that possess, use or transfer select agents and 
toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health 
and safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has a parallel program that 
oversees entities that possess, use or transfer select agents that have 
the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to 
animal or plant products . These two programs constitute the Federal 
Select Agent Program. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) 
Criminal Justice Information Services conducts security risk 
assessments of (1) all individuals and nongovernmental entities that 
request to possess, use, or transfer select agents and toxins, (2) all 
individuals who need access to select agents and toxins.
    The webcast announced in this notice is an opportunity for the 
regulated community (i.e., registered entity responsible officials, 
alternate responsible officials, and entity owners) and other 
interested individuals to obtain specific regulatory guidance and 
information on standards concerning biosafety, biosecurity and incident 
response issues related to the Federal Select Agent Program. 
Representatives from HHS/CDC, USDA/APHIS, and the FBI will be present 
during the webcast to address questions and concerns from the web 
participants.
    Updates on the changes to the select agent regulations; 
occupational health, information and physical security; personnel 
suitability; FD-961 form, and changes to the APHIS/CDC Form 1 are among 
the issues that will be discussed. A question and answer session will 
take place after each topic.
    Registration instructions are found on the Federal Select Agent 
Program Web site http://www.selectagents.gov. Registration ends on 
October 16, 2012. This is a webcast only event and there will be no on-
site participation at the HHS/CDC broadcast facility. Registration is 
required for participation. This is a 100% webcast; therefore, in 
person participation cannot be accommodated.
    Participants will be able to submit questions during the webcast at 
[email protected]. Closed-captioning services will be provided 
during the webcast.

    Dated: September 10, 2012.
Tanja Popovic,
Deputy Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-22653 Filed 9-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P