Archived Material: World Trade Center Expert Technical Review Panel

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Background Documents

To obtain greater input on ongoing efforts to monitor the situation for workers and residents impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center, an expert technical review panel, convened by EPA, was formed to help facilitate the Agency's use of available exposure and health surveillance databases and registries to charsacterize any remaining exposures and risks, identify unmet public health needs, and recommend any steps to further minimize the risks associated with the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks.

News Release on November 2005 WTC Test and Clean Program Plan (November 29, 2005) (PDF, 1pp, 56KB)
Letter from Tim Oppelt (Panel Chair) to WTC Panel members (November 29, 2005) (PDF, 3pp, 201KB)
November 2005 WTC Test and Clean Program Plan (November 29, 2005) (PDF, 32pp, 524KB)

Charge

Review post-cleaning verification sampling in the residential areas included in EPA’s Indoor Air Cleanup to verify re-contamination has not occurred from central heating and air conditioning systems;
Review the World Trade Center Residential Confirmation Cleaning Study which concluded asbestos was an appropriate surrogate in determining risk for other contaminants.

Identify areas where the health registry could be enhanced to allow better tracking of post-exposure risks by workers and residents.
Review and synthesize the ongoing work by the federal, state and local governments and private entities to determine the characteristics of the WTC plume and where it was dispersed, including the geographic extent of EPA and other entities’ monitoring and testing, and recommend any additional evaluations for consideration by EPA and other public agencies.

Operating Principles

The technical expert panel was guided by the following principles:

All meetings of the panel were held in the New York metropolitan area, open to the public (except where the public interest requires otherwise), and announced in advance.
The panel was chaired by an EPA representative, and a non-government member of the panel served as vice chair. The chair consulted with the vice chair in the preparation of all panel documents, including meeting agendas and meeting minutes.
Non-government members of the panel represented themselves and not their respective institutions.
Non-government members of the panel were asked be asked to disclose possible conflicts of interest.
Panel members were asked for their individual comments and recommendations regarding the charge. There was no attempt to reach consensus or to develop group recommendations within the panel which might otherwise stifle individual opinions.
The panel members provided comments and recommendations in writing and verbally at public meetings. They did not make decisions or develop group positions. It was the responsibility of EPA and other appropriate state and local organizations to formulate responses to the individual recommendations.
Ex officio panel members, including the community liaison, received all panel materials in advance of meetings, were able to submit comments and recommendations in writing, and briefly summarize their comments and recommendations verbally at appropriate times during panel meetings.
Detailed minutes of each panel meeting were kept. The minutes included all individual recommendations, whether submitted verbally or in writing.
Panel documents are available on the Web (to the extent technically possible) for public inspection. A public comment period was provided during each meeting. The public also submitted written comments that were considered by the panel members.
Composition of the panel could change as required for the different phases of the charge.
EPA was available to brief members of the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut delegations. The panel chair and interim chair met several times with Senator Clinton's staff and frequently spoke with her staff by phone.