[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 93 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 30998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10230]



[[Page 30998]]

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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors; 
Announcement of Meeting

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: This notice announces continuation of the May 4, 2023, meeting 
of the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors 
(BSC) on May 16, 2023. The BSC is a federally chartered, external 
advisory group composed of scientists from the public and private 
sectors. During a public meeting on May 4, the BSC considered a report 
from its Working Group containing proposed recommendations on whether 
NTP authors sufficiently addressed internal and external scientific 
comments on NTP's systematic review to evaluate the neurobehavioral 
health effects from exposure to fluoride during development, as set 
forth in NTP's Draft State of the Science Monograph and Draft Meta-
Analysis Manuscript. After deliberation and discussion, the BSC voted 
to accept the Working Group's report in full, with the exception of one 
paragraph on page 323 related to an IQ statistic that the BSC asked the 
Working Group to verify or correct. The Working Group has reexamined 
the text, and the BSC will discuss and deliberate the Working Group's 
updated input at the meeting on May 16. This is a virtual meeting and 
open to the public. This notice is being published less than 15 days 
prior to the meeting due to scheduling difficulties.

DATES: 
    Meeting: Scheduled for May 16, 2023, 3:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern 
Daylight Time (EDT). Ending time is approximate; meeting may end 
earlier or run later.

ADDRESSES: 
    Meeting web page: The preliminary agenda and other meeting 
materials will be available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165 by 5 
p.m. on May 12, 2023.
    Virtual Meeting: A link to the URL for viewing the virtual meeting 
will be provided on the meeting web page by noon the day before the 
meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Milene Brownlow, Designated 
Federal Officer for the BSC, Office of Policy, Review, and Outreach, 
Division of Translational Toxicology, NIEHS. Phone: 984-287-3364, 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NTP conducted a systematic review to 
evaluate the neurobehavioral health effects from exposure to fluoride 
during development and prepared a Draft State of the Science Monograph 
and a Draft Meta-Analysis Manuscript. Both draft documents were 
reviewed internally by various Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS) entities and, additionally, the Draft State of the Science 
Monograph underwent external peer review by five scientific experts. 
Subsequently, the NTP Director decided to seek additional review of 
these documents from the NTP BSC. In 2022, the NTP Director and the NTP 
BSC Chair jointly made the decision to convene an independent working 
group of subject-matter experts to assist the BSC in reviewing the 
input on the two documents along with NTP authors' responses to the 
comments. The BSC Working Group's report with its recommendations on 
whether the authors sufficiently addressed internal and external 
scientific comments was deliberated at the BSC at a meeting on May 4, 
2023. The BSC voted to accept the Working Group's report in full, with 
the exception of one paragraph on page 323 related to an IQ statistic 
that the BSC asked the Working Group to verify or correct. The meeting 
on May 16, 2023, is a continuation of the May 4 meeting where the BSC 
will take action on the BSC Working Group's updated input. This is the 
only agenda topic for this meeting.
    The preliminary agenda, the Working Group Report as approved by the 
BSC on May 4, 2023, the Working Group's updated text about the IQ 
statistic, the roster of BSC members, and any additional information, 
when available, will be posted on the BSC meeting web page (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165), and minutes will be available on the BSC 
meeting web page within 90 calendar days of the meeting.
    Meeting Attendance Registration: The meeting is open to the public. 
Registration is not required to view the virtual meeting; a link to the 
webcast for the virtual meeting will be provided on the BSC meeting web 
page (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165) by noon the day before the 
meeting. TTY users should contact the Federal TTY Relay Service at 800-
877-8339. Requests should be made at least five business days in 
advance of the event.
    Meeting Materials: The preliminary meeting agenda will be available 
on the meeting web page (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165) by 5 p.m. on 
May 12, 2023. Individuals are encouraged to access the meeting web page 
periodically to stay abreast of the most current information regarding 
the meeting.
    Background Information on the BSC: The BSC is a technical advisory 
body comprised of scientists from the public and private sectors that 
provides primary scientific oversight to the NTP. Specifically, the 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, epidemiology, risk assessment, carcinogenesis, 
mutagenesis, cellular biology, computational toxicology, 
neurotoxicology, genetic toxicology, reproductive toxicology or 
teratology, and biostatistics. Members serve overlapping terms of up to 
four years. The BSC usually meets periodically. The authority for the 
BSC is provided by 42 U.S.C. 217a, section 222 of the Public Health 
Service Act (PHS), as amended.
    The BSC is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. ch. 10).

    Dated: May 9, 2023.
Richard P. Woychik,
Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and 
National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-10230 Filed 5-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P