[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 199 (Monday, October 16, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60703-60704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-17098]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8231-2; EPA-HQ-Docket ID No. EPA-ORD-2006-0666]
Approaches To Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden
in the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease
Outbreak Surveillance System; External Review Draft
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of peer-review workshop.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for
external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of
experts and organize and conduct a two-day external peer-review
workshop to review the external review draft document titled,
``Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in
the United States: Uses and Limitations of the Waterborne Disease
Outbreak Surveillance System'' (EPA/600/R-06/069).
On September 15, 2006 (71 FR 54481), EPA announced a 30-day public
comment period for the draft document. The public comment period ends
October 16, 2006. The draft document was prepared by the National
Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of
Research and Development.
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. In addition to consideration by
EPA, all public comments submitted in accordance with this notice will
also be forwarded to
[[Page 60704]]
EPA's contractor for the external peer-review panel prior to the
workshop.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This draft document has not been formally disseminated by
EPA. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any
Agency policy or determination.
Versar, Inc., invites the public to register to attend this
workshop as observers. In addition, Versar, 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. In preparing a final report, EPA intends to
consider Versar, Inc.'s report of the comments and recommendations from
the external peer-review workshop and any public comments that EPA
receives in accordance with this notice.
DATES: The peer-review panel workshop will begin on October 26, 2006,
at 9 a.m. and end on October 27, 2006, at 5 p.m. The second day of the
workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review
panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their
individual comments. On September 15, 2006, EPA announced a thirty-day
public comment period for the draft document, which began September 15,
2006, and ends October 16, 2006 (71 FR 54481). Technical comments
should be in writing and must be received by EPA by October 16, 2006.
For more information on how to submit comments, please refer to the
September 15, 2006, Federal Register notice (71 FR 54481).
ADDRESSES: The peer-review workshop will be held at the U.S. EPA,
Andrew W. Breidenbach Environmental Research Center (AWBERC) Building,
26 West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268. The EPA
contractor, Versar, Inc., is organizing, convening, and conducting the
peer-review workshop. To attend the workshop, register by October 20,
2006, by visiting http://epa.versar.com/waterborne. You can also
register by calling Keith E. Drewes at Versar, Inc. (386) 852-8322,
sending a facsimile to (386) 322-6051, or sending an e-mail to
[email protected].
The draft document, ``Approaches to Estimating the Waterborne
Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and Limitations of
the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System,'' 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-
Cincinnati by telephone: (513) 569-7257 or by facsimile: (513) 569-
7916. If you are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name,
mailing address, and the document title, ``Approaches to Estimating the
Waterborne Disease Outbreak Burden in the United States: Uses and
Limitations of the Waterborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System.''
Copies are not available from Versar, Inc.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding information,
registration, and logistics for the external peer-review workshop
should be directed to Keith E. Drewes of Versar, Inc., via e-mail:
[email protected], telephone: (386) 852-8322, or facsimile: (386)
322-6051.
For information on the public comment period, contact the Office of
Environmental Information Docket by telephone: (202) 566-1752,
facsimile: (202) 566-1753, or e-mail: [email protected].
If you need technical information about the document, please
contact Glenn Rice, National Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA), by telephone: (513) 569-7813, facsimile: (513) 487-2539, or e-
mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary of Information About the Project/Document
Information about waterborne disease outbreaks (WBDOs) in the
United States is voluntarily reported by State, territorial and local
public health agencies to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). CDC and EPA jointly maintain a WBDO database. The
database describes outbreak attributes including, among other things,
the drinking water system deficiency, the etiologic agent, and the
number of individuals who became ill. Underreporting of such events is
assumed but the magnitude of underreporting is unknown.
This draft document presents an approach for estimating the
epidemiologic and economic burden of disease associated with 665 WBDOs
reported in the U.S. between 1971 and 2000. The term disease burden
broadly refers to the magnitude of the impact incurred by society as a
consequence of disease in the community (e.g., decrements in a
population's health or the associated economic effects) and there are
various metrics that can be employed by analysts to quantify burden. In
order to capture some of the benefits of drinking water regulations,
EPA has typically expressed waterborne disease impacts in terms of
epidemiologic and monetary measures; this WBDO burden analysis employs
those same measures. Because not all WBDOs in the United States and
associated cases of illness are reported, the WBDO database on which
this draft document is based is not comprehensive. The extent to which
WBDOs are not recognized is unknown and is not examined in this
analysis. This draft report develops several quantitative sensitivity
analyses to characterize some of the uncertainty in the burden
estimates but does not provide an evaluation of the potential impact of
under- or overreporting of WBDOs or their associated severity
characteristics. The draft report includes recommendations for the
collection and reporting of additional outbreak information that would
improve the usefulness of the WBDO database for future disease burden
estimates.
II. Workshop Information
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 Versar, 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 second day of the
workshop is closed to the public and to EPA so that the peer-review
panel members can consider the draft document and prepare their
individual comments.
Dated: October 10, 2006.
George Alapas,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E6-17098 Filed 10-13-06; 8:45 am]
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