New Reporting Requirements for 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Awards Funding available through the ARRA is a great opportunity. TEES Research Services is ready to assist you in this effort, as well as keep you up to date on the latest requirements. Please be advised that a higher level of reporting is now required on current and future projects funded by ARRA. The following is a list of some of the mandatory information required for all prime and sub recipients:
• Project description and status
• Number of jobs retained or created as a result of this funding
• Names and salaries of the top 5 officers of each prime and sub recipient entity
• Vendor name and a description of items for all purchases $25,000 or more
For questions, assistance and additional information, please contact your proposal administrator or email Kay Ison in the TEES Data Analysis Office at k-ison@tamu.edu.
EPA tightens safety provisions for nanotech workers
On Wednesday, June 24, EPA established a new federal rule that requires nanotechnology workers exposed to carbon nanotubes to use respirators and wear protective clothing. The new direct final rule will go into effect Aug. 24, 2009.
Under the new rule, EPA designated 23 chemical substances as a “significant new use” under a provision of the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. The rule requires companies manufacturing, importing or processing any of the 23 substances to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing the activity.
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In the November issue of funding ActiviTEES you learned about Dr. J. Reece Roth, a retired engineering professor from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Roth was found guilty on 18 counts of conspiracy, fraud and violating the Arms Export Control Act. At the time of our first article Dr. Roth was awaiting sentencing for his crimes. Update…
July 1, 2009 Dr. Roth was sentenced to four years in prison for the export of “fifteen different ‘defense articles’ to a citizen of the People’s Republic of China.” U.S. Attorney Russ Dedrick stated “This case should send a stern warning to those who would betray the trust of our nation by violating the export control laws by providing our military information to foreign nationals.”
At TEES we realize that compliance issues can seem to get in the way of research. But please remember that the research administrators and compliance officials are working to not only keep TEES in compliance with federal regulations but also to protect you, the researcher. If you have any questions regarding Export Control contact Sean Rubino, TEES Compliance Officer at srubino@tamu.edu or (979) 458-7652.
For more information on Dr. Roth’s case visit:
http://www.fulbright.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=publications.detail&pub_id=3985&site_id=494&detail=yes
In last month’s issue of funding ActiviTEES we reported the need for Hazardous Materials Training before transporting, shipping, receiving, handling or storing hazardous materials.
You might not be aware of the other safety training classes that are available on our Engineering SafetyNet web site at http://engineering.tamu.edu/safety/. Just click on the “Training” menu to see the list of available environmental health and safety training courses, including: (more…)
Acronym: noun [ak-ruh-nim] a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words.Here are a few acronyms in frequent use at TEES (more…)
Starting January 1, 2009, the Human Subjects’ Protection Program (HSPP) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Texas A&M University will no longer accept the combination of VPR and NIH training. The only training accepted will be the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) course. All new Initial Review or Continuing Review applications will not be reviewed without submission of a CITI completion report.
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When preparing a proposal and throughout the life of a project compliance issues can seem to get in the way of research. But it is important to know that the research administrators and compliance officials are working to not only keep TEES in compliance with federal regulations but also to protect the researchers.
On September 3, 2008 Dr. J. Reece Roth, an ex-engineering professor, from the University of Tennessee was found guilty on 18 counts of conspiracy, fraud and violating the Arms Export Control Act. According to the Associated Press Dr. Roth is now facing up to 160 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines. The AP goes on to say that this is “the first time the government used the Arms Export Control Act to crack down on the distribution of restricted data, not hardware, to foreigners in a university setting.”
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A HAZARD is anything with the potential to cause harm. RISK is the probability of a negative outcome from exposure to a hazard. A substance is defined as HAZARDOUS if it has one or more of the following characteristics: flammable, explosive, toxic, or reactive.
Also, substances are defined as HAZARDOUS if they are specifically listed by regulation; for example: OSHA, EPA, and DOT publish lists of materials deemed hazardous.
The six (6) main HAZARD CATEGORIES are: 
- Physical Hazards
- Chemical Hazards
- Biological Hazards
- Radiological Hazards
- Ergonomic Hazards
- Behavioral Hazards
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The first issue of the Human Subjects’ Herald, a publication of the Human Subjects’ Protection Program and the Institutional Review Board, is now complete and published on the program’s website. Each bi-monthly issue can be found at http://researchcompliance.tamu.edu/irb under the “HSPP Newsletter” section.
The main goal of the Human Subjects’ Herald is to emphasize the importance of research compliance. Each issue will address common concerns, frequently asked questions, helpful tools, etc. Important dates and new training requirements will also be communicated through the newsletter, in addition to on the program’s website.
Investigators are encouraged to read each issue of the Human Subjects’ Herald before submitting an application to better understand the processes of compliance at Texas A&M University.
You may contact Melissa McIlhaney at (979) 458-4067 or at mcilhaney@tamu.edu if you have any questions.
The Human Subjects’ Protection Program (HSPP) and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) will be implementing new training requirements in the coming year. Currently, training through the Division of Research and Graduate Studies and the National Institutes of Health have sufficed for human subjects’ training, but as of January 1, 2009, only the Collaborative Institution Training Initiative (CITI) course will be accepted. Investigators will be required to submit CITI completion with new Initial or Continuing Review Applications.
Also starting January 1st, the CITI refresher course will be implemented. The refresher course is similar to the initial CITI course, but it is more condensed and has more complicated scenarios. The refresher course will be required two years from the date of Investigators’ CITI course completion.
More information about the CITI course can be found on the HSPP/IRB website at http://researchcompliance.tamu.edu/irbunder the “IRB Training”
section.
You may contact Melissa McIlhaney at (979) 458-4067 or at mcilhaney@tamu.eduif you have any questions.
