05-2517. Ninth Meeting of the World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel To Continue Evaluation on Issues Relating to Impacts of the Collapse of the World Trade Center Towers

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION:

Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY:

The World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel (or WTC Expert Panel) will hold its ninth meeting intended to provide for greater input on ongoing efforts to monitor the situation for New York residents and workers impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC). The panel members will help guide the EPA's use of the available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries to characterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet public health needs, and recommend any steps to further minimize the risks associated with the aftermath of the WTC attacks. Panel meetings will be open to the public, except where the public interest requires otherwise. Information on the panel meeting agendas, documents (except where the public interest requires otherwise), and public registration to attend the meetings will be available from an Internet Web site. EPA has established an official public docket for this action under Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003.

DATES:

The ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel will be held on February 23, 2005, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern standard time. On-site registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES:

The WTC Expert Panel meeting will be held at St. John's University, Saval Auditorium, 101 Murray Street (between Greenwich Street and West Side Highway), New York City (Manhattan). The auditorium is located on the second floor of the building and is handicap accessible. A government-issued identification (e.g., driver's license) is required for entry.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For meeting information, registration and logistics, please see the panel's Web site http://www.epa.gov/​wtc/​panel or contact ERG at [phone]. The meeting agenda and logistical information will be posted on the Web site and will also be available in hard copy. For further information regarding the WTC Expert Panel, contact Ms. Lisa Matthews, EPA Office of the Science Advisor, telephone [phone] or e-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. WTC Expert Panel Meeting Information

Eastern Research Group, Inc., (ERG), an EPA contractor, will coordinate the WTC Expert Panel meeting. To attend the panel meeting as an observer, please register by visiting the Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/​wtc/​panel. You may also register for the meeting by calling ERG's conference registration line between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. e.s.t. at [phone] or toll free at 1-800-803-2833, or by faxing a registration request to [phone] (include full address and contact information). Pre-registration is strongly recommended as space is limited, and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline for pre-registration is February 18, 2005. Registrations will continue to be accepted after this date, including on-site registration, if space allows. There will be a limited time at the meeting for oral comments from the public. Oral comments will be limited to five (5) minutes each. If you wish to make a statement during the observer comment period, please check the appropriate box when you register at the Web site. Please bring a copy of your comments to the meeting for the record or submit them electronically via e-mail to [e-mail], subject line: WTC.

II. Background Information

Immediately following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center, many federal agencies, including the EPA, were called upon to focus their technical and scientific expertise on the national emergency. EPA, other federal agencies, New York City and New York State public health and environmental authorities focused on numerous cleanup, dust collection and ambient air monitoring activities to ameliorate and better understand the human health impacts of the disaster. Detailed information concerning the environmental monitoring activities that were conducted as part of this response is available at the EPA Response to 9-11 Web site at http://www.epa.gov/​wtc/​.

In addition to environmental monitoring, EPA efforts also included toxicity testing of the dust, as well as the development of a human exposure and health risk assessment. This risk assessment document, Exposure and Human Health Evaluation of Airborne Pollution from the World Trade Center Disaster, is available on the Web at http://www.epa.gov/​ncea/​wtc.htm). Numerous additional studies by other Federal and State agencies, universities and other organizations have documented impacts to both the outdoor and indoor environments and to human health.

While these monitoring and assessment activities were ongoing and the cleanup at Ground Zero itself was occurring, EPA began planning for a program to clean and monitor residential apartments. From June until December 2002, residents impacted by WTC dust and debris in an area of about 1 mile by 1 mile south of Canal Street were eligible to request either federally-funded cleaning and monitoring for airborne asbestos or monitoring of their residences. The cleanup continued into the summer of 2003 by which time the EPA had cleaned and monitored 3,400 apartments and monitored 800 apartments. Detailed information on this portion of the EPA response is also available at http://www.epa.gov/​wtc/​.

A critical component of understanding long-term human health impacts is the establishment of health registries. The WTC Health Registry is a comprehensive and confidential health survey of those most directly exposed to the contamination resulting from the collapse of the WTC towers. It is intended to give health professionals a better picture of the health consequences of 9/11. It was established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYCDHMH) in cooperation with a number of academic institutions, public agencies and community groups. Detailed information about the registry can be obtained from the registry Web site at: http://www.nyc.gov/​html/​doh/​html/​wtc/​index.html.

In order to obtain individual advice on the effectiveness of these programs, unmet needs and data gaps, the EPA has convened a technical panel of experts who have been involved with WTC assessment activities. A senior official from EPA's Office of Research and Development will chair the panel. Dr. Paul Lioy, Professor of Environmental and Community Medicine at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-UMDNJ and Rutgers University, serves as Vice Chair. A full list of the panel members, a charge statement and operating principles for the panel are available from the panel Web site listed above. Panel meetings typically will be one- or two-day meetings, and they will occur over the course of approximately a two-year period. Panel members will provide individual advice on issues the panel addresses. These meetings will occur in New York City and nearby locations. All of the meetings will be announced on the Web site and by a Federal Register Notice, and they will be open to the public for attendance and brief oral comments.

The focus of the ninth meeting of the WTC Expert Panel is to summarize public comments received on the External Review Draft entitled, Draft Proposed Sampling Program to Determine Extent of World Trade Center Impacts to the Indoor Environment (EPA/600/R-04/169A), and to hear comments from individual panel members on the draft sampling plan and the public comments received. The draft proposed sampling plan was published in the Federal Register on October 21, 2004 (69 FR 61838) for public comment; the public comment period closed on January 18, 2005. The document is also available on the panel Web site identified earlier at: http://www.epa.gov/​wtc/​panel. EPA will consider all comments in revising the document. Additional information on meetings of the WTC Expert Panel can be found at the panel Web site.

III. How To Get Information on E-DOCKET

EPA has established an official public docket for this action under Docket ID No. ORD-2004-0003. The official public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any public comments received, and other information related to this action. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official public docket is the collection of materials that is available for public viewing at the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the Headquarters EPA Docket Center, (EPA/DC) EPA West Building, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public Reading Room is [phone], and the telephone number for the OEI Docket is [phone]; facsimile: [phone]; or e-mail: [e-mail].

An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket/​ to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the appropriate docket identification number.

Dated: February 3, 2005.

William H. Farland,

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science, EPA Office of Research and Development.