Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of Experts To Provide Advice on Mold Issues in Indoor Environments, 15723-15724 [E9-7829]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15723-15724]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-7829]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8790-3]


Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Request for Nominations of 
Experts To Provide Advice on Mold Issues in Indoor Environments

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice request for nominations.

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SUMMARY: The EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office is 
requesting nominations to form an Ad Hoc panel, under the auspices of 
the SAB, to provide advice to the EPA on mold issues in indoor 
environments.

DATES: Nominations should be submitted by April 28, 2009 per the 
instructions below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Any member of the public wishing 
further information regarding this Request for Nominations may contact 
Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), via 
telephone/voice mail at (202) 343-9984; via e-mail at 
kooyoomjian.jack@epa.gov or at the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board 
(1400F), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. General 
information about the SAB can be found in the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab. The EPA technical contact for this review is Dr. Mary 
E. Clark, Assistant Director for Science, Office of Radiation and 
Indoor Air (ORIA), who may be contacted via telephone at (202) 343-9348 
or by e-mail at clark.marye@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: Physical inspection for water damage and mold is a key 
part of the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air's (ORIA's) mold 
remediation guidance (https://www.epa.gov/mold/). EPA's current indoor 
air guidance does not recommend routine sampling for mold. Rather, 
guidance for mitigating indoor mold states that if mold growth occurs 
in a building, the water problem must be fixed and the mold growth 
removed. The Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD) has 
developed a tool, the Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) 
(https://www.epa.gov/microbes/moldtech.htm) to screen indoor 
environments. The ERMI relies on collection of a dust sample from the 
building in question. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) from mold in the dust 
is analyzed using a mold-specific quantitative Polymerase Chain 
Reaction (PCR) methodology. The analytical results are then compared to 
the ERMI, which generates a numeric score that predicts whether the 
tested space is likely to have higher or lower mold levels than 
outdoors, and by extension, predicts whether occupants are more or less 
likely to be exposed to mold. The analysis also indicates some of the 
types of mold present. The ERMI may also have utility in screening 
buildings where mold is suspected, but not visible.
    ORD and ORIA view the ERMI as a prototype research tool at the 
current state of development. However, the Agency has received 
questions from the general public, other government agencies and non-
governmental organizations concerning mold issues. There have also been 
requests for guidance on the broader use of the ERMI and its 
relationship to existing EPA mold sampling, as well as other mold 
issues. Since the ERMI has not been validated for such applications, 
the Agency is interested in clarifying the role and use of ERMI in mold 
remediation guidance, especially in the aftermath of water-related 
emergencies, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Agency has 
requested that the SAB provide advice on the technical applicability 
and limitations of the ERMI; its utility for identifying natural 
background and mold contaminated environments, identifying mold species 
and associated mycotoxins; the need for guidance on the use of ERMI for 
emergency response situations (such as flooding); the pros and cons of 
ERMI; and other approaches that might be employed.
    Request for Nominations: The SAB Staff Office is requesting 
nominations to form an Ad Hoc panel to provide advice to the Agency on 
mold issues as described above. The SAB was established by 42 U.S.C. 
4365 to provide independent scientific and technical advice, 
consultation, and recommendations to the EPA Administrator on the 
technical basis for Agency positions and regulations. The Ad Hoc panel 
will provide advice through the chartered SAB, and will comply with the 
provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and all 
appropriate SAB procedural policies.
    To address EPA's need for scientific and technical advice, the SAB 
Staff Office is seeking individuals with nationally recognized 
expertise, experience, knowledge, and field experience in the following 
disciplinary areas with a specific focus on mold growth, exposure, 
effects, biodeterioration, building evaluation, and mold remediation in 
indoor environments:
    (1) Epidemiology related to molds, fungi and bacteria; Microbiology 
related to molds, fungi and bacteria;
    (2) Toxicology of molds, fungi and bacteria;
    (3) Risk assessment related to indoor air quality, dampness and 
mold producing and mold biodeterioration conditions;
    (4) Measurement statistics, bio-statistics, modeling and analysis 
of data on mold remediation;
    (5) Emergency response and remediation associated with 
environmental microbiology and bio-aerosols;
    (6) Environmental medicine, industrial hygiene, public health, or 
other medical fields related to mold exposures; and
    (7) Risk perception and risk communication.
    Process and Deadline for Submitting Nominations: Any interested 
person or organization may nominate qualified individuals to this Ad 
Hoc panel in the areas of expertise described above. Nominations should 
be submitted in electronic format through the SAB Web site at the 
following URL https://www.epa.gov/sab; or directly via the Form for 
Nominating Individuals to Panels of the EPA Science Advisory Board link 
found at URL: https://www.epa.gov/sab/panels/paneltopics.html. Please 
follow the instructions for submitting nominations carefully. To be 
considered, nominations should include all of the information required 
on the associated forms. Anyone unable to submit nominations using the 
electronic form and who has any questions concerning the nomination 
process may contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, DFO, as indicated above in 
this notice. Nominations should be submitted in time to arrive no later 
than April 28, 2009.
    For nominees to be considered, please include: Contact information; 
a curriculum vitae; a biosketch of no more than two paragraphs 
(containing information on the nominee's current position, educational 
background, areas of expertise and research activities, service on 
other advisory committees and professional societies; the candidate's 
special expertise related to the panel being formed; and sources of 
recent grant and/or contract support).
    The EPA SAB Staff Office will acknowledge receipt of nominations. 
The names and biosketches of qualified

[[Page 15724]]

nominees identified by respondents to the Federal Register notice and 
additional experts identified by the SAB Staff will be posted on the 
SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab. Public comments on this ``Short 
List'' of candidates will be accepted for 21 calendar 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 subcommittee or 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 to adequately address the charge. In 
establishing the final Ad Hoc panel, the SAB Staff Office will consider 
public comments on the ``Short List'' of candidates, information 
provided by the candidates themselves, and background information 
independently gathered by the SAB Staff Office. Specific 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 lack of 
impartiality; and (e) skills working in committees, subcommittees and 
advisory panels; and, for the panel as a whole, (f) diversity of, and 
balance among, scientific expertise, viewpoints, etc.
    The SAB Staff Office's evaluation of an absence of financial 
conflicts of interest will include a review of 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 Government 
officials to determine whether there is a statutory conflict between 
that person's public responsibilities (which includes membership on an 
EPA Federal advisory committee) and private interests and activities, 
or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, as defined by Federal 
regulation. The form may be viewed and downloaded from the following 
URL address https://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/epaform3110-48.pdf.
    The approved policy under which the EPA SAB Office selects 
subcommittees and review panels is described in the following document: 
Overview of the Panel Formation Process at the Environmental Protection 
Agency Science Advisory Board (EPA-SAB-EC-02-010), which is posted on 
the SAB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/sab/pdf/ec02010.pdf.

    Dated: March 31, 2009.
Anthony F. Maciorowski,
Deputy Director, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office.
[FR Doc. E9-7829 Filed 4-6-09; 8:45 am]
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