Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices 41267

Name of Committee: National Institute of

Neurological Disorders and Stroke Special

Emphasis Panel.

Date: July 30, 1998.

Time: 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM.

Agenda: To review and evaluate contract

proposals.

Place: National Institute of Neurological

Disorders, and Stroke, Federal Building, Rm.

9C10, 7550 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

20892–9175.

Contact Person: Phillip F. Wiethorn,

Scientific Review Administrator, Scientific

Review Branch Division of Extramural

Activities NINDS, National Institutes of

Health, PHS, DHHS, Federal Building, Room

9C10, 7550 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

20892, 301–496–9223.

This notice is being published less than 15

days prior to the meeting due to the timing

limitations imposed by the review and

funding cycle.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Nos. 93.853, Clinical Research

Related to Neurological Disorders; 93.854,

Biological Basis Research in the

Neurosciences, National Institutes of Health,

HHS)

Dated: July 28, 1998.

LaVerne Y. Stringfield,

Committee Management Officer, NIH.

[FR Doc. 98–20553 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

National Library of Medicine; Notice of

Closed Meeting

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as

amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice

is hereby given of the following

meeting.

The meeting 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 Library of

Medicine Special Emphasis Panel.

Date: August 28, 1998.

Time: 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant

applications.

Place: Double Tree Hotel, 1750 Rockville

Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

Contact Person: Sharee Pepper, Scientific

Review Administrator, Health Scientist

Administrator, Office of Extramural

Programs, National Library of Medicine, 6705

Rockledge Drive, Suite 301, Bethesda, MD

20892.

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program No. 93.879, Medical Library

Assistance, National Institutes of Health,

HHS)

Dated: July 27, 1998.

LaVerne Y. Stringfield,

Committee Management Officer, NIH.

[FR Doc. 98–20550 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Working Group Report—Assessment

of Health Effects From Exposure to

Power-Line Frequency Electric and

Magnetic Fields

The National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences

(NIEHS), National Institutes of Health

(NIH), and the National Toxicology

Program, DHHS, announce the

availability of the Working Group

Report for public review and comment

for a period beginning August 10 and

ending October 9, 1998. Written

comments can be sent to the address

shown below and oral comments can be

presented at any of the three scheduled

public meetings discussed below. The

working group report and the comments

received will provide critical input to

the NIEHS in the preparation of a Report

to Congress on the potential for human

health effects from exposure to EMF

resulting from the production and

distribution of electricity.

Background

The NIEHS/NIH is charged by

Congress to prepare and submit an

evaluation of the potential human

health effects from exposure to

extremely low frequency (50–60 Hz)

electric and magnetic fields (EMF). To

evaluate the quality of the science and

the strength of the evidence for the

potential human health effects, the

NIEHS organized a comprehensive

review of the data which included:

(1) Three scientific symposia to

discuss and evaluate the quality of the

research findings in these study areas:

(a) theoretical and in vitro research

findings; (b) epidemiological results;

and (c) in vivo experimental and clinical

laboratory findings. Symposia

participants reviewed the quality and

reproducibility of the studies and

discussed the degree to which the

scientific evidence can support a casual

linkage between EMFs and biological

and/or health effects in each of the

study areas.

(2) A working group of scientists both

within and outside the field of EMF

research to ensure cross-disciplinary

discussion of experimental findings,

broad scientific perspective, and critical

review and evaluation of the research

data. Several different sources of

information were reviewed by the

working group including discussion

reports from the three symposia; a

comprehensive, critical review of the

scientific literature; and other pertinent

information and experimental data. The

working group report draws conclusions

on the strength and robustness of the

experimental data related to extremely

low frequency EMF exposure and its

implication for human health and

disease etiology.

The Working Group Report Available

August 10, 1998

In brief, the panel of experts

concluded that electric and magnetic

fields like those surrounding electric

power lines should be regarded as a

‘‘possible human carcinogen.’’ The

panel vote 19 to 9 was based largely on

epidemiological evidence in the face of

animal and other laboratory studies that

the panel agreed did not support or

refute the population studies. Because

of the conflicting studies, eight of the

nineteen panel members found the EMF

fields not classifiable as to

carcinogenicity, while one member of

the panel said EMF probably is not

carcinogenic to humans.

The working group report will be

available August 10 and can be obtained

free of charge by contacting by mail:

EMF–RAPID Program/LCBRA NIEHS,

NIH, P.O. Box 12233, MD EC–16,

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 or by

fax: 919–541–0144, or by e-mail: emfrapid@niehs.nih.gov. The document

will be available in both hard copy and

CD–ROM. Please provide the following

information when requesting the report:

Name, Mailing Address, and whether

you prefer a hard copy or CD–ROM

copy of the report.

The report will also be available on

the internet and can be accessed from

the NIEHS and NTP at

www.niehs.nih.gov/emfrapid/

home.htm.

Public Review and Comment

Encouraged

In order to fulfill the request from

Congress for a report on the potential for

human health effects from exposure to

EMF resulting from the production and

distribution of electricity, the NIEHS

will review the working group report

and all public comments on the report
41268 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices

received during the open comment

period, the information obtained from

the three science symposia, and any

other relevant information. The NIEHS

Report to Congress will be prepared

following the October 9 deadline for

comments and is expected to be

submitted to Congress late 1998.

Written and/or oral comments on the

working group report are welcome as

described below:

Written Comments

The NIEHS invites interested public

to submit written comments providing

their perspective on the implications of

the Working Group Report to be

considered by the NIEHS as it prepares

a Report to Congress on the potential for

human health effects from exposure to

EMF resulting from the production and

distribution of electricity. Written

comments should be sent to the address

given below. All comments must be

received by October 9, 1998 and must

identify the person making the

comments and the sponsoring

organization (if any).

Oral Comments

To encourage and facilitate the

broadest base of input possible, the

NIEHS is hosting three meetings to

receive comments providing

perspectives on the implications of the

Working Group Report to be considered

by the NIEHS as it prepares a Report to

Congress on the potential for human

health effects from exposure to EMF

resulting from the production and

distribution of electricity. Oral

comments will be presented to NIEHS

officials with responsibility for

preparing the Report to Congress as well

as to other officials associated with the

implementation of the EMF Research

and Public Information Dissemination

(RAPID) Program, established by the

1992 Energy Policy Act (Section 2118

for Public Law 102–486). Meeting

locations follow; the hours for each

meeting will be 2–3:00 p.m. for

registration/welcome and the public

comment period will be held from 3–

8:00 p.m. unless all speakers have been

heard prior to that time (local time).

Date City Building Address

September 28 ............................... Washington, DC ............................ Ronald Reagan Trade Center ...... 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.

October 1 ...................................... San Francisco, CA ........................ US EPA, Region IX ....................... 75 Hawthorne St.

October 5 ...................................... Chicago, IL .................................... University of Chicago, Gleacher

Center.

450 N Cityfront Plaza Drive.

Each speaker will be asked when

registering to identify their sponsoring

organization (if any). The number of

speakers representing the same

sponsoring organization may be limited

to one in order to assure time for as

many speakers and organizations to be

represented as possible. Brief

introductory comments will be

presented by the agencies represented

and the remainder of the time will be

devoted to the receipt of public

comments both oral and written. While

the time allotted for each presentation

will largely be dependent upon the

number of individuals who wish to

speak, it is anticipated that

approximately 5–6 minutes would be

available for each presenter to address

the panel. Speakers will be registered

and assigned time on a first-come, firstserve basis. To register to speak, provide

the following information: name,

affiliation, mailing address, phone, fax,

e-mail, sponsoring organization (if any)

to the address (mail, e-mail, fax) given

below. Registration is accepted on site

prior to the start of the meeting so that

the time available to each speaker can

be determined.

When oral comments are read from

printed copy, it is requested that copies

be provided when registering at the

meeting to supplement the record of the

meeting. Written statements may

expand on the oral presentation as well,

or may be submitted in lieu of an oral

presentation. It is important, however,

that all written statements, if not

provided at the time of the meeting, be

received by the October 9 deadline.

The meetings will be recorded to

establish a record of the comments for

use by the NIEHS in preparing the

Report to Congress. NIEHS staff will be

available to welcome and meet the

interested public during the registration

hour that will precede each meeting.

1998 Annual EMF Research Review—

Tucson, Arizona

An additional public comment period

on the Report will be held on the

afternoons of September 14–15, 1998, in

conjunction with the DOE/NIEHS/EEI

Annual EMF Research Review Meeting.

The meeting will be held at the

InnSuites, 475 N. Granada Ave., Tucson,

AZ 85701. Given that a number of

research scientists will be in attendance,

NIEHS and other officials with

responsibility for preparing the Report

to Congress will be available to receive

comments from meeting attendees or

from interested public. Anyone not

attending the conference but interested

in attending the afternoon open

comment sessions are asked to contact

the NIEHS EMF–RAPID Program as

described below:

REQUESTS FOR THE REPORT,

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR TO

REGISTER FOR A PUBLIC MEETING,

please contact: by Mail: EMF–RAPID

Program/LCBRA NIEHS, NIH, P.O. Box

12233, MD EC–16, Research Triangle

Park, NC 27709, by fax: 919–541–0144,

or by e-mail: emf-rapid@niehs.nih.gov.

Dated: July 27, 1998.

Kenneth Olden,

Director, National Institute of Environmental

Health Sciences.

[FR Doc. 98–20545 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration

Current List of Laboratories Which

Meet Minimum Standards To Engage in

Urine Drug Testing for Federal

Agencies, and Laboratories That Have

Withdrawn From the Program

AGENCY: Substance Abuse and Mental

Health Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and

Human Services notifies Federal

agencies of the laboratories currently

certified to meet standards of Subpart C

of Mandatory Guidelines for Federal

Workplace Drug Testing Programs (59

FR 29916, 29925). A similar notice

listing all currently certified laboratories

will be published during the first week

of each month, and updated to include

laboratories which subsequently apply

for and complete the certification

process. If any listed laboratory’s

certification is totally suspended or

revoked, the laboratory will be omitted

from updated lists until such time as it

is restored to full certification under the

Guidelines.