The
Commerce Department's National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will hold
a public meeting in New York City on June 24, 2002, as part
of the effort to gather comments and suggestions related
to the scope of its pending building and fire safety investigation
of the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster that followed the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The
pending NIST investigation will include the building construction,
the materials used and the technical conditions that contributed
to the outcome of the WTC disaster.
The
meeting—rescheduled from April 22, 2002—will be
held at the Marriott New York East Side Hotel, located at
525 Lexington Ave. in New York City from 8 a.m. until 4
p.m. (See
agenda)
Individuals
and representatives of organizations who would like to offer
comments and suggestions related to the scope of the pending
NIST investigation are invited to request a place on the
agenda. The number of requests will determine the total
number of speakers and organizations, and the time available
for each. The time for each presentation is likely to be
5 to 10 minutes.
A draft
of the proposed NIST investigation plan with details on
its scope will be made available June 10, 2002, on the Web
site http://wtc.nist.gov.
A review of the recently completed World Trade Center Building
Performance Study: Data Collection, Preliminary Observations,
and Recommendations sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) and led by the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE) may be useful in formulating comments and suggestions.
This report may be found at www.fema.gov/library/wtcstudy.htm.
To
request an opportunity to speak, NIST must receive the following
information via e-mail (wtc@nist.gov)
or fax (301-975-6122) no later than 5 p.m. on June 17, 2002:
Those
who are selected to speak—based on criteria posted
in a Federal
Register notice (requires Acrobat
Reader, a free download if not already installed on
your system) of June 5, 2002—will be contacted by noon
on June 19, 2002, using the contact information provided.
Speakers
who wish to expand upon their oral statements, those who
wish to speak but cannot be accommodated on the agenda,
and those who are unable to attend in person are invited
to submit written statements and supporting material to:
Regular
Mail
The
WTC Technical Information Repository
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
NIST
MS 8610
Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8610
Electronic
Mail
wtc@nist.gov
Fax
(301)
975-6122.
Statements
made at the meeting and/or submitted to NIST may be recorded,
transcribed and made available to the public at a later
date. The meeting will be audio Webcast and linked to the
NIST home page, www.nist.gov.
Details will be available on that Web site before the meeting.
As
a non-regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce's
Technology Administration, NIST develops and promotes measurements,
standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate
trade, and improve the quality of life.
