[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 202 (Thursday, October 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54195-54196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26811]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPPTS-42188; FRL-5571-2]


Endocrine Disruptors; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: EPA is holding a public meeting with interested stakeholder 
groups to assist the Agency in forming a committee under the provisions 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to provide advice on the 
screening and testing of chemicals and pesticides for their potential 
to disrupt endocrine function in humans and wildlife. This is the 
second of such meetings. The first meeting was held May 15-16, 1996, in 
Washington DC. Persons who attended the first meeting or placed their 
names on a list to be kept informed of further developments will be 
notified of this meeting by letter, and will receive additional 
information regarding the formation of the committee and nominees for 
committee membership.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on October 31 and November 1, 
1996, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in Washington, DC, at the Sheraton 
City Centre Hotel, 1143 New Hampshire Ave NW (3 blocks NE of the Foggy 
Bottom Metro station at New Hampshire Ave and M St. NW). Telephone: 
202-775-0800.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons who want to attend this 
meeting should register with Donald Walker no later than October 24, 
1996. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come basis. Persons with 
reservations should arrive at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting to 
ensure that their seat is not given to someone on the waiting list. 
Persons who do not have a reservation will be admitted to the meeting 
only if space is available.
    To register or to obtain additional information (such as the 
summary of the May 15 and 16 meeting) please contact: Donald Walker, 
TASCON Corp; telephone: (301) 907-3844 x 247; fax: (301) 907-9655; e-
mail: [email protected]. For technical information, contact Anthony 
Maciorowski (202) 260-3048, e-mail: [email protected] 
or Gary Timm (202) 260-1859, e-mail: [email protected] at EPA.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A growing body of scientific research 
indicates that many man-made chemicals may interfere with the normal 
functioning of human and wildlife endocrine systems. These endocrine 
disruptors may cause a variety of problems with development, behavior, 
and reproduction. Although many chemicals have undergone extensive 
toxicological testing, it is unclear whether this testing has been 
adequate to detect the potential for these chemicals to disrupt 
endocrine functioning or what additional testing is needed for EPA to 
assess and characterize risk. Notwithstanding recognition that the 
scientific knowledge related to endocrine disruptors is still evolving, 
there is widespread agreement that the development of a screening and 
testing program is appropriate. Recent legislation (reauthorization of 
the Safe Drinking Water Act and passage of the Food Quality Protection 
Act) has mandated that such a screening and testing program be 
developed by EPA. Further, underlying authority for EPA to consider 
implementation of such a program is found in the existing Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Toxic 
Substances Control Act (TSCA).
    EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances is 
taking the lead for EPA on endocrine disruption screening and testing 
issues. EPA began its efforts to develop a screening and testing 
strategy by obtaining the views of stakeholders at a meeting on May 15-
16, 1996 (61 FR 20814, May 8, 1996) (FRL-5369-8). At the May 
stakeholder's meeting participants generally agreed that government, 
industry, academia and public interest groups should work 
collaboratively to develop a screening and testing strategy. EPA has 
concluded that a FACA chartered committee would be the best means of 
providing assistance in developing such a strategy and proposes to 
establish the Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory 
Committee (EDSTAC). The purpose of EDSTAC will be to provide advice and 
counsel to the Agency on a strategy to screen and test endocrine 
disrupting chemicals in humans, fish, and wildlife. This strategy will 
be aimed at developing information and methods for reducing risk to 
human health and the environment. EPA expects the EDSTAC to take a 
consensus approach to reaching their findings and recommendations.
    Subject to consideration by the members of the proposed EDSTAC, the 
goals of an EPA-led dialogue on screening and testing for endocrine 
disruption may be to:
    1. Develop a flexible process to select and prioritize chemicals 
for screening, recognizing the need to obtain and use appropriate 
exposure information in setting appropriate priorities.
    2. Develop a process for identifying new and existing screening 
tests and mechanisms for their validation.
    3. Agree on a set of available, validated screening tests for early 
application.
    4. Develop a process and criteria for deciding when additional 
tests, beyond screening tests, are needed and how any of these 
additional tests will be validated.
    These goals are likely to be pursued sequentially. These goals will 
also be pursued in a manner that recognizes that the data that will be 
available as a result of the endocrine disrupter screening and testing 
program will be used to reduce risk to human health. It is anticipated 
that this overarching risk management goal will eventually require the 
development of approaches to: Synthesize exposure and hazard 
information; and incorporate synthesized exposure and hazard 
information into risk reduction and risk management decisions.
    For the EDSTAC to be successful, the Committee will have to clearly 
communicate to the public areas of agreement and recommendations. In 
addition, as components of a screening and testing program are agreed 
upon and implemented, processes need to be developed to clearly 
communicate to

[[Page 54196]]

the public the information resulting from priority setting, screening, 
testing, and risk management decision-making.
    EPA's intention is for the EDSTAC to be a consensus-building 
process. EDSTAC, therefore, needs to be structured in a manner 
conducive to collaboration and consensus building. In particular, 
EDSTAC's structure needs to balance the demand for inclusion of key 
stakeholders and relevant expertise with the need for a manageable 
number of participants. EPA believes that it is important to have 
representatives of the chemicals industry, Federal and state 
government; representatives from environmental, public health, and 
labor organizations; and scientific expertise from academia on the 
Committee. EDSTAC members will discuss both policy and scientific 
issues in an attempt to develop consensus recommendations on how to 
create and implement an endocrine disrupter screening and testing 
program. The group is expected to meet approximately once every two 
months over a period of one year. Because it will not be possible to 
include all of those who have an interest in this issue, opportunities 
will be provided during the course of EDSTAC's deliberations to ensure 
that all voices will be heard. One of the primary agenda items for the 
October 31-November 1, 1996, meeting is to address questions of 
formation and membership of EDSTAC and procedures for ensuring that all 
stakeholders have an opportunity to be heard on the issues.

    Dated: October 11, 1996.

Lynn R. Goldman,
Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.
[FR Doc. 96-26811 Filed 10-16-96; 8:45 am]
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