[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 237 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65775-65776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29594]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9091-1; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2009-0791]
Draft Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene: 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 January
12, 2010, during the public comment period for the external review
draft document entitled, ``Toxicological Review of Trichloroethylene:
In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information
System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-09/011A). The draft document was prepared by
the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within the
EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD). This listening session
is a step in EPA's revised IRIS process, announced on May 21, 2009, to
develop human health assessments for inclusion in the IRIS database.
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 before the external peer review meeting. The public
comment period and the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) peer-review
workshop, which will be scheduled at a later date and announced in the
Federal Register, are separate processes. 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
submitted in accordance with the instructions below will become part of
the official public record.
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
trichloroethylene will be held on January 12, 2010, beginning at 9 a.m.
and ending at 4 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. If you want to make a
presentation at the listening session, you should register by January
5, 2010, indicate that you wish to make oral comments at the session,
and indicate the length of your presentation. When you register, please
indicate if you will need 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 allows, then the time limit for each presentation
will be adjusted. A copy of the agenda for the listening session will
be available at the meeting. If no speakers have registered by January
5, 2010, the listening session will be cancelled and EPA will notify
those registered of the cancellation.
The public comment period for review of this draft assessment was
announced previously in the Federal Register (FR) (74 FR 56834) on
November 3, 2009. As stated in that FR notice, the public comment
period began on November 3, 2009, and ends February 1, 2010. Any
technical comments submitted during the public comment period should be
in writing and must be received by EPA by February 1, 2010. Only those
public comments submitted using the procedures identified in the
November 3, 2009, FR notice by the February 1, 2010, deadline will be
provided to the peer-review panel prior to the SAB peer-review
workshop. The date and logistics for the SAB peer-review meeting will
be announced later in a separate FR notice.
Listening session participants who want EPA to share their comments
with 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 of November 3,
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. All comments
must be submitted to the docket, but comments received after the public
comment period closes will not be submitted to the external peer
reviewers.
ADDRESSES: The listening session on the draft trichloroethylene
assessment will be held at the EPA offices at Potomac Yard North, Room
4830N, 2733 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia, 22202. To attend
the listening session, register by Tuesday, January 5, 2010, via the
internet at https://www2.ergweb.com/projects/conferences/peerreview/register-tce.htm. You may also register by e-mail at [email protected]
(subject line: Trichloroethylene Listening Session), by phone: 781-674-
7374 or toll free at 800-803-2833 (ask for Laurie Stamatatos), or by
faxing a registration request to 781-674-2906 (please reference the
``Trichloroethylene 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. When you leave the building, please return
your visitor's badge to the guard and you will receive your photo
identification.
A teleconference line will also be available for registered
attendees/speakers. The teleconference number is 866-299-3188 and the
access code is 926-378-7897, followed by the pound sign ().
The teleconference line will be activated at 8:45 a.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 public attendance at the ``Trichloroethylene Listening
Session'' and will make every effort to accommodate persons with
disabilities.
[[Page 65776]]
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 trichloroethylene assessment,
contact Weihsueh Chiu, National Center for Environmental Assessment,
(8601P), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: 703-347-8607; facsimile: 703-347-8689; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 provides 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.
This listening session is a step in EPA's revised process,
announced on May 21, 2009, for development of human health assessments
for inclusion on IRIS. The updated process is posted on the IRIS home
page at http://www.epa.gov/iris.
Dated: December 1, 2009.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. E9-29594 Filed 12-10-09; 8:45 am]
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