Toxmap and Toxnet Shutdown Records
| Tracking # |
53285 |
| Submitted | Dec. 15, 2019 |
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Communications
From: Michael Morisy
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
This is a request for records from the National Library of Medicine under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
First, I request a copy of memos, reports, studies, and other documents regarding the shutdown/discontinuance of TOXMAP and TOXNET during calendar year 2019.
Second, I also request any analyses or studies regarding the proposal and/or decision to shutdown/discontinuance of TOXMAP and TOXNET during calendar year 2019.
Third, I also request a copy of any correspondence with NIH Office of the Director, HHS Office of the Secretary or the White House regarding TOXMAP and TOXNET during calendar year 2019.
Fourth, I also request a copy of any correspondence with EPA regarding TOXMAP and TOXNET during calendar year 2019.
Fifth and Finally, I also request the results of an electronic search for any emails (TO, FROM or CC) within the email accounts of the following specified individuals that include the word TOXMAP OR the word TOXNET during the time period January 1, 2019 to the present:
Dr. Patricia Flatley Brennan, Director
Jerry Sheehan, Deputy Director
Dr. Milton Corn, Deputy Director for Research and Education
Dr. Dina Paltoo, Assistant Director for Policy Development
Dr. Michael F. Huerta, Office of Strategic Initiatives
IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT
Todd Danielson, Associate Director - Office of Administrative Management
IN THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC LIAISON
Jody Nurik, Director, Office of Communications and Public Liaison
IN THE DIVISION OF LIBRARY OPERATIONS
Joyce Backus, Associate Director
IN THE (FORMER) OFFICE OF SPECIALIZED INFORMATION SERVICES DIVISION (search the accounts of those individuals, even if now in different positions)
Dr. Steven J. Phillips, MD, (former) Associate Director
Gale A. Dutcher, (former) Deputy Associate Director
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Michael Morisy
From: National Library Of Medicine, National Institute Of Health
Good afternoon,
Please see your attached interim letter acknowledging receipt of your FOIA request.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Elisabeth
Elisabeth West
Government Information Specialist
NIH/NHLBI/FOIA Service Center
Rockledge One, Suite 6054
elisabeth.west@nih.gov<mailto:elisabeth.west@nih.gov>
301-496-9737 (FOIA Main Line)
301-827-6259 (Direct Line)
From: National Library Of Medicine, National Institute Of Health
Dear Mr. Morisy,
We would like to provide an update on your NIH FOIA Request 53285 (attached). We have searched for records responsive to your request and after initial review of the items as described, reached a total of over 9,000 pages for the time frame provided. If you would like to discuss and narrow the scope your request, please contact me and we can discuss ways to narrow or reduce the volume for faster processing.
For now, due to the Unusual Circumstances of voluminous documents totaling over 9,000 and the need to consult within the agency with at least two components, we are unable to process your requests in the statutory required 20 working days and will need an extension of 10 working days.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss reformulation or an alternative time frame for the processing of your request, you may contact me, the FOIA Public Liaison (Marianne Manheim), at 301-496-9737 or the NIH FOIA Office at 301-496-5633, or you may respond to this email. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov<mailto:ogis@nara.gov>; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.
Thank you,
Elisabeth
From: National Library Of Medicine, National Institute Of Health
Good afternoon,
After retrieving all responsive records and de-duplicating, the exact page count of responsive records for the request as written is 10,855. The vast majority of these emails are not substantive as it pertains to the sunsetting and or operation of TOXNET/MAP. It will take a very long time to get this done because not only do I have to review them there will be some emails that I need NLM to review as subject matter experts.
I have no records that are responsive to items 3 and 4; so I wanted to check in with you about any additional keywords or narrowing that can be done. Perhaps only emails that are actually about TOXNET/MAP not just emails that mention them? If we keep the request as it is I would like to work with you for a rolling release schedule. I think at a minimum we can get this request done in a year but again it depends on NLM's review. At this time I don't anticipate having to send any records to the NIH FOIA Office for release to you but if that is the case once I finish, it would be sent to OD for final response and enter their backlog.
The first requester was agreeable to narrowing to only records about TOXNET/MAP.
Currently this request is only being responded to by NLM as it was sent directly to NLM. There are also several articles and technical bulletins produced by NLM online that explain how all of the resources are still out there just moved to different pages.
The NLM Press/Communications Office is always available for questions about NLM and this particular issue.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
Thank you,
Elisabeth
From: National Library Of Medicine, National Institute Of Health
Good afternoon,
I am ready to release these records to you, however, I need to know if you agree to exclude meeting passcodes and personal information from the requested material.
Thank you,
Elisabeth
From: National Library Of Medicine, National Institute Of Health
Good morning,
I have not heard from you regarding the below.
One of the requesters, who asked for the exact same records as you, has posted them online at: https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/toxmap-environmental-health-maps/.
Since, this information has been released in the public domain and I have not heard back from you I will be administratively closing your request.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Elisabeth
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