[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38450-38452]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18766]


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[[Page 38451]]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
[ATSDR-111]


Notice of the Draft Priority List of Hazardous Substances at 
Department of Energy National Priorities List Sites That May be the 
Subject of Toxicological Profiles

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 
has prepared a priority list of hazardous substances found on certain 
Department of Energy (DOE) sites. This list is similar to the priority 
list of hazardous substances prepared by ATSDR, in cooperation with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the authority of section 
104(i)(3) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, 
and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), as amended by the Superfund 
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) [42 U.S.C. 9604(i)(3)]. This 
act requires ATSDR and EPA to prepare a list, in order of priority, of 
substances that are most commonly found among all facilities on the 
National Priorities List (NPL) and which are determined to pose the 
most significant potential threat to human health (see 52 FR 12866, 
April 17, 1987). This list is used to determine the order in which 
ATSDR's toxicological profiles are to be developed for the substances, 
and is based on three components: frequency of occurrence, toxicity, 
and human exposure potential of the substances found at NPL sites.
    In developing the priority list of hazardous substances at DOE NPL 
sites, ATSDR used the same methodology as that for the CERCLA priority 
list, with the algorithm modified slightly. Consequently, this list is 
based on the substances' frequency of occurrence at DOE NPL sites, 
toxicity, and human exposure potential. This two-part list, that 
includes radionuclides (n=50) and nonradionuclides (n=150), will 
provide a mechanism for prioritizing the selection of candidate 
substances for the potential development of toxicological profiles by 
ATSDR. Of the 150 nonradionuclides listed, 121 are currently the 
subject of toxicological profiles. Of the 50 radionuclides listed, 4 
toxicological profiles (Uranium, Thorium, Plutonium and Radium) have 
been developed.
    This announcement provides notice that ATSDR has developed and is 
making available a draft document entitled Priority List of Hazardous 
Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document. This priority list 
includes substances that have been determined to pose the most 
significant potential threat to human health at or around 22 DOE NPL 
hazardous waste sites.

DATES: Comments concerning this notice must be received by August 23, 
1996.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the draft Priority List of Hazardous 
Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document, or comments on this 
notice, should bear the docket control number ATSDR-111 and should be 
sent to the attention of Dr. Jim Holler, Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry, Division of Toxicology, Emergency Response and 
Scientific Assessment Branch, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30333. Requests for the draft Priority List of 
Hazardous Substances at DOE NPL Sites and Support Document must be in 
writing.
    Comments on this notice will be available for public inspection 
when the priority list is issued in final at the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, Building 4, Executive Park Drive, 
Atlanta, Georgia (not a mailing address), from 8:00 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: Agency for Toxic Substances and 
Disease Registry, Division of Toxicology, Emergency Response and 
Scientific Assessment Branch, 1600 Clifton Road, NE., Mailstop E-29, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone (404) 639-6300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The sources of the substance information 
used in developing this priority list include DOE NPL site-specific 
documents submitted to ATSDR by EPA, State agencies, and other parties. 
ATSDR abstracted information from these site file documents, which 
contained information on substances found in various environmental 
media. This abstracted information was then entered into ATSDR's 
Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database (HazDat). More than 
100 documents have been abstracted, resulting in approximately 19,000 
records entered into HazDat.
    The ranking of substances on the Priority List of Hazardous 
Substances at DOE NPL sites is based on three criteria, which are 
combined to calculate the total score. ATSDR believes that the 
following three criteria are most relevant to public health: (1) 
Frequency of occurrence at DOE NPL sites--The presence of a substance 
in at least one environmental medium per operable unit at a DOE site 
constitutes one occurrence. A log scale approach was used to determine 
the frequency points. (2) Toxicity--If available, final reportable 
quantities (RQs) are used to assess the toxicity of nonradioactive 
substances during the listing activity. If a final RQ is not available, 
the RQ methodology is applied to candidate substances to establish a 
Toxicity/Environmental Score (TES). The TES is only used in scoring the 
substances regarding their toxicity, and does not represent regulatory 
amounts. For radioactive substances, the toxicity was based on a 
combination of the Annual Limits on Intake and the external exposure 
potential. (3) Potential for human exposure--The exposure component is 
based on the concentration of the substances in environmental media at 
the site. A relative source contribution is calculated for each 
substance. This component does not include the exposure status 
subcomponent that is included in the CERCLA priority listing algorithm 
because of a paucity of data on exposure status in the documents 
examined.
    Using these three criteria, ATSDR ranked the hazard potential of 
each candidate substance according to the following algorithm:
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[[Page 38452]]


    Substances were ordinally ranked based on their total score, with 
radionuclides and nonradionuclides ranked separately. The 470 candidate 
substances considered for the Priority List of Hazardous Substances at 
DOE NPL sites are those substances present at 22 DOE NPL sites, as 
indicated in site file documents. The 22 sites consist of 134 operable 
units.
    The 22 DOE NPL sites included in this listing activity are as 
follows: Bonneville Power Authority; Brookhaven National Laboratory; 
Fernald Environmental Management Project; Hanford 100; Hanford 200; 
Hanford 300; Hanford 1100; Idaho National Engineering Laboratory; 
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory--Site 300; Lawrence Livermore 
National Laboratory--Main Site; Los Alamos National Laboratory; Maywood 
Interim Storage Site; Monticello Mine Tailings; Mound Plant; Oak Ridge 
Reservation; Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant; Pantex; Portsmouth 
Gaseous Diffusion Plant; Rocky Flats Plant; Savannah River Site; WR 
Grace/Wayne Interim Storage Site; and Weldon Springs Site.
    This priority list includes 50 radionuclide and 150 non-
radionuclide substances that ATSDR has determined pose the most 
significant potential threat to human health. All candidate substances 
have been analyzed and ranked with the algorithm described previously. 
Substances on this priority list may become the subject of 
toxicological profiles prepared by ATSDR.

    Dated: July 18, 1996.
Claire V. Broome,
Deputy Administrator, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

    The top 20 radionuclides and top 20 nonradionuclides on the 
Priority List of Hazardous Substances at DOE NPL Sites are as follows:

Radionuclides:
     1 THORIUM-232
     2 URANIUM-235
     3 RADIUM-228
     4 URANIUM-238
     5 RADIUM-226
     6 COBALT-60
     7 KRYPTON-85
     8 AMERICIUM-241
     9 URANIUM-234
    10 POTASSIUM-40
    11 EUROPIUM-152
    12 NEPTUNIUM-237
    13 CESIUM-137
    14 PROTACTINIUM-231
    15 STRONTIUM-90
    16 KRYPTON-88
    17 THALLIUM-208
    18 THORIUM-228
    19 PROTACTINIUM-234
    20 ARGON-41

NonRadionuclides:
     1 LEAD
     2 ARSENIC
     3 MERCURY, METALLIC
     4 AROCLOR 1254
     5 BENZO(B)FLUORANTHENE
     6 BENZO(A)PYRENE
     7 AROCLOR 1248
     8 CADMIUM
     9 BERYLLIUM
    10 PHOSPHORUS
    11 VINYL CHLORIDE
    12 AROCLOR 1260
    13 POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS
    14 CHLOROFORM
    15 DIBENZO(A,H)ANTHRACENE
    16 DIELDRIN
    17 MANGANESE
    18 CYANIDE
    19 NICKEL
    20 BENZENE

[FR Doc. 96-18766 Filed 7-23-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-70-P