CPSC Announces Appointments To Advisory Committees

WASHINGTON, D. C. (Oct. 4) -- The Commission today announced the appointment of 27 new members to three of the Commission's advisory panels -- the Product Safety Advisory Council, the Technical Advisory Committee on Poison Prevention Packaging, and the National Advisory Committee for the Flammable Fabrics Act.

The new appointees were chosen to represent consumers, industry and government, and will serve on the advisory panels for two years, through June 30, 1981.

The Product Safety Advisory Council provides the Commission with advice on general policies as well as approaches to particular issues and problems related to product safety.

Eight new members have been appointed to this Council, a 15- member group comprised of five consumer representatives, five industry representatives and five government representatives.

The three new consumer representatives are:

Barbara W. Bitters, Richmond, Virginia; member of the Virginia Citizen Consumer Council and co-founder of Consumer Congress.

Robert B. Choate, Washington, D.C.; president of the Council on Children, Media and Merchandising. Mr. Choate is currently a fellow at Harvard University's Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.

Suedeen Gibbons Kelly, Albuquerque, New Mexico; self-employed attorney in private and public interest practice. Ms. Kelly's work includes state and federal practice in consumer, natural resources and energy law.

The three new government representatives are:

Robert H. Berntsen, Santa Fe, New Mexico; State of New Mexico construction industries division.

Kathie Mabie-Klass, Santa Cruz, California; consumer affairs coordinator, Santa Cruz County, consumer affairs division of the District Attorney's office.

Philip S. Stern, Boulder, Colorado; director of Environmental Affairs and investigator-engineer in consumer affairs, District Attorney's office.

The two new industry representatives are:

John E. Jones, Danville, Virginia; vice president of Engineering and Research, Disston, Inc., a manufacturer of hand tools and cordless power tools.

Jean C. Zehner, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; vice president of Consumer Affairs, the May Department Stores Co.

The Technical Advisory Committee on Poison Prevention Packaging provides the Commission with advice on the administration of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. Eight new representatives have been appointed to this committee, an 18-member panel composed of eight consumer representatives, eight industry representatives, one representative appointed by the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and one representative appointed by the Secretary of Commerce.

The five new consumer representatives are:

C. Allen Bradley, Ph.D., Little Rock, Arkansas: Professor of Pharmacology and director of Arkansas Poison and Drug Information Center, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Nancy I. Hungerford, Ph.D., Ft. Collins, Colorado; Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Sciences and Housing, Colorado State University.

Lalitha Murthy, Ph.D., Cincinnati, Ohio; Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Gary M. Oderda, Ph.D., Baltimore, Maryland; director of Maryland Poison Information Center.

Terry Trudeau, R.Ph., Normal, Illinois; director of Department of Pharmacy Services, Brokaw Hospital.

The three new industry representatives are:

John F. Georgal, Ada, Michigan; manager of home care products, Amway Corporation, a manufacturer of household substances.

Roger P. Maickel, Ph.D., Lafayette, Indiana; Professor and department head, Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences, Purdue University.

Noel T. Vander, Nashua, New Hampshire; manager of research and development, Brockway Glass Company, Inc., a manufacturer of special packaging.

The National Advisory Committee for the Flammable Fabrics Act provides advice to the Commission on flammability standards and regulations. Eleven new representatives have been appointed to this committee, a ZO-member group comprised of 10 consumer representatives and 10 industry representatives.

The six new consumer representatives are:

Claudia P. Beville, Charlottesville, Virginia; regional coordinator of Textile Flammability/Victim Behavior Burn Study, University of Virginia Burn Center.

Gordon H. Damant, North Highlands, California; chief of the Bureau of Home Furnishings, Department of Consumer Affairs, State of California.

Elizabeth McCullough, Ph.D., Manhattan, Kansas; Assistant Professor, Department of Clothing, Textiles and Interior Design, Kansas State University.

Andrew McGuire, San Francisco, California: executive director, Northern California Burn Council, San Francisco General Hospital.

John L. Ruffins, New York, New York; liaison officer to Community Planning Boards, New York City Fire Department.

J. W. Weaver, Ph.D., Newark, Delaware; Professor of Textiles and Fiber Science, College of Human Resources, University of Delaware.

The five new industry representatives are:

Frank O. Beumel, Jr., Ph.D., Granville, Ohio; manager of the Mechanical Operating Division and Life Safety Laboratory, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation.

Lawrence P. Cox, San Francisco, California: director of Risk Management, Joseph Magnin Company, Inc.

Alvin D. Delman, Woodbury, New York; manager of Testing Services, The Wool Bureau, Inc.

Gabriel A. Falla, New York, New York; divisional vice president, Bureau of Standards, Associated Merchandising Corporation.

Billy B. Hibbard, Ph.D., Williamsburg, Virginia; senior research chemist, Badische Corporation.

Additional information about the Advisory Committees may be obtained from CPSC's Office of the Secretary, 1111 18th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20207, or by calling 202/634-7700.