11140 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6701 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, 

(Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Nancy Sheard, SCD, 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6046–E, 

MSC 7892, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–408– 

9901, sheardn@csr.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Small 

Business: Cell, Computational, and 

Molecular Biology. 

Date: March 15, 2012. 

Time: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: General Services Administration 

Crystal City, Crystal City Plaza 4 (CP4), 2200 

Crystal Drive, L–121, Arlington, VA 22202. 

Contact Person: Maria DeBernardi, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6158, 

MSC 7892, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–435– 

1355, debernardima@csr.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Program 

Project: Regulation of Mitochondrial 

Oxidative Metabolism. 

Date: March 20–21, 2012. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6701 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, 

(Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Rolf Jakobi, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Center for 

Scientific Review, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6187, 

MSC 7806, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–495– 

1718, jakobir@mail.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Center for Scientific 

Review Special Emphasis Panel; Muscle 

Disease and Function. 

Date: March 21–22, 2012. 

Time:9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6701 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, 

(Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Rajiv Kumar, Ph.D., Chief, 

MOSS IRG, Center for Scientific Review, 

National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge 

Drive, Room 4216, MSC 7802, Bethesda, MD 

20892, 301–435–1212, kumarra@csr.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine; 

93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333, 

93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844, 

93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National 

Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: February 16, 2012. 

Jennifer S. Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4346 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Allergy and 

Infectious Diseases; Notice of Closed 

Meetings 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended (5 U.S.C. App.), notice is 

hereby given of the following meetings. 

The meetings will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special 

Emphasis Panel; Host Targeted Interventions 

As Therapeutics For Infectious Diseases. 

Date: March 13, 2012. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 

(Telephone Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Raymond R. Schleef, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific 

Review Program, Division of Extramural 

Activities, National Institutes of Health/ 

NIAID, 6700B Rockledge Drive, MSC 7616, 

Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 301–451–3679, 

schleefrr@niaid.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: Microbiology, 

Infectious Diseases and AIDS Initial Review 

Group; Acquired Immunodeficiency 

Syndrome Research Review Committee. 

Date: March 14–15, 2012. 

Time: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: Residence Inn Bethesda, 7335 

Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814. 

Contact Person: Sujata Vijh, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Program, DEA/NIAID/NIH, 6700B Rockledge 

Drive, MSC 7616, Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 

301–594–0985, vijhs@niaid.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special 

Emphasis Panel; Host Targeted Interventions 

As Therapeutics For Infectious Diseases. 

Date: March 15, 2012. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 

(Telephone Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Raymond R. Schleef, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific 

Review Program, Division of Extramural 

Activities, National Institutes of Health/ 

NIAID, 6700B Rockledge Drive, MSC 7616, 

Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 301–451–3679, 

schleefrr@niaid.nih.gov. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases Special 

Emphasis Panel; Host Targeted Interventions 

As Therapeutics For Infectious Diseases. 

Date: March 16, 2012. 

Time: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institutes of Health, 6700B 

Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817 

(Telephone Conference Call). 

Contact Person: Raymond R. Schleef, 

Ph.D., Scientific Review Officer, Scientific 

Review Program, Division of Extramural 

Activities, National Institutes of Health/ 

NIAID, 6700B Rockledge Drive, MSC 7616, 

Bethesda, MD 20892–7616, 301–451–3679, 

schleefrr@niaid.nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.855, Allergy, Immunology, 

and Transplantation Research; 93.856, 

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 

Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) 

Dated: February 17, 2012. 

Jennifer S. Spaeth, 

Director, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4343 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Availability of the Draft Supplementary 

Risk Assessment for the Boston 

University (BU) National Emerging 

Infectious Diseases Laboratories 

(NEIDL); Public Hearing 

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice; public hearing 

announcement. 

SUMMARY: The National Institutes of 

Health has placed in the docket for 

public review and comment the Draft 

Supplementary Risk Assessment for the 

NEIDL, which is intended to respond to 

the concerns of the local community, 

courts, the National Research Council, 

and the general public regarding 

possible impacts of the laboratory. The 

purpose of the Draft Supplementary 

Risk Assessment for the NEIDL is to 

present the human health consequences 

of a potential accidental event or 

malevolent action resulting in the 

release of a pathogen or loss of 

biological containment at the NEIDL. 

Furthermore, this risk assessment 

compares the potential public health 

consequences resulting from the 

potential loss of biocontainment in a 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 37 / Friday, February 24, 2012 / Notices 11141 

range of population density areas that 

represent urban, suburban, and rural 

environments. The urban, suburban, 

and rural sites that were selected for the 

purposes of the comparative analysis 

include the Boston University Medical 

Campus (BUMC) BioSquare Research 

Park, Boston, where the NEIDL has been 

constructed; the BU Corporate 

Education Center in Tyngsborough, 

Massachusetts; and the BU Sargent 

Center for Outdoor Education near 

Peterborough, New Hampshire. The 

Risk Assessment also examines whether 

locating the NEIDL in Boston would 

have a disproportionately high and 

adverse impacts on low-income and 

minority populations. 

DATES: Comments on the Draft 

Supplementary Risk Assessment for the 

NEIDL must be postmarked no later 

than May 1, 2012. A public hearing to 

solicit public comment on the document 

will be held on April 19, 2012, from 

6:30–9:30 p.m. at Roxbury Community 

College, 1234 Columbus Avenue, 

Boston, MA 02120. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to The National Institutes of 

Health, Office of Biotechnology 

Activities, ATTN: NEIDL Risk 

Assessment, 6705 Rockledge Drive, 

Suite 750, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892. 

Email comments should be sent to 

NIH_BRP@od.nih.gov. Please note that 

comments sent by email must be 

received by 11:59 p.m. on the last day 

of the comment period May 1, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

National Institutes of Health Office of 

Biotechnology Activities, 6705 

Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, 

Maryland, 20892. Telephone number: 

301–496–9838. Electronic mail address: 

NIH_BRP@od.nih.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

National Institutes of Health awarded a 

construction grant to Boston University 

Medical Campus to partly fund the 

design and construction of one of two 

National Biocontainment Laboratories. 

These advanced biomedical research 

laboratories are essential to the civilian 

biodefense initiative, providing 

critically needed Biosafety Levels 2, 3 

and 4 research space. The basic and 

translational research to be conducted 

in these laboratories over the next 20 

years would result in development of 

new rapid diagnostic assays, vaccines 

and therapeutics for protection of the 

American public against intentional 

misuse or release of harmful biological 

agents or toxins and naturally emerging 

and re-emerging infectious diseases. 

The NIH completed and published a 

final Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS) and published a Record of 

Decision as required for major federal 

actions under the National 

Environmental Policy Act. Construction 

of the NEIDL began at the BioSquare II 

Research Park on Albany Street, Boston, 

Massachusetts adjacent to the BUMC. 

During the preparation of the EIS, the 

NIH conducted a thorough review of the 

possible impacts of the NEIDL on the 

public and the environment. Based on 

that review, the NIH concluded that the 

construction and operation of the NEIDL 

in its current location posed a negligible 

risk to the surrounding community in 

which the laboratory was sited. 

Several residents and public interest 

groups filed a federal lawsuit 

challenging the adequacy of the final 

EIS prepared for the NEIDL and whether 

the potential risks of the research would 

vary depending on the location of the 

facility in a suburban or rural area. A 

state lawsuit was also filed challenging 

the adequacy of a separate 

environmental review prepared 

pursuant to a Massachusetts law. 

The Draft Supplementary Risk 

Assessment for the NEIDL addresses the 

issues raised by the public and the 

courts regarding pathogen release, 

facility location, and environmental 

justice concerns. 

Throughout the preparation of the 

Draft Supplementary Risk Assessment 

for the NEIDL, NIH has sought the input 

of the public regarding scenarios and 

pathogens they wished to see included 

in the Risk Assessment. In addition, 

NIH established an independent Blue 

Ribbon Panel (BRP) to provide scientific 

and technical advice to the agency in 

assessing any potential public health 

risks associated with the operation of 

the NEIDL and to assess strategies for 

mitigation. The BRP was convened with 

16 members having expertise in relevant 

fields, including infectious diseases, 

public health and epidemiology, risk 

assessment, environmental justice, risk 

communications, bioethics, biodefense, 

biosafety, and infectious disease 

modeling. The NIH has also sought 

guidance from the National Research 

Council (NRC) committee that was 

critical of the draft of an earlier risk 

assessment prepared by the NIH. 

Availability of Copies and Electronic 

Access 

Given the highly technical nature of 

the report and in order to assist the 

reader, a reader’s guide will be provided 

with each copy of the draft 

supplementary risk assessment . 

Copies of the Draft Supplementary 

Risk Assessment Report for the Boston 

University National Emerging Infectious 

Diseases Laboratory and the reader’s 

guide document may be obtained at no 

cost by calling 301–496–9838, or by 

emailing requests to 

NIH_BRP@od.nih.gov. The document 

will also be available electronically at: 

http://nihblueribbonpanel-bumcneidl.od.nih.gov/default.asp. 

A copy of the draft supplementary 

risk assessment and the reader’s guide 

will also be available for review at each 

of the following locations. Central 

Branch of the Boston Public Library, 700 

Boylston Street, Boston, MA, South End 

Library, 685 Tremont Street, Boston, 

MA, Grove Hall Library, 42 Geneva 

Avenue, and Dudley Library, 65 Warren 

Street, Boston, MA. 

Public Meeting: The National 

Institutes of Health will hold a public 

meeting on Thursday, April 19, 2012, 

from 6:30–9:30 p.m. at Roxbury 

Community College, 1234 Columbus 

Avenue, Boston, MA 02120. The 

purpose of the meeting is to solicit 

public comments regarding the Draft 

Supplementary Risk Assessment for the 

National Emerging Infectious Diseases 

Laboratories. Comments provided 

during the meeting, as well as those 

received during the public comment 

period will be considered in the Final 

Supplementary Risk Assessment for the 

National Emerging Infectious Diseases 

Laboratories. Individuals wishing to 

provide oral comments at the meeting 

must sign-in prior to the start of the 

meeting. Sign-in will begin at 5:30 p.m. 

In order to ensure everyone has the 

opportunity to speak, comments must 

be limited to no longer than three 

minutes. This public meeting is part of 

the 67-day public comment period 

initiated with the publication of a 

Notice of Availability in the Federal 

Register on February 24, 2012. The 67- 

day comment period began on February 

24, 2012 and will end on May 1, 2012. 

Comments can also be sent to: The 

National Institutes of Health, Attn: 

NEIDL Risk Assessment, 6705 

Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, Bethesda, 

MD 20892, or emailed to 

NIH_BRP@od.nih.gov. For further 

information concerning this meeting, 

please contact Office of Biotechnology 

Activities, National Institutes of Health, 

6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 750, 

Bethesda, MD 20892, telephone 301– 

496–9838, email: BRP_NIH@od.nih.gov. 

Dated: February 16, 2012. 

Amy Patterson, 

Associate Director for Science Policy, 

National Institutes of Health. 

[FR Doc. 2012–4266 Filed 2–23–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES