Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2006 / Notices 2525 

Dated: January 11, 2006. 

Hratch G. Semerjian, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E6–414 Filed 1–13–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–33–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket 051229349–5349–01] 

Establishment of a Laboratory 

Accreditation Program for Radiation 

Detection Instruments Under National 

Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation 

Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) 

publishes this notice to announce that it 

is establishing an accreditation program 

for laboratories that perform testing of 

radiation detection instruments. This 

program will provide for the 

accreditation of laboratories that test 

radiation detection instruments using 

standards developed by the American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI) and 

the Homeland Security Instrumentation 

(HSI) and Radiation Protection 

Instrumentation (RPI) groups. 

DATES: Laboratories interested in 

seeking accreditation that will allow 

them to be considered for Department of 

Homeland Security recognition should 

contact NVLAP immediately. 

ADDRESSES: National Voluntary 

Laboratory Accreditation Program, 100 

Bureau Drive/MS 2140, Gaithersburg, 

MD 20899–2140. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Betty Ann Torres, Senior Program 

Manager, NVLAP, 100 Bureau Drive/ 

MS2140, Gaithersburg, MD 20899–2140, 

Phone: (301) 975–8446 or e-mail: 

betty.torres@nist.gov. Information 

regarding NVLAP and the accreditation 

process can be viewed at http:// 

www.nist.gov/nvlap. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The United States Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) has requested 

that NIST establish a laboratory 

accreditation program for laboratories 

that test radiation detection instruments 

used in homeland security applications. 

In response to the request by DHS, 

National Voluntary Laboratory 

Accreditation Program (NVLAP) is 

establishing an accreditation program 

for laboratories that test radiation 

detection instruments. 

This notice is issued in accordance 

with the NVLAP procedures and general 

requirements, found in title 15, Part 285 

of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Technical Requirements for the 

Accreditation Process 

NVLAP accreditation criteria are 

established in accordance with the Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR, title 15, 

Part 285), NVLAP Procedures and 

General Requirements. NVLAP is in full 

conformance with the standards of the 

International Organization for 

Standardization (ISO) and the 

International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC), including ISO/IEC 

17025. 

Accreditation is granted to a 

laboratory following successful 

completion of a process, which includes 

submission of an application and 

payment of fees by the laboratory, an 

on-site assessment by technical experts, 

resolution of any deficiencies identified 

during the on-site assessment, and 

participation in proficiency testing. The 

accreditation is formalized through 

issuance of a Certificate of Accreditation 

and Scope of Accreditation. 

NVLAP provides an unbiased, thirdparty evaluation and recognition of 

competence. NVLAP accreditation 

signifies that a laboratory has 

demonstrated that it operates in 

accordance with NVLAP management 

and technical requirements pertaining 

to quality systems; personnel; 

accommodation and environment; test 

and calibration methods; equipment; 

measurement traceability; sampling; 

handling of test and calibration items; 

and test and calibration reports. 

NVLAP accreditation does not imply 

any guarantee (certification) of 

laboratory performance or test/ 

calibration data. NVLAP accreditation is 

a finding of laboratory competence. 

PRA Clearance 

This action contains a collection of 

information requirements subject to 

review and approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 

1995. Collection activities for National 

Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation 

Program are currently approved by the 

OMB under control number 0693–0003. 

Notwithstanding any other provision of 

the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with a collection of information unless 

it displays a currently valid OMB 

Control Number. 

Executive Order 12866 

This action has been determined to be 

not significant under Executive Order 

12866. 

Dated: January 10, 2006. 

Hratch G. Semerjian, 

Deputy Director. 

[FR Doc. E6–413 Filed 1–13–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–13–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; StormReady and 

TsunamiReady/StormReady 

Application Forms 

AGENCY: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before March 20, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to Donna Franklin at 

Donna.Franklin@noaa.gov or 301–713–

0090 ext 141. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

StormReady and TsunamiReady are 

voluntary programs offered to provide 

guidance and incentive to officials who 

wish to improve their hazardous 

weather operations. Applicants will use 

the StormReady Application form and 

TsunamiReady/StormReady Application 

form to apply for initial StormReady or 

TsunamiReady/StormReady recognition 

and renewal of that recognition every 

three years. A typical StormReady 

community would use this form 3 times 

every 10 years. The government will use 

the information collected by application 

to determine whether a community has 


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