Meetings: Drinking water issues— Science Advisory Board,

[Federal Register: September 10, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 175)]

[Notices]

[Page 48503-48504]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr10se98-81]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6159-3]

Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92- 463, notice is hereby given that the Integrated Human Exposure Committee (IHEC) of the Science Advisory Board (SAB) will meet on Tuesday, September 29 and Wednesday, September 30, 1998, beginning no earlier than 9 am and ending no later than 6 pm on each day. All times noted are Eastern Time. All meetings are open to the public, however, due to limited space, seating at meetings will be on a first-come basis. The meeting will be held at the Hawthorne Suites--Research Triangle Park, 300 Meredith Drive, Durham, North Carolina, 27713. For directions, please call the hotel at 919-361-1234 (1-800-527-1133). For further information concerning the meeting, please contact the individuals listed below.

Purpose

The purpose of the meeting is to conduct an advisory on the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) and to receive a briefing on the National Health and Human Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). There will be a series of panel discussions and presentations.

Charge

The IHEC has been asked to respond to the following Charge questions:

Charge Question #1: What are the strengths and weaknesses of multimedia, multipathway measurements of exposure as represented by the NHEXAS program, insofar as it can be defined at this point?

Charge Question #2: Are the ongoing and planned analyses appropriate and likely to further the goals of NHEXAS? At the level of each consortia? At the level of NHEXAS?

Charge Question #3: What actions would be likely to increase the utility of the information from NHEXAS? In the near-term? In the longer term?

Charge Question #4: What follow-up studies would be most useful in the near term, considering that key NHEXAS analyses will not be completed for a year? What is the appropriate balance between large population surveys and more targeted follow-up studies?

[[Page 48504]]

Charge Question #5: What additional IHEC advice is offered for strengthening the immediate and long-term utility of NHEXAS and studies like it?

Background

At its November Strategic Planning Retreat, the Executive Committee of the Science Advisory Board concluded that new directions taken by EPA demand new directions for the SAB if the Board is going to continue to make a positive difference in the way that science is developed and used in environmental decision-making. In particular, the Executive Committee decided that the SAB needs to spend much more of its energy providing strategic, forward-looking advice. Consequently, the IHEC identified NHEXAS as the topic for its strategic activity for Fiscal Year 1998 and 1999. The Committee plans to have a followup meeting on NHEXAS within the next 12 months following this advisory meeting.

Three field studies are being conducted under the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey. In these studies, exposures in three study regions are being measured using data on pollutant concentrations in environmental and biological media and estimates of the frequency and durations of exposure-related human activities. In these studies, (1) pollutant concentrations in air, water, soil, dust, food, blood, and urine as well as on surfaces and human skin are being measured using various sampling and analytical techniques; (2) direct exposure is being determined using personal exposure monitors; and (3) human activity patterns are being estimated using a series of questionnaires and diaries. These data are being used to estimate human exposures among the sampled populations and to test a series of hypotheses related to these exposures. The target chemicals include: volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The EPA Office of Research and Development has entered into three Cooperative Agreements with three different Consortia to conduct a series of field studies including: (1) A consortium made up of the University of Arizona, Battelle Memorial Institute and the Illinois Institute of Technology; (2) A consortium from the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI); and (3) A consortium of Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University , Emory University, and Westat. The Office of Research and Development has entered in Inter-agency Agreements with (1) the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to analyze blood and urine samples; (2) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to analyze food and beverage samples; (3) the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide quality assurance support; and (4) the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide data management support. During the meeting, the IHEC will be briefed by the CDC on the National Health and Nutrition Evaluation Survey (NHANES) and its value to improving understanding of human exposure.

For Further Information--Single copies of the relevant background documents and the agenda may be obtained from Ms. Wanda Fields by telephone (202) 260-5510, by fax (202) 260-7118 or via E-mail at: fields.wanda@epa.gov Technical questions on these materials should be directed to Mr. Dale Pahl by telephone at (919) 541-1851 or via E-mail at pahl.dale@epamail.epa.gov

Public Comments

Anyone wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting must contact Ms. Roslyn Edson, Designated Federal Officer for the IHEC, in writing, no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Time on September 22, by fax (202) 260-7118, or via E-mail: edson.roslyn@epa.gov. The request should identify the name of the individual who will make the presentation and an outline of the issues to be addressed. At least 35 copies of any written comments to the Committee are to be given to Ms. Edson no later than the time of the presentation for distribution to the Committee and the interested public.

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

The Science Advisory Board expects that public statements presented at its meetings will not repeat previously submitted oral or written statements. In general, each individual or group making an oral presentation will be limited to a total time of ten minutes. This time may be reduced at the discretion of the SAB, depending on meeting circumstances. Written comments (at least 35 copies) received in the SAB Staff Office sufficiently prior to a meeting date, may be mailed to the relevant SAB committee or subcommittee prior to its meeting; comments received too close to the meeting date will normally be provided to the committee at its meeting. Written comments, which may be of any length, may be provided to the relevant committee or subcommittee up until the time of the meeting.

The Science Advisory Board

Information concerning the Science Advisory Board, its structure, function, and composition, may be found in The FY1997 Annual Report of the Staff Director which is available from the SAB Committee Evaluation and Support Staff (CESS) by contacting US EPA, Science Advisory Board (1400), Attention: CESS, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460 or via fax (202) 260-1889. Additional information concerning the SAB can be found on the SAB Home Page at: http://www.epa.gov/sab.

Copies of SAB prepared final reports mentioned in this Federal Register Notice may be obtained immediately from the SAB Home Page or by mail/fax from the SAB's Committee Evaluation and Support Staff at (202) 260-4126, or via fax at (202) 260-1889. Please provide the SAB report number when making a request.

Meeting Access

Individuals requiring special accommodation at this meeting, including wheelchair access, should contact Ms. Roslyn Edson at 202- 260-3823, via fax at 202-260-7118 or via E-mail at edson.roslyn@epa.gov at least five business days prior to the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

Dated: September 2, 1998. Donald G. Barnes, Staff Director, Science Advisory Board.

[FR Doc. 98-24336Filed9-9-98; 8:45 am]

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