[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29954-29955]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-4817]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8174-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0134]
A Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental Exposures
to Children
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Peer-Review Workshop.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Eastern Research Group, Inc., an EPA
contractor for external scientific peer review, plans to convene an
independent panel of experts and organize and conduct an external peer
review workshop to review the external review draft document titled,
``A Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental Exposures to
Children'' (EPA/600/R-05/093A). The draft document was prepared by the
National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office
of Research and Development. This document is available on the Internet
at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay/cfm?deid=150263.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination. Eastern Research Group, Inc. invites the
public to register to attend this workshop as observers. In addition,
Eastern Research Group, Inc. invites the public to give oral and/or
provide written comments at the workshop regarding the draft document
under review. The draft document and EPA's peer review charge are
available primarily via the Internet on NCEA's home page under the
Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. On March 14, 2006, EPA announced a 45-day public
comment period on the draft document (71 FR 13125). The public comment
period and the external peer review workshop are separate processes
that provide opportunities for all interested parties to comment on the
document. EPA has provided Eastern Research Group, Inc. with the public
comments EPA received. In preparing a final report, EPA will consider
public comments it received during the public comment period and will
consider the Eastern Research Group, Inc. report of the comments and
recommendations
[[Page 29955]]
from the external peer-review workshop.
DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on June 6, 2006, at
8:30 a.m. and end at Noon on June 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at Hyatt Regency on
Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW. The EPA contractor, Eastern
Research Group, Inc., is organizing, convening, and conducting the peer
review workshop. To attend the workshop, register by May 31, 2006, by
calling Eastern Research Group, Inc. at 781-674-7374, sending a
facsimile to 781-674-2906, or sending an e-mail to [email protected].
You may also register via the Internet at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/ncea/childhra.htm. Members of the public may
attend the workshop as observers, and there will be a limited time for
comments from the public in the afternoon. Please let Eastern Research
Group, Inc. know if you wish to make comments during the workshop.
Space is limited, and reservations will be accepted on a first-come,
first-served basis.
The draft ``A Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental
Exposures to Children'' is available primarily via the Internet on the
National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the
Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of paper copies are available from
the Technical Information Staff, NCEA-W; telephone: 202-564-3261;
facsimile: 202-565-0050. If you are requesting a paper copy, please
provide your name, mailing address, and the document title, ``A
Framework for Assessing Health Risks of Environmental Exposures to
Children''. Copies are not available from Eastern Research Group, Inc.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information,
registration, and logistics for the external peer-review workshop
should be directed to Eastern Research Group, Inc., 100 Hartwell
Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421-3136; telephone: 781-674-7260; facsimile:
781-674-2906; e-mail [email protected].
For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of
Environmental Information Docket; telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile:
202-566-1753; or e-mail: [email protected].
If you need technical information about the document, please
contact Stan Barone Jr., National Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA); telephone: 202-564-3308; facsimile: 202-565-0076; e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Document
Over the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in the
recognition and public health concern for the vulnerability of children
to exposure to environmental agents. Children have unusual patterns of
exposure and have vulnerabilities to chemical agents that are quite
distinct from those of adults, and thus require special consideration
in risk assessment. Children often have disproportionately higher
exposures to certain environmental toxicants because, pound-for-pound
of body weight, children have higher food and water intake and breathe
more air than adults. Metabolic pathways in the young, especially in
the first few months after birth, are immature, and the ability to
detoxify environmental agents is different from that of adults. In
addition, behavior and activity patterns of children often magnify
their exposures. These factors imply that children are likely to have
more substantial exposures than adults to certain environmental agents.
This document attempts to organize and present current knowledge and
practices in a programmatic framework for assessing human health risks
from exposures to environmental agents from prior to conception through
adolescence.
It describes this framework within the current Agency risk
assessment paradigm, and includes problem formulation, analysis and
risk characterization as discrete steps in the process. Moreover, this
document focuses on mode of action as a context for considering the
toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic differences between children and
adults, and considers approaches for risk assessment in the context of
uncertainty and variability in exposure and critical windows of
development.
Dated: May 18, 2006.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 06-4817 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
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