[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27317-27318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13484]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8914-1; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0178]


Draft Toxicological Review of Pentachlorophenol: In Support of 
the Summary Information in the Integrated Risk Information System 
(IRIS)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of listening session.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a listening session to be held on June 24, 
2009, during the public comment period for the external review draft 
document entitled, ``Toxicological Review of Pentachlorophenol: In 
Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information 
System (IRIS).'' The EPA's draft assessment and peer review charge are 
available via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's (NCEA) home page under the Recent Additions and 
Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

DATES: The listening session on the draft IRIS health assessment for 
pentachlorophenol will be held on June 24, 2009, beginning at 1 p.m. 
and ending at 4 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time. If you wish to make a 
presentation at the listening session, you should register by June 17, 
2009, and indicate that you wish to make oral comments at the session, 
and indicate the length of your presentation. At the time of your 
registration, please indicate if you require audio-visual aid (e.g., 
lap top and slide projector). In general, each presentation should be 
no more than 30 minutes. If, however, there are more requests for 
presentations than the allotted time will allow, then the time limit 
for each presentation will be adjusted accordingly. A copy of the 
agenda for the listening session will be available at the meeting. If 
no speakers have registered by June 17, 2009, the listening session 
will be cancelled. EPA will notify those registered to attend of the 
cancellation.
    The public comment period for review of this draft assessment was 
announced previously in the Federal Register (FR) (74 FR 21362) on May 
7, 2009. As stated in that FR notice, the public comment period began 
on May 7, 2009, and ends July 6, 2009. Any technical comments submitted 
during

[[Page 27318]]

the public comment period should be in writing and must be received by 
EPA by July 6, 2009, according to the procedures outlined below. Only 
those public comments submitted using the procedures identified in the 
May 7, 2009 FR notice by the July 6, 2009 deadline will be provided to 
the independent peer-review panel prior to the peer-review meeting. The 
date and logistics for the peer-review meeting will be announced later 
in a separate FR notice.
    Listening session participants who wish to have their comments 
available to the external peer reviewers should also submit written 
comments during the public comment period using the detailed and 
established procedures included in the aforementioned FR notice (May 7, 
2009). Comments submitted to the docket prior to the end of the public 
comment period will be submitted to the external peer reviewers and 
considered by EPA in the disposition of public comments. Comments 
received in the docket after the public comment period closes must 
still be submitted to the docket but will not be submitted to the 
external peer reviewers.

ADDRESSES: The listening session on the draft pentachlorophenol 
assessment will be held at the EPA offices at Two Potomac Yard (North 
Building), 7th Floor, Room 7100, 2733 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, 
Virginia 22202. To attend the listening session, register by June 17, 
2009, via e-mail at [email protected] (subject line: 
Pentachlorophenol listening session), by phone: 703-750-3000 x. 316, or 
by faxing a registration request to 703-642-6954 (please reference the 
``Pentachlorophenol Listening Session'' and include your name, title, 
affiliation, full address and contact information). Please note that to 
gain entrance to this EPA building to attend the meeting, attendees 
must have photo identification with them and must register at the 
guard's desk in the lobby. The guard will retain your photo 
identification and will provide you with a visitor's badge. At the 
guard's desk, attendees should give the name Christine Ross and the 
telephone number, 703-347-8592, to the guard on duty. The guard will 
contact Ms. Ross who will meet you in the reception area to escort you 
to the meeting room. Upon your exit from the building please return 
your visitor's badge and you will receive the photo identification that 
you provided.
    A teleconference line will also be available for registered 
attendees/speakers. The teleconference number is 866-299-3188 and the 
access code is 7033478503, followed by the pound sign (). The 
teleconference line will be activated at 12:45 p.m., and you will be 
asked to identify yourself and your affiliation at the beginning of the 
call.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA 
welcomes the attendance of the public at the ``Pentachlorophenol 
Listening Session'' and will make every effort to accommodate persons 
with disabilities. For information on access or services for 
individuals with disabilities, please contact Christine Ross at 703-
347-8592 or [email protected]. To request accommodation of a 
disability, please contact Ms. Ross, preferably at least 10 days prior 
to the meeting, to give EPA as much time as possible to process your 
request.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public 
listening sessions, please contact Christine Ross, IRIS Staff, National 
Center for Environmental Assessment, (8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-
8592; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail: [email protected]. If 
you have questions about the draft pentachlorophenol assessment, 
contact Catherine Gibbons, IRIS Staff, National Center for 
Environmental Assessment, (8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-603-0704; facsimile: 703-347-
8689; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the listening session is to 
allow all interested parties to present scientific and technical 
comments on draft IRIS health assessments to EPA and other interested 
parties during the public comment period and prior to the external peer 
review meeting. EPA welcomes the scientific and technical comments that 
will be provided to the Agency by the listening session participants. 
The comments will be considered by the Agency as it revises the draft 
assessment in response to the independent external peer review and 
public comments. All presentations will become part of the official and 
public record. IRIS is a database that contains potential adverse human 
health effects information that may result from chronic (or lifetime) 
exposure to specific chemical substances found in the environment. The 
database (available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/iris) 
contains qualitative and quantitative health effects information for 
more than 540 chemical substances that may be used to support the first 
two steps (hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of a 
risk assessment process. When supported by available data, the database 
provided oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference 
concentrations (RfCs) for chronic health effects, and oral slope 
factors and inhalation unit risks for carcinogenic effects. Combined 
with specific exposure information, government and private entities can 
use IRIS data to help characterize public health risks of chemical 
substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support risk 
management decisions designed to protect public health.

    Dated: May 29, 2009.
Rebecca M. Clark,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E9-13484 Filed 6-8-09; 8:45 am]
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