In a June 12 Federal Register notice, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced the establishment of the Chemical Safety Advisory Committee (CSAC) as well as a request for nominations of candidates to serve on this committee. The purpose of CSAC is to provide expert scientific advice, information, and recommendations to the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), which manages programs under the Toxics Substances Control Act and Pollution Prevention Act.
The major objective of the committee is to provide advice and recommendations on the scientific basis for risk assessments, methodologies, and pollution prevention measures or approaches. The EPA has determined that this federal advisory committee is necessary and in the public interest and will assist the EPA in performing its duties. Comments on CSAC are due by July 13 and additional information in this regard is provided in this Federal Register notice.
As noted above, nominations for membership on this committee are being solicited. The notice states that the nominations should include candidates who have demonstrated high levels of competence, knowledge, and expertise in scientific/technical fields relevant to chemical risk assessment and pollution prevention. To the extent feasible, the members will include representation of the following disciplines, including, but not limited to, toxicology, pathology, environmental toxicology and chemistry, exposure assessment, and related sciences, e.g., synthetic biology, pharmacology, biotechnology, nanotechnology, biochemistry, biostatistics, pharmacologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling, computational toxicology, epidemiology, environmental fate, and environmental engineering and sustainability. Moreover, the notice states that “EPA values and welcomes diversity and encourages nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups.”
For further information, please contact Laura Bailey, Office of Science Coordination and Policy, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, US Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 201460-0001, email: bailey.laura@epa.gov; phone number: 202.564.8450.