National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee To Hold Second Meeting

The second meeting of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee will be held at the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Md., on Aug. 26-27, 2003.

The committee's 10 building and fire experts advise the NIST director on carrying out investigations of building failures conducted under the authorities of the NCST Act. 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 meeting will provide the committee an opportunity to review NIST's ongoing implementation of the NCST Act and plan for its annual report to Congress on NCST activities. The meeting also 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 meeting will be open to the public. Individuals may 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 [at] nist.gov (NCSTAC[at]nist[dot]gov).