[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 222 (Friday, November 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28551]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 18, 1994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5109-3]

 

Public Meetings on Draft Reassessment of Dioxin and Related 
Compounds

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency

ACTION: Notice of Public Meetings on the EPA's Draft Reassessment of 
Dioxin and Related Compounds.

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SUMMARY: The EPA has scheduled five public meetings to take oral and 
written comments on two recently released Draft Dioxin Reassessment 
Documents. The titles and EPA publication numbers of the documents are 
as follows:
    1. Health Assessment Document for 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-
dioxin (TCDD) and Related Compounds (EPA/600/BP-92/001a-c), and
    2. Estimation of Exposure to Dioxin-Like Compounds (EPA/600/6-88/
005Ca-c).
    These meetings are being conducted as part of the Agency's 
commitment to conduct the reassessment of dioxin in an open and 
participatory manner, and to encourage public participation in the 
document development process. The public is invited to attend these 
meetings to present and to listen to comments on the technical merit of 
the draft reassessment documents. The comments presented at these 
meetings will be heard by a panel of senior scientists from within EPA 
and elsewhere who were involved in drafting both the health and 
exposure documents.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The dates and locations of these meetings are as 
follows:
     December 8 and 9, 1994 in Herndon, Virginia, near 
Washington, DC. Times: 9 am to 5 pm, both days. The site for both days 
is the Ramada Renaissance Hotel near Dulles Airport, 13869 Park Center 
Road, Herndon, Virginia.
     December 12 and 13, 1994 at two sites in the New York 
City--Newark, New Jersey area. Times for both days: 9 am to 5 pm, and 7 
pm to 9 pm. On December 12, the site is the Taft Theater at the Fashion 
Institute of Technology, located at 227 West 27th Street, New York 
City.
    On December 13, the site is the Ball Room at the New Jersey 
Institute of Technology, University Heights, Newark, NJ.
     December 13, 1994 in Arlington, Texas.
    Day and evening sessions will be held in separate locations in 
Arlington. The day session will be from 9 am to 5 pm in the University 
Center Rosebud Theater, University of Texas at Arlington, 301 West 2nd 
Street, Arlington, Texas.
    The evening session will be from 7 pm to 9 pm in the South West 
Environmental Education Training (SWEET) Center, University of Texas at 
Arlington, 406 Summit Drive, Arlington, Texas. If additional time is 
needed, this public meeting may be extended for an additional day.
     December 14, 1994 in Chicago, Illinois. Times: 9 am to 5 
pm, and 7 pm to 9 pm, at the EPA Regional Office, 77 West Jackson 
Street, 12th floor, Lake Michigan Room. If additional time is needed, 
this public meeting may be extended for an additional day.
     December 16 and 17, 1994 at two sites in San Francisco, 
California. On December 16, the times will be 9 am to 5 pm at the EPA 
Regional Office Large Conference Center, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco.
    On December 17, the times will be from 9 am to 1 pm and the site 
will be the ANA Hotel, 50 Third Street, San Francisco.

REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: Any individual interested in doing so may 
present comments in the meeting of his or her choice. To allow for an 
orderly process and to facilitate scheduling, all individuals 
interested in speaking are requested to pre-register. To pre-register 
for any of the public meetings, telephone 202-260-5959 and follow the 
recorded voice mail instructions. Pre-registration will close on 
December 2, 1994. To the extent that time will allow, persons wishing 
to speak who are not preregistered may sign up at any meeting on a 
first-come first-served basis, and will be scheduled to speak after all 
of the pre-registered presenters.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Klauder, ORD/OSPRE (8105), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20460. Telephone 202-260-0536.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Meeting Format

    Each presenter will be allocated five (5) minutes to present oral 
comments. Presenters may be asked to respond to clarifying questions 
from the panelists. Presenters are encouraged to submit their full 
comments in writing and summarize their central points in their oral 
statement. Presenters may revise or expand their remarks and resubmit 
them at any time up to the close of the public comment period on 
January 13, 1995. A summary report of each meeting will be prepared and 
submitted to the record along with all written comments.

Alternative Means of Providing Comments

    Members of the public who cannot attend these meetings may still 
submit written comments to the public record. Submissions should 
include three copies of each comment, and if commenting on both 
documents--the health assessment document and the exposure assessment--
submit separate comments rather than combined submissions.
    For the health assessment document, send comments to: Dioxin Health 
Assessment Comments, Technical Information Staff (8601), Office of 
Health and Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection 
Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460. For the dioxin 
exposure assessment document, send comments to: Dioxin Exposure 
Assessment Comments, Technical Information Staff (8601), Office of 
Health and Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection 
Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460.

Background

    EPA has recently released an external review draft of its dioxin 
reassessment. This release marks a mid-point in EPA's effort to 
reevaluate the scientific understanding of dioxin. EPA and outside 
scientists have worked for over three years to develop the current 
draft of the reassessment. EPA will be taking public comments on the 
draft document until January 13, 1995. This public comment period will 
then be followed by a formal peer review by EPA's Science Advisory 
Board.
    In April 1991, EPA announced that it would conduct a scientific 
reassessment of the health risks of exposure to dioxin and dioxin-like 
compounds. EPA has undertaken this task in light of significant 
advances in our scientific understanding of mechanisms of dioxin 
toxicity, significant new studies of dioxin's carcinogenic potential in 
humans and increased evidence of other adverse health effects. The 
reassessment is part of the Agency's goals to improve its research and 
science base and to incorporate this knowledge into EPA decisions.
    EPA has worked to make each phase of the dioxin reassessment an 
open and participatory process. These efforts have included the 
involvement of outside scientists as principal authors of several 
chapters, frequent public meetings to report our progress and take 
public comment, and publication of early drafts for public comment and 
peer review.
    On September 13, 1994, the EPA released the public review draft of 
the full reassessment. The reassessment is a scientific document and 
does not address policy or regulatory issues. The reassessment consists 
of two documents, each over one thousand pages, and each published in 
three volumes. One of these documents addresses the human health 
effects of dioxin; the second focuses on sources and levels of 
exposure. Volume three of the health effects document is the Risk 
Characterization chapter. This chapter integrates the findings of both 
the effects and exposure documents, and describes the potential risks 
posed by dioxin. Copies of the documents are available from the ORD 
Publications Center, CERI-FRN, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 
West Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone 513-569-
7562, fax 513-569-7566. Please cite the full names of the documents and 
the EPA document numbers given above.

Future Actions

    Beginning with the September 13, 1994, release date, EPA began 
accepting public comments on the draft document. The comment period 
will close on January 13, 1995. The public meetings announced in this 
notice are a part of this comment period.
    The draft documents also will be reviewed by EPA's Science Advisory 
Board. This meeting will be held early in calendar year 1995, after the 
public comment period has ended. Information about the Science Advisory 
Board meeting will be published in a future Federal Register notice.
    Following Science Advisory Board review, the documents will be 
revised to incorporate comments and revisions obtained during the 
review process, and final documents will be issued. The time frame for 
completion and release of the final reassessment will depend to a great 
extent on the volume and complexity of comments provided to EPA, with 
the earliest likely time frame being the fall of 1995.

    Dated: November 10, 1994.
Joseph K. Alexander,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Research and Development.
[FR Doc. 94-28551 Filed 11-17-94; 8:45 am]
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