[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72638-72639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23664]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
Public Meeting

    The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
following public meetings and request for information:
    Name: NIOSH Availability of Opportunity to Provide Input for the 
National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) with a special emphasis on 
the Construction Sector, and the Transportation, Warehousing, and 
Utilities Sector and regional and multi-sector input.
    Time and Date for Meeting One: Transportation, Warehousing and 
Utilities (TWU) Sector.
    9 a.m.-5 p.m. EST, December 5, 2005:
    9 a.m.-12 p.m., Multi-Sector Public Comments.
    1 p.m.-5 p.m., TWU Specific Public Comments.
    Place for Meeting One: Holiday Inn, 10000 Baltimore Avenue, College 
Park, MD 20740.
    Time and Date for Meeting Two: Construction Sector.
    9 a.m.-5 p.m. CST, Monday December 19, 2005:
    9 a.m.-12 p.m. Multi-sector Public Comments.
    1 p.m.-5 p.m. Construction Specific Public Comments.
    Place for Meeting Two: University of Illinois at Chicago, School of 
Public Health and Psychiatric Institute, 1603 W. Taylor Street, 
Chicago, Illinois 60612.
    Status: Meetings are open to the public, limited only by the space 
available.
    Background: A large part of our lives is shaped by the work we do. 
NORA is a framework to guide occupational safety and health research 
for the nation. It is an ongoing endeavor to focus research to reduce 
work-related injury and illness. As the program approaches a ten year 
milestone, NIOSH is hosting public meetings to seek input from 
individuals and organizations on important research issues and agendas. 
Information about the public meetings and registration can be found on 
the NORA Web page at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/townhall.
    Given that NORA represents a broad-based partnership involving 
government, business, the worker community, academia, and others, 
public input is essential for planning future directions for the 
initiative, which will be based on eight different industry sector 
groups. Each meeting will be structured to provide an opportunity for 
regional and multi-sector input during the morning, followed where 
appropriate by an afternoon session to focus on individual sector 
issues.
    All participants are requested to register for the free meeting at 
the NORA Web page or onsite the day of the meeting. Participants 
wishing to speak are encouraged to register early. The public meetings 
are open to everyone, including all workers, professional societies, 
organized labor, employers, researchers, health professionals,

[[Page 72639]]

government officials and elected officials. Broad participation is 
desired.
    Purpose: The public meetings will address both regional and sector-
specific priorities for research. During the morning session, 
stakeholders will be invited to speak for 3-5 minutes on an important 
occupational safety and health issue, including those that occur in 
multiple sectors. Where noted in the agenda, the afternoon session will 
focus on sector-specific problems facing the nation. Again, 
participants will be asked to make 3-5 minute presentations describing 
what they perceive to be the top concerns within their sector or sub-
sector. Participants are encouraged to attend both the regional and 
sector-specific sessions, or they may elect to participate in only one 
session.
    Types of occupational safety and health issues might include 
diseases, injuries, exposures, populations at risk, and needs of 
occupational safety and health systems. For example, falls from heights 
might be a top injury issue for the residential construction industry. 
Low back pain and related back disorders might be a top disease concern 
for the urban transit industry. If possible, please include as much 
information as might be useful for understanding the safety or health 
research priority you identify. Such information could include 
characterization of the frequency and severity with which the injury, 
illness, or hazardous exposure is occurring and of the factors you 
believe might be causing the health or safety issue. Input is also 
requested on the types of research that you believe might make a 
difference and the partners (e.g., specific industry associations, 
labor organizations, research organizations, governmental agencies) who 
should be involved in forming research efforts and in solving the 
problem.
    All presentations will be entered into the NORA Docket, which is 
maintained by NIOSH. All comments in the NORA Docket will be used to 
help shape sector-specific and related cross-sector research agendas 
for the nation.
    These events are the first of several public meetings. Additional 
meetings will include April 18-20, 2006, in Washington, DC, for 
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing; Healthcare and Social Assistance; 
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Manufacturing; Mining; Services; Regional 
Issues; and a summary session. Future Federal Register Notices will 
provide more information on these meetings.
    Due to administrative issues that had to be resolved, the Federal 
Register notice is being published on short notice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sid Soderholm, Ph.D., NORA Coordinator, 
(202) 401-0721.

ADDRESSES: Comments may also be e-mailed to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fe9097919d97909a919d959b8abe9d9a9dd0999188"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="06686f69656f686269656d63724665626528616970">[email protected]</span></a>, or 
sent via postal mail to: Docket NIOSH-047, Robert A. Taft Laboratories 
(C-34), 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226.
    Stakeholders are also invited to submit comments electronically at 
the NORA Web page: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora. Comments submitted to 
the Web page by others can also be viewed there.
    The Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, has been 
delegated the authority to sign Federal Register notices pertaining to 
announcements of meetings and other committee management activities, 
for both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

    Dated: November 30, 2005.
Diane Allen,
Acting Director, Management Analysis and Services Office, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-23664 Filed 12-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P


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