National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee 

National Institute of Standards & Technology 

The Honorable Carlos M. Guttierez 

Secretary of Commerce 

Washington, DC 20230 

Dear Mr. Secretary: 

I am pleased to submit the 2006 Annual Report of the National Construction Safety Team Advisory 

Committee (NCSTAC) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Committee 

serves as NIST’s advisor on implementation of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act 

(P.L. 107-231) and our report reflects our views as an independent, private sector body. Because no 

new NCST investigations were undertaken in 2006, this letter report constitutes our entire report for this 

year. 

The Committee met once during 2006 by public teleconference to review the progress to date on the 

Dissemination and Technical Assistance Program (DTAP) and the proposed plans for continuing the 

investigation of the collapse of World Trade Center 7 (WTC 7), the third building involved in the 

September 11, 2001 disaster and to receive comments from the public on the content of the Committee’s 

2006 Report to Congress. 

Two Committee members resigned during the year reducing membership to seven individuals. In 

discussion with the then-Director of the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL), the Chair 

agreed that new appointees would not be considered until after the completion of the WTC 7 

investigation and/or the beginning of a new safety team investigation where specific technical expertise 

was required. All other Committee members whose terms were expiring accepted reappointment. 

The investigation of the collapse of the two towers, WTC 1 and WTC 2, were completed and presented 

to the public in the late summer of 2005. Since then, in accordance with the plans developed three years 

ago under DTAP, NIST staff have been working with various public sector Codes and Standards 

organizations and the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) in affecting construction changes in 

the nation’s building codes and architectural and structural engineering practice groups. 

The Committee believes that the NCST Act’s unique features such as subpoena power, open 

communication with the engineering and architectural communities during an investigation and the 

commitment to support the development of improved Codes and Standards through DTAP provide a 

powerful public service. Although not used in the WTC or Station nightclub investigations (for different 

reasons), subpoena power can provide NIST leverage in conducting safety team investigations where 

litigation or political concerns might prevent access to the disaster site or to necessary forensic evidence 

and witnesses. Perhaps more significantly, Safety Team investigations to date have stirred early, open 

public discussions on both the WTC and Station investigations. Many improvements were made to 
National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee 

National Institute of Standards and Technology

existing codes and standards even before the investigations were concluded. Subsequent to the release 

of the final investigation reports, wide-ranging reviews have been undertaken of significant engineering, 

architectural, safety and fire protection practices with promising results. 

The Committee remains concerned that several of the recommendations made in its previous Reports to 

Congress for permanent funding for Safety Team investigations has not been acted on. The Committee 

re-affirms its opinion that NIST cannot effectively implement its role under the Act unless Congress and 

the Administration establish sustained support. The Committee strongly believes sustained funding is 

justified given the proven impact and actions the private sector has undertaken as a direct result of NIST 

findings of the WTC Tower and Station nightclub investigations and urges Congress to provide such 

support in FY 2007. 

 

Sincerely, 

Paul M. Fitzgerald, Chair 

National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee 

John M. Barsom, Member 

Robert D. Hanson, Member 

Forman A. Williams, Member 

Committee Members Not Participating in the Drafting of this Report 

David S. Collins, Member 

Kathleen J. Tierney, Member 

Charles Thornton, Member 

cc: D. Sampson 

R. Cresanti 

W. Jeffrey 

S. Sunder (DFO) 

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