(a) Establishment; composition; membership; chairman; appointment; vacancies
(1) There is established a task force to be known as the Asbestos Hazards School Safety Task Force (hereinafter in this chapter referred to as "Task Force"). The Task Force shall be composed of ten members, who shall be appointed by the Secretary within 30 days after June 14, 1980, as follows:
(A) One representative of the Department of Education, recommended by the Secretary of Education.
(B) One representative of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(C) One representative of the National Cancer Institute.
(D) One representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, recommended by the Administrator of such agency.
(E) One representative of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
(F) One representative of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, recommended by the Secretary of Labor.
(G) Four representatives from among organizations concerned with education and health.
Members of the Task Force shall be individuals who have knowledge of the medical problems associated with exposure to asbestos, or individuals who are familiar with procedures for the following activities: the containment or removal of asbestos from buildings; the replacement of asbestos materials removed from school buildings with other appropriate building materials; and the restoration of such buildings to conditions comparable to those existing before such containment or removal was carried out.
(2) The Secretary shall designate a chairman of the Task Force from among its members.
(3) Members shall be appointed for the life of the Task Force. Any vacancy in the Task Force shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made.
(b) Meetings; quorum; hearings
(1) The Task Force shall meet, no later than 30 days after the appointment of its members, at the call of the chairman of the Task Force.
(2) Five members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting the business of the Task Force, but a lesser number may hold hearings.
(c) Compensation; travel expenses
(1) Members of the Task Force who are not full-time officers or employees of the Federal Government shall receive compensation at a rate determined by the Secretary, but not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of pay in effect for grade GS–16 of the General Schedule, for each day (including traveltime) during which they are engaged in the performance of the duties of the Task Force.
(2) While away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of the duties of the Task Force, all members of the Task Force shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as persons employed intermittently in the Government service are allowed expenses under section
5703 of title 5.
(d) Availability of Department of Education personnel; use of mails
(1) Upon request of the Task Force, the Secretary shall make available to the Task Force personnel of the Department of Education to assist the Task Force in carrying out its duties.
(2) The Task Force may use the United States mails in the same manner and upon the same conditions as other departments and agencies of the United States.
(e) Duties
The duties of the Task Force shall include—
(1) the compilation of medical, scientific, and technical information explaining—
(A) the health and safety hazards associated with asbestos materials; and
(B) the means of identifying, sampling, and testing materials suspected of emitting asbestos fibers;
(2) the distribution of the information described in paragraph (1) (in any appropriate form such as pamphlets, reports, or instructions) to State educational agencies and to local educational agencies for the purpose of assisting such agencies in carrying out activities described in this chapter;
(3) the review of applications for grants and loans under sections
3604 and 3605 of this title, and the submission to the Secretary of recommendations respecting the approval or disapproval of such applications;
(4) the review of any guidelines established by the Environmental Protection Agency for identifying those schools in which exposure to asbestos fibers constitutes a health problem and for taking appropriate corrective actions at such schools, in order to determine whether any modifications of such guidelines should be recommended to the Secretary under paragraph (5); and
(5) providing the Secretary with assistance in formulating standards and procedures under section
3606 of this title by—
(A) submitting to the Secretary relevant information concerning the results of the review made under paragraph (4) of this subsection; and
(B) recommending such modifications to the guidelines referred to in such paragraph as the Task Force considers appropriate.
In carrying out its duties under this subsection, the Task Force shall avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, duplicating similar activities undertaken by the Environmental Protection Agency.
(f) Termination
The Task Force shall cease to exist at the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date that the authority of the Secretary to make loans under section
3605 of this title has expired.