[Federal Register: June 6, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 109)]
[Notices]               
[Page 38957-38959]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06jn02-72]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL -7225-1]

 
EPA Science Advisory Board, Metals Assessment Panel; Request for 
Nominations

ACTION: Notice; request for nominations to serve on the Metals 
Assessment Panel of the Environmental Protection Agency's Science 
Advisory Board.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (Agency, EPA) 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) is re-announcing the formation of a Metals 
Assessment Panel and its solicitation of nominations of qualified 
individuals to serve on this Panel. An earlier solicitation of 
nominations for qualified individuals was published April 3, 2002 in 
the Federal Register (67 FR 15802).
    The SAB provides independent scientific and technical advice to the 
EPA Administrator on Agency positions; in this case, the SAB will 
advise on a Metals Action Plan that the Agency will use to guide the 
development of a Framework and Guidance for assessing hazards and risks 
posed by metals and metal compounds. Those selected to serve on the 
SAB's Metals Assessment Panel will review the Action Plan this summer. 
The same Panel is also likely to review the Framework and Guidance 
Documents in 2003.
    The approved policy under which the EPA Science Advisory Board 
selects review panels is described in a recent SAB Commentary [EPA 
Science Advisory Board (SAB) Panel Formation

[[Page 38958]]

Process: Immediate Steps to Improve Policies and Procedures--An SAB 
Commentary (EPA-SAB-EC-COM-002-003), which can be found on the SAB 
website (http://www.epa.gov/sab) at http://www.epa.gov/sab/
ecm02003.pdf.]
    Because the Agency plans to make a draft of the review document 
available for public comment in early June (via separate FR Notice), we 
are taking advantage of this opportunity for further public input on 
our panel development process. The overlapping nomination period and 
public availability of the draft document should inform the public and 
help them understand the issues to be addressed as they suggest 
potential candidates for the Metals Assessment Panel. As a result, the 
SAB is re-opening the nomination process for fifteen calendar days. 
However, we do not intend to delay the nomination process beyond that 
stated in this notice, even if the public release of the review 
document is delayed.
    If any individual or organization requires additional time to 
submit a nomination, a short extension may be granted by the SAB Staff, 
at their discretion. However, it will not delay the nomination process 
beyond the time stated in this notice plus two days. The extra days 
will be granted to any individual or organization needing an additional 
day or two provided that they contact the SAB staff within ten calendar 
days of this announcement to request that extension.
    Any interested person or organization may nominate qualified 
individuals for membership on the Panel. Persons and organizations who 
nominated individuals in response to the solicitation published April 
3, 2002 in the Federal Register (67 FR 15802) do not need to renew 
their nomination, however, nominators should confirm that their 
nomination has been received by the SAB Staff. Staff contact 
information is provided below.
    Nominations (preferably in electronic format) must include the 
individual's name, occupation, position, qualifications to address the 
issue, and contact information (i.e., telephone number, fax number, 
mailing address, email, and/or Website). To be considered, all 
nominations must include a current bio, CV or resume (preferably 
electronic in MSWord or WordPerfect) providing information on the 
nominee's background, experience, and qualifications for this Panel.
    The SAB staff asks that nominations be provided in the following 
way:
    (1) Send the nomination by email to: lubarov-walton.zisa@epa.gov.
    (2) Use one email per person being nominated.
    (3) Please use ``Metals Nomination'' in the subject field, followed 
by the last name of the candidate you are nominating. (For example, 
``Metals Nomination: Smith).
    (4) Attach supporting information in MS Word or WordPerfect files 
ending in ``.doc'' or ``.wpd''.
    (5) In a separate file from the bio, CV or resume, please provide 
the following information in the order shown:

For the Nominating Individual

First Name:
Last Name:
Email Address:
Organization Title:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Work Fax:

For the Candidate Being Nominated

First Name:
Last Name:
Professional Title:
Department:
School or Unit:
University or Organization:
Mailing Address:
Work Phone:
Fax Work Phone:
Email Address:
Website for CV (if one exists):

    Nominator's Assessment of Expertise: The following areas of 
expertise will be useful in this review. Please indicate the areas of 
expertise the candidate could contribute:
    1. Toxicology of metals in humans.
    2. Toxicology of metals in the environment, especially expertise in 
aquatic and terrestrial environments.
    3. Behavior, transport and fate of metals in the environment.
    4. Risk assessment of metals.
    5. Risk assessment frameworks, whether of metals or other 
stressors.
    6. Technical issues arising in efforts to reduce the risks of 
metals in regulatory or non-regulatory programs.
    7. Expertise on individual metals--please identify which metals.
    Background: There has been considerable interest in the scientific 
assessments that the Agency conducts on metals and metal compounds. 
Discussions between the Agency and external stakeholders, as well as 
concerns expressed formally as part of the Toxics Release Inventory 
(TRI) lead rulemaking, have demonstrated the need for a more 
comprehensive, cross-Agency approach to metals assessments that can be 
applied to human health and ecological assessments. Therefore, the 
Agency is developing a Framework and Guidance for EPA programs to use 
when considering the various environmental properties of metals, such 
as persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, in assessing the hazards 
and risks of metals and metal compounds. As a first step in 
accomplishing this goal, the Agency is developing an Action Plan that
    (a) Identifies the primary elements to be addressed in the 
assessment Framework and Guidance,
    (b) Proposes a structure for the Framework and Guidance, and
    (c) Sets out a process that will culminate in the production of the 
Framework and Guidance, per se.
    Charge to the Panel: Details of the Charge may change as a result 
of discussions between the Agency and the Panel. Updates will be posted 
on the SAB Website: (www.epa.gov/sab). The current draft charge is:
    1. Please comment on the soundness of the proposed organizing 
principles suggested by the public that are reflected in the draft 
Action Plan for the ``Framework for Metals Assessment and Cross-Agency 
Guidance for Assessing Metals-Related Hazard and Risk.'' (The proposed 
organizing principles, listed in section 1 of the draft Action Plan, 
include the following: providing a basis for identifying and 
prioritizing among metals, metal alloys and other metal compounds with 
respect to hazard and risk, use of sound science, use of a tiered 
approach, recognition of the influence of bioavailability on toxicity, 
and initially focus on hazard assessment as a screening tool.)
    2. Are the issues raised in the Action Plan--chemical speciation, 
bioavailability, bioaccumulation, persistence, and toxicity--the major 
issues of concern for improving EPA's scientific assessments of the 
hazards and risks of metals?
    3. Has EPA adequately characterized the issues and do the summaries 
adequately capture the key scientific uncertainties that will need to 
be addressed by the Framework and the Guidance.
    4. Can the SAB suggest priorities within the list of issues based 
on (a) the potential impact on the assessment of risk or hazard and (b) 
the state-of-the-science and the feasibility of developing guidance in 
the near term?
    5. Are there specific recommendations for the Framework or for the 
``Guidance for Characterization and Ranking of Metals'' (including 
methods and models) for addressing these issues that are not captured 
by EPA's Action Plan?
    6. Please comment on the feasibility of the proposed process for 
drafting the Framework and the Guidance. Will the

[[Page 38959]]

timeline allow for the scientific issues to be adequately addressed. 
Are the measures being taken to involve the scientific community and 
the public adequate?
    7. Please comment on the outline for the Framework and the 
description of the Guidance. Is it clear and all-inclusive?
    8. Are there any additional actions, beyond those proposed in the 
Action Plan that could improve EPA's scientific assessments of the 
hazard and risks of metals?

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nominations in electronic format 
should be submitted to lubarov-walton.zisa@epa.gov. Anyone unable to 
submit in electronic format should send the nomination paperwork to Ms. 
Zisa Lubarov-Walton, Management Assistant, EPA Science Advisory Board, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1400A), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202) 564-4537; FAX (202) 501-0323. 
Nominations should arrive no later than June 21, 2002, unless 
arrangements for a one or two day extension have been made by June 17, 
2002, with Ms. Kathleen White, Designated Federal Officer, EPA Science 
Advisory Board, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1400A), 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460, telephone (202) 564-
4559; FAX (202) 501-0323, email: white.kathleen@epa.gov. The SAB will 
not necessarily formally acknowledge or respond to nominations.
    The nominations received through this solicitation will be combined 
with nominations obtained through the previous nomination solicitation 
(67 FR 15802; April 3, 2002) and other sources; e.g., the Agency, SAB 
members, and external outreach. From this larger group of nominees 
(termed the ``WIDECAST''), a smaller subset (the ``Short List'') will 
be identified for more detailed consideration. The Short List will 
include the names of candidates, a short biosketch of each candidate, 
and the names of those who nominated them. The Short List will be 
posted on the SAB Website (http://www.epa.gov/sab/fiscal02.htm) and 
public comments accepted on the expertise, conflict-of-interest, and 
apparent lack of impartiality (as defined by federal regulation) of 
individual candidates as well as on the overall balance of views 
represented on the Panel. At the SAB, a balanced panel is characterized 
by inclusion of 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 to address the charge adequately.
    Public reaction to the Short List candidates will be considered in 
the selection of the Panel, along with information provided by 
candidates and information gathered by SAB Staff independently on the 
background of each candidate. Criteria to be used in evaluating an 
individual panelist include: (a) Expertise, knowledge, and experience 
(primary factors); (b) Availability and willingness to serve; (c) 
Scientific credibility and impartiality; and (d) Skills working in 
committees and advisory panels.
    Panel members will be asked to attend at least one public face-to-
face meeting and, probably, several public conference call meetings 
over the anticipated 3-month course of the activity. The Executive 
Committee (EC) of the SAB will review the Panel's report in a public 
meeting and reach a judgment about its transmittal to the 
Administrator.
    General Information--Additional information concerning the Science 
Advisory Board, its structure, function, and composition, may be found 
on the SAB Website (http://www.epa.gov/sab) and in the EPA Science 
Advisory Board FY2001 Annual Staff Report which is available from the 
SAB Publications Staff at (202) 564-4533 or via fax at (202) 501-0256, 
or at http://www.epa.gov/sab/annreport01.pdf.

    Dated: May 31, 2002.
A. Robert Flaak,
Acting Staff Director, EPA Science Advisory Board.
[FR Doc. 02-14043 Filed 6-5-02; 8:45 am]
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