15 U.S.C. § 2077 — Chronic Hazard Advisory Panels

(a) Appointment; purposes The Commission^* must appoint Chronic Hazard Advisory Panels (later in this section referred to as the Panel or Panels) to advise the Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 2080(b) of this title respecting the chronic hazards of cancer, birth defects, and gene mutations associated with consumer products.

(b) Composition; membership Each Panel must consist of 7 members appointed by the Commission from a list of nominees who must be nominated by the President of the National Academy of Sciences from scientists—

(1) who are not officers or employees of the United States (other than employees of the National Institutes of Health, the National Toxicology Program, or the National Center for Toxicological Research), and who do not receive compensation from or have any substantial financial interest in any manufacturer^*, distributor^*, or retailer^* of a consumer product^*; and

(2) who have demonstrated the ability to critically assess chronic hazards and risks to human health presented by the exposure of humans to toxic substances or as demonstrated by the exposure of animals to such substances. The President of the National Academy of Sciences must nominate for each Panel a number of individuals equal to three times the number of members to be appointed to the Panel.

(c) Chairman and Vice Chairman; election; term The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Panel must be elected from among the members and must serve for the duration of the Panel.

(d) Majority vote Decisions of the Panel must be made by a majority of the Panel.

(e) Administrative support services The Commission must provide each Panel with such administrative support services as it may require to carry out its duties under section 2080 of this title .

(f) Compensation A member of a Panel appointed under subsection

(a) must be paid at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS–18 of the General Schedule for each day (including traveltime) during which the member is engaged in the actual performance of the duties of the Panel.

(g) Requests for and disclosures of information Each Panel must request information and disclose information to the public, as provided in subsection

(h), only through the Commission.

(h) Information from other Federal departments and agencies

(1) despite any statutory restriction on the authority of agencies and departments of the Federal Government to share information, such agencies and departments must provide the Panel with such information and data as each Panel, through the Commission, may request to carry out its duties under section 2080 of this title . Each Panel may request information, through the Commission, from States, industry and other private sources as it may require to carry out its responsibilities.

(2) Section 2055 of this title must apply to the disclosure of information by the Panel but must not apply to the disclosure of information to the Panel.