[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 62 (Friday, March 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 19315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06678]
[[Page 19315]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors;
Announcement of Meeting; Request for Comments
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the next meeting of the National
Toxicology Program (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC). The BSC,
a federally chartered, external advisory group composed of scientists
from the public and private sectors, will review and provide advice on
programmatic activities. This meeting is a virtual meeting and is open
to the public. Written comments will be accepted and registration is
required to present oral comments.
DATES:
Meeting: Scheduled for May 4, 2023, 12:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. Eastern
Daylight Time (EDT). Ending time is approximate; meeting may end
earlier or run later.
Written Public Comment Submissions: Deadline is April 28, 2023.
Registration for Oral Comments: Deadline is April 28, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
Meeting Web Page: The preliminary agenda, registration, and other
meeting materials will be available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165
by April 10, 2023.
Virtual Meeting: The URL for viewing the virtual meeting will be
provided on the meeting web page the day before the meeting.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Milene Brownlow, Designated
Federal Officer for the BSC, Office of Policy, Review, and Outreach,
Division of Translational Toxicology, NIEHS. Phone: 984-287-3364,
Email: [email protected]. Hand Deliver/Courier address: 530 Davis
Drive, Room K2136, Morrisville, NC 27560.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NTP conducted a systematic review to
evaluate the neurobehavioral health effects from exposure to fluoride
during development and prepared a Draft State of the Science Monograph
and a Draft Meta-Analysis Manuscript. Both draft documents were then
reviewed internally by various Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) entities and, additionally, the Draft State of the Science
Monograph underwent external peer review by five scientific experts.
Subsequently, the NTP Director decided to seek additional review of
both documents from the NTP BSC. In 2022, the NTP Director and the NTP
BSC Chair jointly made the decision to convene an independent working
group of subject-matter experts to assist the BSC in reviewing the
input on the Draft State of the Science Monograph and Draft Meta-
Analysis Manuscript along with NTP authors' responses to the comments.
The BSC Working Group has prepared a report with its recommendations on
whether the authors sufficiently addressed internal and external
scientific comments. The preliminary agenda topic for the meeting on
May 4, 2023, is BSC's deliberation on the BSC Working Group's report.
The preliminary agenda, working group report, roster of BSC
members, background materials, public comments, and any additional
information, when available, will be posted on the BSC meeting web page
(https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165) and minutes will be available on the
BSC meeting web page within 90 calendar days of the meeting.
Meeting Attendance Registration: The meeting is open to the public
with time scheduled for oral public comments. Registration is not
required to view the virtual meeting; the URL for the virtual meeting
will be provided on the BSC meeting web page (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165), the day before the meeting. TTY users should
contact the Federal TTY Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Requests should
be made at least five business days in advance of the event.
Written Public Comments: NTP invites written public comments.
Guidelines for public comments are available at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/about_ntp/guidelines_public_comments_508.pdf.
The deadline for submission of written comments is April 28, 2023.
Written public comments should be submitted through the meeting web
page. Persons submitting written comments should include name,
affiliation, mailing address, phone, email, and sponsoring organization
(if any). Written comments received in response to this notice will be
posted on the NTP web page, and the submitter will be identified by
name, affiliation, and sponsoring organization (if any).
Oral Public Comment Registration: The agenda allows for one public
comment period on the agenda topic (up to 12 commenters, up to five
minutes per speaker). Persons wishing to make an oral comment are
required to register online at https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165 by
April 28, 2023. Oral comments will be received only during the formal
comment period indicated on the preliminary agenda. Registration is on
a first-come, first-served basis. Each organization is allowed one time
slot. After the maximum number of speakers is exceeded, individuals
registered to provide oral comment will be placed on a wait list and
notified should an opening become available. Logistical information for
presentations will be provided to commenters approximately 2-3 days
before the meeting.
If possible, oral public commenters should send a copy of their
slides and/or statement or talking points to [email protected] by
April 28, 2023.
Meeting Materials: The preliminary meeting agenda will be available
on the meeting web page (https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/go/165) by April 10,
2023. Individuals are encouraged to access the meeting web page
periodically to stay abreast of the most current information regarding
the meeting.
Background Information on the BSC: The BSC is a technical advisory
body comprised of scientists from the public and private sectors that
provides primary scientific oversight to the NTP. Specifically, the BSC
advises the NTP on matters of scientific program content, both present
and future, and conducts periodic review of the program for the purpose
of determining and advising on the scientific merit of its activities
and their overall scientific quality. Its members are selected from
recognized authorities knowledgeable in fields such as toxicology,
pharmacology, pathology, epidemiology, risk assessment, carcinogenesis,
mutagenesis, cellular biology, computational toxicology,
neurotoxicology, genetic toxicology, reproductive toxicology or
teratology, and biostatistics. Members serve overlapping terms of up to
four years. The BSC usually meets periodically. The authority for the
BSC is provided by 42 U.S.C. 217a, section 222 of the Public Health
Service Act (PHS), as amended.
The BSC is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. ch. 10), which sets forth standards
for the formation and use of advisory committees.
Dated: March 27, 2023.
Richard P. Woychik,
Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and
National Toxicology Program, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-06678 Filed 3-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P