[Federal Register: June 26, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 123)]
[Notices]               
[Page 43125-43127]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jn02-75]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

[Program Announcement 02166]

 
Environmental Exposure to Diisocyanate; Notice of the 
Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 
announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2002 funds for a 
cooperative agreement program for Environmental Exposure to 
Diisocyanate. This program addresses the ``Healthy People 2010'' 
priority area of Environmental Health.
    The purpose of the program is to conduct exposure assessment(s), 
biomonitoring, and evaluations of respiratory effects in communities at 
risk for environmental diisocyanate exposure.
    Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the 
following performance goals for ATSDR: (1) Develop and provide 
reliable, understandable information for people in affected communities 
and tribes and for stakeholders and (2) Build and enhance effective 
partnerships.

B. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Number

    This program is authorized under section 104 (i)(7), (9) and (15) 
of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 
Act (CERCLA) of 1980 as amended by the Superfund Amendments and 
Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 9604 (i)(7), (9) and 
(15)). The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.206.

C. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided to the health departments of States or 
their bona fide agents or instrumentalities. This includes the District 
of Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Northern 
Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of 
Palau, and federally recognized Indian Tribal governments.



[[Page 43126]]


    Note: Title 2 of the United States Code, Chapter 26, Section 
1611 states that an organization described in section 501(c)(4) of 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engages in lobbying 
activities is not eligible to receive federal funds constituting an 
award, grant, cooperative agreement, contract, loan, or any other 
form.

D. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $100,000 is available in FY 2002 to fund one award. 
It is expected that the award will begin on or about September 1, 2002, 
and will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project period 
of up to two years. Funding estimates may change.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.

Use of Funds

    Funds may be expended for reasonable program purposes, such as 
personnel, travel, supplies, and services. Funds for contractual 
services may be requested; however, the grantee, as the direct and 
primary recipient of grant funds, must perform a substantive role in 
carrying out project activities and not merely serve as a conduit for 
an award to another party or provide funds to an ineligible party. 
Equipment may be purchased with grant funds, however, justification 
must be provided which should include a cost comparison of purchase 
versus lease, and title will be retained by ATSDR.
    This program does not require in-kind support or matching funds, 
however, the applicant should describe any in-kind support in the 
application.

E. Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient will be responsible for activities under 1. Recipient 
Activities, and ATSDR will be responsible for the activities listed 
under 2. ATSDR Activities.

1. Recipient Activities

    a. Evaluate existing air emissions data and other information to 
identify communities at risk for diisocyanate exposures.
    b. Model the dispersion of diisocyanate releases and define 
potentially exposed populations.
    c. Identify comparable non-exposed comparison communities for each 
selected exposed community.
    d. Establish air monitoring and sampling methodology.
    e. Develop the study protocol.
    f. Coordinate local Institutional Review Board approval of study 
protocol.
    g. Conduct ambient air monitoring, sampling, and analysis in both 
exposed and non-exposed communities.
    h. Implement the study protocol to include exposure assessments, 
biomonitoring, and respiratory health evaluations of the community 
residents in collaboration with ATSDR.

2. ATSDR Activities

    a. Collaborate in all activities listed above, including 
development of sampling methodology and study protocol.
    b. Provide epidemiologic and environmental technical support.
    c. Facilitate external peer review of the protocol and the final 
report(s).
    d. Prepare and submit protocol and supporting materials to the CDC 
Institutional Review Board (IRB). The CDC IRB will review and approve 
the protocol initially and on at least an annual basis until the 
research project is completed.
    e. Collaborate with recipient in all phases of data analysis and 
interpretation.
    f. Conduct technical review and facilitate peer review of all 
reports.

E. Application Content

    The Program Announcement title and number must appear in the 
application. Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content.
    Your application will be evaluated on the criteria listed, so it is 
important to follow them in laying out your program plan.
    The narrative should be no more than 20 pages, double-spaced, 
printed on one-side, with one-inch margins, and unreduced fonts.
    The narrative should consist of, at a minimum, a Plan, Objectives, 
Methods, Evaluation and Budget.

F. Submission and Deadline

Application

    Submit the original and two copies of PHS 5161-1 (OMB Number 0920-
0428). Forms are available at the following Internet address: 
www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm.
    On or before 5 p.m. Eastern Time July 30, 2002, submit the 
application to: Technical Information Management Section, Procurement 
and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2920 
Brandywine Road, Suite 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341.
    Deadline: Applications will be considered as meeting the deadline 
if they are received before 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date. 
Applicants sending applications by the United States Postal Service or 
commercial delivery services must ensure that the carrier will be able 
to guarantee delivery of the application by the closing date and time. 
If an application is received after closing due to (1) carrier error, 
when the carrier accepted the package with a guarantee for delivery by 
the closing date and time, or (2) significant weather delays or natural 
disasters, CDC will upon receipt of proper documentation, consider the 
application as having been received by the deadline.
    Applications which do not meet the above criteria will not be 
eligible for competition and will be discarded. Applicants will be 
notified of their failure to meet submission requirements.

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness that 
will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified 
objectives of the grant. Measures of Effectiveness must relate to the 
performance goals as stated in section ``A. Purpose'' of this 
announcement. Measures must be objective and quantitative and must 
measure the intended outcome. These Measures of Effectiveness will be 
submitted with the application and will be an element of evaluation.
    Each application will be evaluated individually against the 
following criteria by an independent review group appointed by ATSDR.

1. Proposed Program (40 Percent)

    The extent to which the applicant's protocol addresses (a) the 
approach, feasibility, adequacy, and rationale of the proposed project 
design; (b) the technical merit of the proposed project, including the 
degree to which the project can be expected to yield results that meet 
the program objective (including quality assurance and quality control 
procedures) for the proposed project; (c) the proposed project 
timeline, including clearly established project objectives for which 
progress toward attainment can and will be measured. Applicants are 
required to provide Measures of Effectiveness that will demonstrate the 
accomplishment of the various identified objectives of the cooperative 
agreement. Measures must be objective/quantitative and must measure the 
intended outcome. These Measures of Effectiveness shall be submitted 
with the application and shall be an element of evaluation; (d) the 
proposed method to disseminate study results; and (e) the degree to 
which the applicant has met the CDC Policy requirements regarding the

[[Page 43127]]

inclusion of women, ethnic, and racial groups in the proposed research. 
This includes:
    (1) The proposed plan for the inclusion of both sexes and racial 
and ethnic minority populations for appropriate representation.
    (2) The proposed justification when representation is limited or 
absent.
    (3) A statement as to whether the design of the study is adequate 
to measure differences when warranted.
    (4) A statement as to whether the plans for recruitment and 
outreach for study participants include the process of establishing 
partnerships with community(ies) and recognition of mutual benefits.

2. Program Personnel (30 Percent)

    The extent to which the applicant has described (a) the 
qualifications, experience, and commitment of the principal 
investigator (or project director) and their ability to devote adequate 
time and effort to provide effective leadership; and (b) the 
qualifications and experience of program personnel, including 
demonstrated capability and experience in conducting the air 
monitoring, sampling, and modeling activities described under the 
recipient activities.

3. Applicant Capability and Coordination Efforts (20 Percent)

    The extent to which the proposal has described (a) the capability 
of the applicant's administrative structure to foster successful 
scientific and administrative management of a study; and (b) the 
capability of the applicant to demonstrate an appropriate plan for 
interaction with other public health and environmental agencies.

4. Data Access (10 Percent)

    The extent to which the proposal has demonstrated the capability of 
the applicant to access records that will be helpful in identifying 
facilities that are currently using diisocyanates.

5. Program Budget--(Not Scored)

    The extent to which the budget is reasonable, clearly justified, 
and consistent with intended use of cooperative agreement funds.

6. Human Subjects (Not Scored)

    Does the application adequately address the requirements of Title 
45 CFR Part 46 for the protection of human subjects?

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    Provide CDC with original plus two copies of:
    1. Semi-annual progress reports (Attachment II)
    2. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period.
    3. Final financial and performance reports, no more than 90 days 
after the end of the project period.
    4. Applicants are required to provide Measures of Effectiveness 
that will demonstrate the accomplishment of the various identified 
objectives of the grant.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I in the 
application kit.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-7  Executive Order 12372 Review
AR-9  Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements
AR-10  Smoke-Free Workplace Requirements
AR-11  Healthy People 2010
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions
AR-17  Peer and Technical Reviews of Final Reports of Health Studies--
ATSDR
AR-18  Cost Recovery--ATSDR
AR-19  Third Party Agreements--ATSDR
AR-22  Research Integrity

I. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    A complete copy of the announcement may be downloaded from CDC's 
home page on the Internet at: http://www.cdc.gov Click on ``Funding'' 
then ``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from: Edna Green, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement & Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, Announcement 02166, Room 3000, 2920 Brandywine Road, 
Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone number (770) 488-2722, Email address: 
ecg4@cdc.gov.
    For program technical assistance, contact: Curtis W. Noonan, PhD, 
Epidemiologist, Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry, Executive Park, Building 4, Suite 1300, Atlanta, 
GA 30305, Telephone (404) 498-0588, E-mail Address: Cnoonan@cdc.gov; Or 
Nelda Godfrey, Funding Resource Specialist, Division of Health Studies, 
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Rd., 
NE., Mail Stop E-31, Atlanta, GA 30333, Telephone (404) 498-0628, E-
mail Address: nag9@cdc.gov.

    Dated: June 11, 2002.
Edward J. Schultz,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.

Attachment II--Semi-Annual Report

    Semi-annual report should include:
    1. A brief program description.
    2. A listing of program goals and objectives accompanied by a 
comparison of the actual accomplishments related to the goals and 
objectives established for the period.
    3. If established goals and objectives to be accomplished were 
delayed, describe both the reason for the deviation and anticipated 
corrective action or deletion of the activity from the project.
    4. Other pertinent information, including the status of the 
program.
    5. Measures of Effectiveness shall be a data requirement to be 
submitted with or incorporated into the semi-annual progress 
reports.
    6. Financial recap of obligated dollars to date as a percentage 
of total available funds.

[FR Doc. 02-16090 Filed 6-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P