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The first meeting of the National Construction Safety Team
(NCST) Advisory Committee will be held at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md.,
April 29, 2003.
The
committee’s first
eight prominent building and fire expert members were
announced on March 20, 2003. [Two additional members
were
announced on April 28, 2003].
The committee will advise the NIST director on carrying
out
investigations
of building failures conducted under the authorities of
the NCST Act that became law in October 2002. The act
gives NIST
responsibility for conducting investigations of events
causing building failures that result in or pose the
potential for
substantial loss of life.
This
is largely an organizational
meeting (PDF - requires Adobe
Acrobat) to provide the committee
an opportunity to review NIST’s planned implementation
of the act. The meeting will include a discussion of the
status of NIST’s investigations of the Sept. 11, 2001,
World Trade Center fire and subsequent building collapses
and the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station
nightclub in West
Warwick, R.I. The public will be given the opportunity to
speak to the committee in five-minute time slots, as time
permits, on the NCST implementation and the two investigations.
Written comments also can be provided. To register to speak,
or to provide written comments, contact the NCST Advisory
Committee support office at: NCST Advisory Committee, NIST,
100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8610, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-8610;
fax: (301) 975-6122; e-mail: NCSTAC@nist.gov.
WHEN: April
29, 2003; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE: NIST, Administration Building, Employees Lounge, Gaithersburg,
Md.
A closed portion of the meeting will be held the morning
of April 30.
Due to restrictions on access to NIST, members of the public
planning to attend the meeting must register by contacting
the NCST Advisory Committee support office (see contact information
above) by close of business, April 25, 2003. Reporters should
contact Mat Heyman at (301) 975-2758 or heyman@nist.gov.
Individuals not registered in advance will not be granted
access to the NIST grounds.
As a
non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department’s
Technology Administration, NIST works to develop and promote
measurement, standards and technology to enhance productivity,
facilitate trade and improve the quality of life.
-30-
For
more information on NIST construction safety investigations,
see http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/ncst.htm.
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