[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 154 (Thursday, August 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41411-41412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20225]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPPTS-42052S; FRL-5384-2]


Urea-formaldehyde Pressed Wood; Notice of Availability of Final 
Report on Formaldehyde Exposure Testing Pilot Study; Plans for Peer 
Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of the final report of 
a pilot study addressing exposure testing of indoor emissions of 
formaldehyde gas from urea-formaldehyde pressed wood building 
materials. Such materials are used in the construction of 
conventionally-built and manufactured housing, cabinets and furniture. 
In September, 1996, the Agency will submit this report for peer review 
by experts on residential indoor air. The peer review will assist EPA 
in determining the future course of its formaldehyde exposure testing 
efforts and its ongoing regulatory investigation of formaldehyde 
emissions from pressed wood building materials used in building homes, 
cabinets and furniture.

DATES: Any person having comments on the final report should submit 
such comments to EPA by September 30, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the pilot study final report 
should be sent in triplicate, to: Document Control Office (7407), Room 
G-099, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Written 
comments must be identified by the docket number OPPTS-42052S.
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically by sending 
electronic mail (e-mail) to: [email protected]. Electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be 
accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1 file format or ASCII file 
format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified by 
the docket number OPPTS-42052S. No confidential business information 
(CBI) should be submitted through e-mail. Electronic comments on this 
notice may be filed online at many Federal Depository Library. 
Additional information on electronic submissions can be found under 
``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of ``Residential 
Indoor Air Formaldehyde Testing Program: Pilot Study Final Report'' 
contact: Susan B. Hazen, Director, Environmental Assistance Division 
(7408), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; Telephone 
(202) 554-1404; TDD: (202) 554-0551; e-mail: TSCA-
H[email protected]. By internet: e-mail requests to: 
[email protected]. The report is also available on EPA's gopher 
server (gopher://gopher.epa.gov) and the world wide web (www) (http://
www.epa.gov) under the heading ``Rules, Regulations and Legislation.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA is concerned about formaldehyde that is 
emitted by urea-formaldehyde (UF) pressed wood products. UF pressed 
wood products include particleboard, hardwood plywood and medium 
density fiberboard. They are used as interior building materials and as 
components of doors, cabinets and furniture. Formaldehyde emissions 
from these products can elevate the concentrations of this gas in homes 
and other indoor settings where such products are used and may irritate 
the eyes, nose and respiratory systems of the large number of persons 
so exposed.
    In the Federal Register of December 23, 1992 (57 FR 61240) (FRL-
4178-1), EPA published its 1992 Master Testing List which set forth the 
Agency's chemical testing agenda under the Toxic Substances Control Act 
(TSCA). Among other priorities, the list identified a need for testing 
that would better characterize formaldehyde levels in conventional and 
manufactured housing when these houses are new and over a period of 
time. Contemporary exposure data in

[[Page 41412]]

new housing, in light of formaldehyde's known health hazards, would 
help EPA to determine if there is a need for further reduction in 
formaldehyde emissions from UF pressed wood.
    On January 28, 1993, EPA held a public meeting to discuss a draft 
indoor formaldehyde exposure testing program. The proposed testing 
program was designed to obtain data that would both address the 
aforementioned exposure information needs and aid in the evaluation of 
the accuracy of computer models which are used by the Agency to 
estimate residential formaldehyde exposure arising from pressed wood 
emissions.
    Soon after the meeting, the National Particleboard Association 
(NPA) proposed to the Agency an alternative approach for collecting 
indoor formaldehyde exposure data and indicated NPA's interest in 
performing laboratory and field testing on a voluntary basis. Although 
NPA had offered a different methodological approach to that presented 
by EPA for collecting data, the testing objectives were similar. 
Building on the strengths of NPA's proposal and improving its study 
design parameters, EPA modified the design of EPA's original testing 
program plan to incorporate key elements of the NPA proposal. (The 
testing program document, which resulted from these modifications is 
entitled ``Proposed Residential Indoor Air Formaldehyde Testing 
Program'' and is available to interested parties upon request from the 
same source identified under ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT'' for 
obtaining the pilot study final report.) However, the modifications to 
the study design of the testing program were based on new and yet 
untested experimental methods. Accordingly, a research-oriented pilot 
study was also developed that would test and possibly yield refinements 
in the new methods before they were applied in a testing program that 
would have a much larger scope and entail greater cost.
    By September, 1993, NPA had agreed, in principle, to conduct pilot 
study testing voluntarily. Noting EPA's expertise in the areas of 
indoor air monitoring and research, NPA asked EPA if, for purposes of 
executing the pilot study, it would be willing to share the Agency's 
expertise under the terms of a Cooperative Research and Development 
Agreement (CRDA) authorized by the Federal Technology Transfer Act of 
1988. In the interest of expediting the pilot study so that the testing 
program could proceed, EPA agreed to pursue such an arrangement. In 
September, 1994, the Agency and NPA signed a CRDA which provided that 
pilot study research would be conducted under EPA administration with 
NPA providing funds ($460,000) which were then estimated as being 
sufficient to defray pilot study costs, products used in the pilot 
study (UF pressed wood building material, cabinets, etc.) and product 
emission testing services. In addition, EPA agreed to fund the 
development of a Quality Assurance Project Plan that would govern data 
collection under the pilot study. That plan was finalized in October, 
1994, and pilot study research began soon thereafter. In March, 1996, 
EPA received the final report on the pilot study.
    EPA believes that it is appropriate and helpful to obtain peer 
review of technical documents that contain new information or 
interpretations that may likely have importance for decisionmaking on 
future data collection activities or other regulatory purposes under 
TSCA. The final report of the indoor formaldehyde pilot study appears 
to justify such review. Accordingly, EPA intends to conduct a peer 
review of the final report, in the context of the formaldehyde exposure 
testing program proposal, utilizing recognized experts in residential 
indoor air quality and monitoring. Peer review is scheduled to commence 
in September, 1996. The results of peer review will be placed in the 
public record that has been established for Formaldehyde Exposure 
Testing.
    A record has been established for this notice under docket number 
``OPPTS-42052S'' (including comments and data submitted electronically 
as described below). A public version of this record, including 
printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include 
any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection from noon 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The public 
record is located in the TSCA Nonconfidential Information Center, Rm 
NE-B607, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460.
    Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [email protected]
    Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
    The official record for this notice, as well as the public version, 
as described above will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will 
transfer all comments received electronically into printed, paper form 
as they are received and will place the paper copies in the official 
notice record which will also include all comments submitted directly 
in writing. The official notice record is the paper record maintained 
at the address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of this document.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection.

    Dated: July 29, 1996.

Lynn R. Goldman,

Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 96-20225 Filed 8-7-96; 8:45 am]

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