[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49487-49489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20083]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9189-3; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2010-0658]
Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft
document ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant
Spray'' (EPA/600/R-10/081). The document is being issued by the
National Center for Environmental Assessment within EPA's Office of
Research and Development. The draft is intended to serve as part of a
process to help identify and prioritize scientific and technical
information that could be used in conducting comprehensive
environmental assessments of selected nanomaterials. It does not
attempt to draw conclusions regarding potential environmental risks of
nanoscale silver; rather, it aims to identify what is known and unknown
about nanoscale silver to support future assessment efforts.
When finalizing the draft document, EPA intends to consider any
public comments that EPA receives in accordance with this notice.
EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination 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.
The draft document is available via the Internet on the NCEA home
page under the Recent Additions and the Data and Publications menus at
http://www.epa.gov/ncea.
DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins August 13, 2010, and
ends September 27, 2010. Technical comments should be in writing and
must be received by EPA by September 27, 2010.
[[Page 49488]]
ADDRESSES: The draft ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in
Disinfectant Spray'' 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
Deborah Wales, NCEA-RTP, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; phone: (919)
541-4731; facsimile: (919) 541-5078. If you are requesting a paper
copy, please provide your name, your mailing address, and the document
title, ``Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant
Spray.''
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/
courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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].
For technical information, contact Dr. J. Michael Davis, NCEA;
telephone: (919) 541-4162; facsimile: (919) 685-3331; or e-mail:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
Engineered nanoscale materials (nanomaterials) have been described
as having at least one dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers (nm).
They often have novel or unique properties that can arise from their
small size. Like all technological developments, nanomaterials offer
the potential for both benefits and risks. The assessment of such risks
and benefits requires information, but given the nascent state of
nanotechnology, much remains to be learned about the characteristics
and effects of nanomaterials. The draft document ``Nanomaterial Case
Study: Nanoscale Silver in Disinfectant Spray'' is intended to
highlight what is known and unknown about nanoscale silver (nano-Ag) as
part of a process to identify and prioritize information gaps relevant
to assessing the broad environmental implications, including potential
ecological as well as human health impacts, of nanomaterials.
The complex properties of various nanomaterials make it difficult
to evaluate them in the abstract or with generalizations. Thus, this
document focuses on a specific example of nano-Ag in disinfectant spray
products. This ``case study'' does not represent a completed or even a
preliminary assessment; rather, it uses an assessment framework known
as comprehensive environmental assessment (CEA), which starts with the
product life cycle but encompasses fate and transport processes in
various environmental media, exposure-dose characterization, and
ecological and health effects, as well as other direct and indirect
ramifications of both primary and secondary substances or stressors
associated with a nanomaterial. The CEA approach is both a framework
and a process; the latter aspect employs a collective judgment process
that will be the subject of a future announcement.
Previous EPA case studies focused on nanoscale titanium dioxide
used in drinking water treatment and in topical sunscreen (U.S. EPA.
Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water
Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen (External Review Draft). U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/057,
2009, available at: http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=210206).
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at http://www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD 2010-
0658, by one of the following methods:
http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1753.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, Room 3334 EPA West Building, 1301
Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center's Public
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public
Reading Room is 202-566-1744. Such deliveries are only accepted during
the docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should
be made for deliveries of boxed information.
If you provide comments by mail or hand delivery, please submit
three copies of the comments. For attachments, provide an index, number
pages consecutively with the comments, and submit an unbound original
and three copies.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2010-0658. Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the
specified comment period. Comments received after the closing date will
be marked ``late,'' and may only be considered if time permits. It is
EPA's policy to include all comments it receives in the public docket
without change and to make the comments available online at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided,
unless a comment includes information claimed to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to
be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e-
mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured
and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket
and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic
comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact
information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you
submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties
and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to
consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special
characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or
viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the
EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other materials,
such as copyrighted material, are publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the
EPA Headquarters Docket Center.
[[Page 49489]]
Dated: August 3, 2010.
Rebecca Clark,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2010-20083 Filed 8-12-10; 8:45 am]
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