RAC Meeting Minutes (September 28, 2000)
Noon-1pm EST
Riverdale, MD
Ten of the member agencies and organizations were represented. An attendee list follows the minutes.
Introductions were made. The group welcomed new representatives from NCTR (Dr. Kodell) and DOD/VSA (Lt. Col. Webb). Wes Long (chair) introduced AAAS Risk Policy Fellow, Audrey Ichida, who will be working on organizing RAC activities over the next year.
Wes Long spoke for Mary Bartholomew, who would like RAC members to visit the CVM (Rockville) to review their upcoming E. faecium risk assessment plans. (Subsequently, during meeting follow up, Oct 19th was settled upon for the site visit date.)
Wes and Audrey proposed that they visit each of the RAC members' home agencies during Oct. and Nov. The purpose of the visits would be to more clearly determine what the individual agency can do for the RAC and what the RAC can do for their agencies. Visits will be as short as 2 hours to review the annual plan and introduce the agency to Dr. Ichida, or as long as a day and include a presentation by Wes and Audrey to a broader audience within the agency to stimulate discussion about the role of the RAC. A calendar was passed around for members to sign up for specific dates.
A proposal from the President's Council on Food Safety for a comparative risk assessment workshop was passed around. This proposal will not be funded due to other urgent funding needs. The RAC discussed reconvening the comparative risk assessment workgroup to write a RAC proposal for public workshop that would educate stakeholders on the techniques and processes of comparative risk. Wes will reconvene the workgroup to discuss options.
RAC members were reminded that the RAC will host a public meeting at the Society for Risk Analysis annual meeting in DC on Dec. 5th (6:30-8pm Tues.). This public meeting will serve as the quarterly meeting. The topic and meeting format still need input from RAC member agencies.
RAC members were also reminded that the RAC is hosting a symposium at the SRA meeting in the afternoon of Dec. 5th. The agenda has been set already.
The following quarterly RAC meeting is scheduled for March 6th, 2001.
In attendance:
Wes Long (chair)
Jerry Gillespie (JIFSR)
Tina Rouse (FDA)
Eileen Choffnes (EPA/OPPTS)
Audrey Ichida
Joe Wells (ORACBA)
Emilio Esteban-Vaz (CDC)
Robert Webb (VSA/DoD)
Steve Schaub (EPA/OW)
Dennis Lang (NIH)
Ralph Kodell (NCTR)
Angelo Turturro (NCTR)
Tom Oscar (ARS)
