[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 127 (Monday, July 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39236-39238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16137]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL- 6560-50-P 9659-9; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2012-0512]
Nanomaterial Case Study: A Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon
Nanotubes and Decabromodiphenyl Ether Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied
to Upholstery Textiles
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of Public Comment Period and Public Information Exchange
Meeting.
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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 60-day public comment period for the
external review draft document titled, ``Nanomaterial Case Study: A
Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Decabromodiphenyl Ether
Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to Upholstery Textiles'' (EPA/600/R-
12/043A). The draft document is being issued by the National Center for
Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and
Development (ORD). It does not draw conclusions regarding potential
environmental risks or hazards of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT);
rather, it aims to identify what is known and unknown about MWCNT to
support future assessment efforts. EPA is releasing this draft document
for the purposes of public comment and peer review. This draft document
is not final as described in EPA's information quality guidelines, and
it does not represent and should not be construed to represent Agency
policy or views. EPA will consider public comments it receives in
accordance with this notice when finalizing the draft document. EPA is
also announcing a Public Information Exchange Meeting to: (1) Receive
comments and questions on the draft ``Nanomaterial Case Study: A
Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Decabromodiphenyl Ether
Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to Upholstery Textiles;'' and (2) to
provide information on the draft EPA nanomaterial case study and the
workshop process that the draft document will be used in for
identifying and prioritizing research gaps that could support future
assessment and risk management efforts for MWCNT. This workshop process
will be conducted independently by RTI International, a contractor to
EPA.
DATES: The public comment period begins, July 2, 2012, and ends August
31, 2012. Comments must be received on or before August 31, 2012.
The Public Information Exchange Meeting on the draft EPA document
``Nanomaterial Case Study: A Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
and Decabromodiphenyl Ether Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to
Upholstery Textiles'' will be held on October 29, 2012, beginning at
8:30 a.m. and ending at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
ADDRESSES: The draft EPA document ``Nanomaterial Case Study: A
Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Decabromodiphenyl Ether
Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to Upholstery Textiles'' is available
primarily via the Internet on the NCEA home page under Recent Additions
and the Data and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A
limited number of paper copies are available. For copies, contact
Marieka Boyd by phone (919-541-0031), fax (919-541-5078), or email
([email protected]). If you are requesting a paper copy, please
provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title,
[[Page 39237]]
``Nanomaterial Case Study: A Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
and Decabromodiphenyl Ether Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to
Upholstery Textiles.''
Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand courier. Please
follow the detailed instructions provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
The Public Information Exchange Meeting on the draft EPA document
``Nanomaterial Case Study: A Comparison of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes
and Decabromodiphenyl Ether Flame-Retardant Coatings Applied to
Upholstery Textiles'' will be held at the EPA facility in Research
Triangle Park, North Carolina. The RTI Workshop will be held in the
same location, following the Public Information Exchange Meeting. To
attend the Public Information Exchange Meeting or observe the RTI
workshop, register no later than October 15, 2012, by calling Ms.
Kristin Smith at 919-541-6081, or by sending an email to
[email protected]. Space is limited, and reservations will be
accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please indicate whether
you are interested in attending the EPA Public Information Exchange
Meeting or observing the RTI International Workshop or both.
Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA
welcomes public attendance at the Public Information Exchange Meeting
and will make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities.
For information on access or services for individuals with
disabilities, contact: Kristin Smith at 919-541-6081.
Additional Information: For information on the docket or the public
comment period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-9744; or email: [email protected]. For technical information on the draft document, contact
Dr. Christy Powers, National Center for Environmental Assessment; (MD
B243-01), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park,
NC 27711; telephone: 919-541-5504; facsimile: 919-541-5078; or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Information About the Project/Document
The draft document will be used in a workshop process that engages
experts with diverse technical backgrounds (e.g., toxicology, polymer
science, environmental fate, and transport) and sector perspectives
(e.g., academia, industry, government, and nongovernment
organizations). Experts will use the draft case study document to
identify and prioritize research gaps that could support future
assessment and risk management efforts for MWCNT using a structured
decision process. This workshop process will be conducted by RTI
International, an EPA contractor, and will utilize web-based tools to
gather expert input prior to culminating in a face-to-face workshop
convened by RTI International.
The Public Information Exchange Meeting announced above will
precede the workshop convened by RTI International. Following the
conclusion of the Information Exchange Meeting, RTI International, a
contractor to EPA, will conduct a separate meeting, the ``Nanomaterial
Case Study Workshop Process: Identifying and Prioritizing Research for
Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes,'' in the same location. This workshop
will be conducted with a set of invited expert participants selected by
RTI International and utilize a structured decision science process
similar to the process used in previous workshops (e.g., http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1005summ.pdf). The RTI workshop will use
the draft EPA document ``Nanomaterial Case Study: A Comparison of
Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes and Decabromodiphenyl Ether Flame-
Retardant Coatings Applied to Upholstery Textiles'' [External Review
Draft] (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/
R-12/043A, 2012, (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=244011) as a starting point for identifying and
prioritizing possible research directions related to multiwalled carbon
nanotubes. Although funded by EPA, the RTI workshop process is being
conducted independently of EPA to comply with provisions of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2 [http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/laws/fed-advisory-committee]). The RTI workshop will
be open to public observers.
This draft document and structured workshop process is funded by
EPA but is independently conducted by RTI International and follows
previous efforts on engineered nanoscale materials (nanomaterials).
Nanomaterials have often been described as having at least one
dimension between 1 and 100 nanometers and frequently possessing
unusual, if not unique, properties that 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 emergent state of nanotechnology,
much remains to be learned about the characteristics and effects of
nanomaterials before such assessments can be accomplished.
In its 2007 Nanotechnology White Paper (2007, p. 89), EPA included
the following recommendations regarding the risk assessment of
nanomaterials: (1) Develop case studies based on publicly available
information on one or several intentionally produced nanomaterials, and
from such case studies identify information gaps to help map areas of
research that would support the risk assessment process; and (2) hold a
series of workshops involving a substantial number of experts from
several disciplines to assist in this process. In keeping with these
recommendations, the National Center for Environmental Assessment
(NCEA) in EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) prepared the
Nanomaterial Case Studies: Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide in Water
Treatment and in Topical Sunscreen [Final] (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-09/057F, 2010, http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=230972), released in
November 2010, and the Nanomaterial Case Study: Nanoscale Silver in
Disinfectant Spray [External Review Draft] (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-10/081, 2012).
The two draft documents each supported a workshop: ``Nanomaterial
Case Studies Workshop: Developing a Comprehensive Environmental
Assessment Research Strategy for Nanoscale Titanium Dioxide'' on
September 29-30, 2009, in Durham, North Carolina, and ``Nanomaterial
Case Studies Workshop: Developing a Comprehensive Environmental
Assessment Research Strategy for Nanoscale Silver'' on January 4-7,
2011, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. A summary of the
workshops may be found at: http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1005summ.pdf and http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=226723 for nanoscale titanium dioxide and
nanoscale silver, respectively. The summary documents provide
information on the design and conduct of the workshops, noting that the
Nanomaterial Case Studies Workshop for nanoscale titanium dioxide was
held under the auspices of the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors
(BOSC), an advisory committee of independent scientists and engineers
established by
[[Page 39238]]
EPA to provide advice, information, and recommendations concerning
practices and programs of ORD, including ORD's research planning
process, in accordance with provisions of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act and related regulations. In August 2010, the BOSC
provided comments on the case studies workshop (http://www.epa.gov/osp/bosc/pdf/nano1008rpt.pdf).
The case study documents are structured by the comprehensive
environmental assessment (CEA) framework, to systematically organize
information on the product life cycle, environmental fate, exposure-
dose, and impacts in humans, ecological receptors, and the environment.
As noted above, CEA also includes a process component involving
decision science methods, and this aspect of CEA was used in prior
workshops to identify and prioritize research or information needed to
assess nanoscale titanium dioxide and nanoscale silver, respectively.
The nanomaterial case studies are intended to be used in the
development and refinement of long-term research planning efforts for
potential human health, ecological, and environmental risks. Such a
comprehensive strategy is expected to develop in an evolutionary
process reflecting adjustments and modifications as additional
nanomaterials are considered and new information becomes available. To
that end, the current case study on multiwalled carbon nanotubes
(MWCNT) builds on previous efforts by incorporating a comparative
perspective with conventional flame-retardant, decabromodiphenyl ether.
This comparison is included to provide a relatively more robust data
base that may help identify key data gaps for MWCNT related to future
assessment and risk management efforts. It further provides a
foundation for future efforts to identify risk[hyphen]related tradeoffs
between a traditional material, such as decaBDE and a
nano[hyphen]enabled product.
II. How To Submit Technical Comments to the Docket at
www.regulations.gov
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2012-
0512 by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-9744.
Mail: Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket
(Mail Code: 28221T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-
566-1752.
Hand Delivery: The OEI Docket is located in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center 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-
2012-0512. 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
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 through
www.regulations.gov or email that you consider to be CBI or otherwise
protected. The 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 email comment directly to EPA without going through
www.regulations.gov, your email 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 home page at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: Documents in the docket are listed in the
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 www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the EPA
Headquarters Docket Center.
Dated: June 25, 2012.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2012-16137 Filed 6-29-12; 8:45 am]
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