[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 61 (Thursday, March 30, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16478-16479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-7785]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[ATSDR-91]


Notice of Proposed Revised Publication Schedule for the Priority 
List of Hazardous Substances that will be the Subject of Toxicological 
Profiles

AGENCY: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), 
Public Health Service (PHS), Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a proposed change in the publication 
schedule for the ``Priority List of Hazardous Substances that will be 
the Subject of Toxicological Profiles.'' According to the proposal, the 
list would be shifted to a 2-year publication schedule with a yearly 
informal review and revision. Therefore, the next scheduled publication 
would be in late 1995 when the 1995 Priority List of Hazardous 
Substances is made publicly available from ATSDR. At that time, a 
Federal Register notice would be published announcing the availability 
of the list.

DATES: Comments concerning this notice must be received by May 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice should bear the docket control 
number ATSDR-91 and should be sent to the attention of Dr. Jim Holler, 
Emergency Response and Scientific Assessment Branch, Division of 
Toxicology, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 
Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
    Comments on this notice will be available for public inspection at 
the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Building 4, 
Executive Park Drive, Atlanta, Georgia (not a mailing address), from 8 
a.m. until 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for legal holidays. 
Because all public comments are available for public inspection, no 
confidential business information should be submitted in response to 
this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Emergency Response and Scientific 
Assessment Branch, Division of Toxicology, Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29, Atlanta, 
Georgia 30333, telephone (404) 639-6308.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA or Superfund), as 
amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 
(SARA), establishes certain requirements for ATSDR and the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to hazardous 
substances most commonly found at facilities on the CERCLA National 
Priorities List (NPL). Specifically, section 104(i)(2) of CERCLA, as 
amended by SARA (42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(2)), requires that the agencies 
maintain a list, in order of priority, of the hazardous substances 
found at NPL sites posing the most significant potential threat to 
human health. This listing is called the ``Priority List of Hazardous 
Substances that will be the Subject of Toxicological Profiles.'' Each 
substance on the Priority List is a candidate to become the subject of 
a toxicological profile prepared by ATSDR and the subsequent 
identification of priority data needs for that substance.
    The history of the Priority List is as follows: The first 100 
substances were published in 1987 (52 FR 12866); an additional 100 in 
1988 (53 FR 41280); 25 more in 1989 (54 FR 43619); 25 more in 1990 (55 
FR 42067); and a revision of the priority-list algorithm, including 
publication of the final target of 275 substances, was published in 
1991 (56 FR 52166). The list of 275 has been reviewed annually, in 1992 
(57 FR 48801) and 1993 (59 FR 9486), as called for by the legislation.
    The 1991 revision of the algorithm represented a significant 
advance in the prioritization methodology. This listing now uses 
information from ATSDR's Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects 
Database (HazDat), an active database of contaminants at NPL sites, as 
found in ATSDR's public health assessments. While the algorithm's use 
of current data keeps its conclusions contemporary, experience has 
shown that with this new approach, the Priority List has not changed 
substantially from year to year, particularly for high-priority 
substances. ATSDR believes that this stability reflects that the 
listing activity has fully developed. However, the amount of staff time 
needed to generate and publish the Priority List each year is not 
insignificant; substantial resources are still required for quality 
assurance and preparation and dissemination of results. ATSDR would 
like to shift some of these resources to implement promising new ideas 
to enhance the algorithm and data.
    For these reasons, ATSDR and EPA would like to shift the Priority 
List activity to a 2-year publication schedule with a yearly informal 
review and revision. The informal review and revision would result in 
an interim list that would not be published or announced in the Federal 
Register, but would be made available on request. The agencies believe 
that the Priority List activity is mature enough that little is lost by 
reducing the frequency of publication and much is gained for other 
activities. This schedule will allow staffers to concentrate on 
enhancing the quality of the algorithm and its underlying data. It 
should also allow enough time for (1) the underlying data to change 
sufficiently so results will be more notably affected, and (2) adequate 
analysis, feedback, and insight to have occurred in order to enact more 
valuable revisions with each release.
    The publicly announced list would be used to develop toxicological 
profiles. Placement on the priority list is one factor used to 
determine if a substance is to be considered for profile development in 
a given year. However, the interim list may also be reviewed to 
identify candidate substances that could be targeted for profile 
development.
    ATSDR and EPA would retain the option to re-publish the Priority 
List in less than 2 years, if important new 
[[Page 16479]] developments, insights, or resources arise.

    Dated: March 24, 1995.
Claire V. Broome,
Deputy Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
[FR Doc. 95-7785 Filed 3-29-95; 8:45 am]
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