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Appendix A Statement of Task NHSRC SAFE BUILDINGS PROGRAM Over the next three years, the EPA National Home- land Security Research Center' s (NHSRC) Safe Build- ings Program will provide research and technical assistance on methods, technologies, equipment and tools needed to protect built structures from threats and deliberate attacks of biological warfare agents, chemi- cal warfare agents, and toxic industrial chemicals. The Safe Buildings Program has created a Research Implementation Plan aimed at investigating contain- ment, analysis, and decontamination issues relating to chemical and biological warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals. The Research Implementation Plan is designed to consider the universe of building protection and de- contamination needs (as best understood at the present time), identify the highest priority needs for immediate action, and how best to accomplish those needs. This likely will mean that numerous high priority needs are best addressed by another federal agency, the private industry, or the emergency response community and this organization will be instrumental in meeting these needs. Each task will be addressed in a short (20 page) report discussing the issues outlined below. The charge of the committee will be to review and comment in response to the following questions: 25 · From the expert committee's viewpoint, has the Research Implementation Plan completely and accurately identified important issues and needs in the buildings security arena? If the answer is no, what issues and needs should be added? From the expert committee' s viewpoint, are the needs accurately prioritized and sequenced within the issues? If the answer is no, what would be recommended as adjustments and why is this the case? · From the expert committee' s viewpoint, are the projects recommended for funding over the next three years under each need appropriately sequenced to move to the ultimate product or products identified in the Appendix? If the answer is no, what would the committee recom- mend as adjustments and why is this the case? · Overall, from the expert committee's viewpoint, what changes to the RIP would be recommended to improve its presentation in terms of content and structure so as to more clearly convey the build- ings security research and technical support pro- gram that is described?