Request for Nominations of Experts To Augment the EPA's Science Advisory Board Radiation Advisory Committee for the Review of the EPA's Draft Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM) Revision 2
| Published date | 14 May 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 28943 |
| Record Number | 2020-10414 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 94 (Thursday, May 14, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 94 (Thursday, May 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28943-28944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10414]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-10009-82-OA]
Request for Nominations of Experts To Augment the EPA's Science
Advisory Board Radiation Advisory Committee for the Review of the EPA's
Draft Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual
(MARSSIM) Revision 2
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Science
Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office invites public nominations of
technical experts to augment the SAB's Radiation Advisory Committee
(RAC) to conduct a review on Revision 2 to the Multi-Agency Radiation
Survey and Site Investigation Manual.
DATES: Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later than
June 4, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing
further information regarding this Notice and Request for Nominations
may contact Dr. Diana Wong, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by
telephone at (202) 564-2049 or at [email protected]. General
information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website
at http://www.epa.gov/sab.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The SAB (42 U.S.C. 4365) is a chartered Federal Advisory Committee
that provides independent scientific and technical peer review, advice
and
[[Page 28944]]
recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the technical basis for EPA
actions. As a Federal Advisory Committee, the SAB conducts business in
accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C.
App. 2) and related regulations. The SAB Radiation Advisory Committee
(RAC) is a subcommittee of the SAB that provides strategic advice
through the chartered SAB on radiation protection, radiation science,
and radiation science applications. The SAB and the RAC, augmented with
additional experts, will comply with the provisions of FACA and all
appropriate SAB Staff Office procedural policies.
MARSSIM provides information on planning, conducting, evaluating,
and documenting environmental radiological surveys of surface soil and
building surfaces for demonstrating compliance with regulations.
MARSSIM, when finalized as Revision 2, will update this multi-agency
consensus document.
MARSSIM was originally developed by the technical staffs of the
four Federal agencies having authority for control of radioactive
materials: DoD, DOE, EPA, and NRC (60 FR 12555; March 7, 1995). The
four agencies issued Revision 1 to MARSSIM in August 2000, and
additional edits to Revision 1 in June 2001. MARSSIM has not been
updated since 2001; updates prior to 2001 primarily consisted of minor
non-technical edits. Revision 2 updates the science, clarifies methods,
and implements lessons learned from over 20 years of the document's use
in industry.
Request for Nominations
The SAB Staff Office is seeking nominations of nationally and
internationally recognized scientists and engineers with demonstrated
expertise and experience to augment the RAC for the peer review of
MARSSIM, Revision 2. The SAB Staff Office is looking for experts in one
or more of the following disciplinary areas: Environmental monitoring
and sampling, geology, hydrogeology, measurement protocols and
statistics. Expertise should include a focus on radionuclides.
Additional Information
For questions concerning ``MARSSIM, Rev. 2 (2020) please contact
Kathryn Snead of the U.S. EPA, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, by
telephone at (202) 343-9228, or email at [email protected].
Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations
Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified
individuals with relevant experience for possible service on the SAB
MARSSIM Review Panel identified in this notice. Nominations should be
submitted in electronic format (preferred) following the instructions
for ``Nominating Experts to Advisory Panels and Ad hoc Committees Being
Formed,'' provided on the SAB website (see the ``Nomination of
Experts'' link under ``Current Activities'') at http://www.epa.gov.sab.
To receive full consideration, EPA's SAB Staff Office requests
contact information about the person making the nomination; contact
information about the nominee; the disciplinary and specific areas of
expertise of the nominee; the nominee's resume or curriculum vitae;
sources of recent grant and/or contract support; and a biographical
sketch of the nominee indicating current position, educational
background, research activities, and recent service on other national
advisory committees or national professional organizations.
Persons having questions about the nomination procedures, or who
are unable to submit nominations through the SAB website, should
contact Dr. Diana Wong as indicated above in this notice. Nominations
should be submitted in time to arrive no later than June 4, 2020. EPA
values and welcomes diversity. All qualified candidates are encouraged
to apply regardless of sex, race, disability, or ethnicity.
The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations.
The names and biosketches of qualified nominees identified by
respondents to this Federal Register notice, and additional experts
identified by the SAB Staff, will be posted in a List of Candidates on
the SAB website at http://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on the List
of Candidates will be accepted for 21 days. The public will be
requested to provide relevant information or other documentation on
nominees that the SAB Staff Office should consider in evaluating
candidates.
For the EPA SAB Staff Office, a balanced 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. The SAB Staff Office will consider public comments on the
List of Candidates, information provided by the candidates themselves,
and background information independently gathered by the SAB Staff
Office. Selection criteria to be used 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 loss of impartiality; and (e) skills working in panels
and advisory committees; and, (f) for the panel as a whole, diversity
of expertise and scientific points of view.
Candidates invited to serve will be asked to submit 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 EPA to determine whether there is a statutory conflict
between that person's public responsibilities as a Special Government
Employee and private interests and activities, or the appearance of a
loss of impartiality, as defined by Federal regulation.. The form may
be viewed and downloaded from the following URL address http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/Web/ethics?OpenDocument.
Dated: May 11, 2020.
V. Khanna Johnston,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. 2020-10414 Filed 5-13-20; 8:45 am]
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