National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee …

                 National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee 

                             National Institute of Standards and Technology



December 20, 2007


The Honorable Bart Gordon
Chairman
Committee on Science and Technology
United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am pleased to submit the 2007 Annual Report of the National Construction Safety Team Advisory
Committee (NCSTAC) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The Committee
serves as NIST's advisor on implementation of the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act
(P.L. 107-231) and our report reflects our views as an independent, private sector body. Because no
new NCST investigations were undertaken in 2007, this letter constitutes our entire report for this past
calendar year.

The Committee met once during 2007 by public teleconference to review the progress to date on the
Dissemination and Technical Assistance Program (DTAP) and the continuing investigation of the
collapse of World Trade Center 7 (WTC 7), the third building included in the NIST study. At this
meeting, the Committee also provided the opportunity to receive comments from the public on the
content of our 2007 Report to Congress. In addition to this full Committee meeting, discussions were
held with the individual members, in their capacity as subject-matter experts, to review the progress on
the WTC 7 investigation. Several technical suggestions were made as well as comments on how the
findings should be transmitted to the architectural, engineering and code bodies during those meetings.

There was one change to the Committee membership in 2007. Dr. Kathleen Tierney, resigned from the
NCSTAC in order to serve on the newly formed Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards
Reduction. As reported last year, both NIST and the Chair have agreed that it would not be efficient to
appoint new members to replace those who resigned or were not re-appointed when their terms expired
until after the WTC investigations are completed. Committee membership can then be determined by
the technical expertise required by any future NCST investigations that are undertaken.

During 2007, NIST staff continued to work with various public sector Codes and Standards
organizations and the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) in effecting construction changes in
the nation's building codes and architectural and structural engineering practice groups. Eight code
changes were adopted for the Supplement to the 2006 International Building Code. Forty-seven
proposals for change responsive to the recommendations of the World Trade Center Investigation have
been received by the International Code Council for consideration during the 2007/2008 code cycle.
Similarly, 17 proposals responsive to the recommendations of the World Trade Center recommendations
are active in the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) process and may result in changes to
NFPA's model codes in the next edition.



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                National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee 

                            National Institute of Standards and Technology



The Committee continues to support full implementation of the NCST Act. Its unique features such as
subpoena power, open communication with the engineering and architectural communities during an
investigation rather than after it is completed and NIST's commitment to support the development of
improved Codes and Standards through DTAP provide a powerful public service. Although not used in
the WTC or Station nightclub investigations (for different reasons), subpoena power provides NIST
leverage in conducting safety team investigations where litigation or political concerns might prevent
access to the disaster site or to necessary forensic evidence and witnesses.

To repeat the comments made in our 2006 report, the Committee is increasingly concerned that
recommendations made in our previous reports to Congress for permanent funding for Safety Team
investigations has not been acted on. Once again, we re-affirm our opinion that NIST cannot effectively
implement its role under the Act unless Congress and the Administration establish sustained annual
support. The Committee strongly believes such sustained funding is justified given the proven impact
and actions the private sector has undertaken as a direct result of NIST findings of the WTC Towers and
Station nightclub investigations. We believe a greater impact will result once the WTC 7 investigation
is completed and the information is released to Code bodies. Therefore, we once again urge Congress to
provide needed support in FY 2008.

Sincerely,




Paul M. Fitzgerald, Chair
National Construction Safety Team Advisory Committee

Robert D. Hanson, Member
Forman A. Williams, Member
David S. Collins, Member
Charles Thornton, Member

Not Participating in the Preparation of This Report: John M. Barsom, Member

cc: The Honorable Ralph M. Hall, Ranking Minority Member
    John Sullivan
    James Turner
    Shyam Sunder (DFO)




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