[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 80 (Monday, April 27, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20627-20628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10864]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6002-9]
Peer-Review Meeting for EPA's Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in
the United States
AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of a Public Meeting for the Scientific Peer-Review of
EPA's revised external review draft titled, Inventory of Sources of
Dioxin in the United States.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scheduled a
public, scientific peer-review meeting on June 3 and 4, 1998, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day, to review the revised external review
draft, Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in the United States.
DATES: The scientific peer-review meeting will be held June 3 and 4,
1998. The public is invited to attend the peer-review meeting. There is
no charge for attending the meeting; however, seating is limited so
advance reservations are suggested.
ADDRESSES: The scientific peer-review meeting will be held at the
Ramada Plaza Hotel Old Town, 901 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria,
Virginia. To make hotel reservations, please call the hotel directly at
(703) 683-6000 by May 12, 1998. Reference the ``EPA Dioxin Meeting'' to
receive the group rate. The Ramada Plaza Hotel Old Town is located two
miles south from Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington, D.C.
Members of the public wishing to register to attend the meeting may
contact EPA's contractor, Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG), by
calling the ERG conference registration line at (781) 674-7374.
The peer-review materials will be available on or about April 17,
1998. These materials include a document entitled, Inventory of Sources
of Dioxin in the United States (EPA/600/P-98/002Aa, April 1998) and an
external review draft electronic database on Compact Disk (CD-ROM)
entitled, Database of Sources of Environmental Releases of Dioxin-Like
Compounds in the United States (EPA/600/P-98/002Ab, April 1998). To
obtain copies of the revised external review draft document and/or CD-
ROM, interested parties should contact the ORD Publications Center,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive,
Cincinnati, OH 45268; telephone (513) 569-7562; fax (513) 569-7566.
When ordering, please provide your name, mailing address, and the
document title and EPA number listed above.
The revised external review draft document and CD-ROM also will be
available for public inspection at the ORD Public Information Shelf,
EPA Headquarters Library, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460,
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except for Federal holidays. In addition, an electronic version of the
document, Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in the United States (EPA/600/
P-98/002Aa, April 1998) will be posted on the Internet on or about
April 17 at the following URL: http://www.epa.gov/ncea/dioxin.htm.
However, the CD-ROM containing the Database of Sources of Environmental
Releases of Dioxin-Like Compounds in the United States (EPA/600/P-98/
002Ab, April, 1998) will not be posted on the Internet due to the size
of the database, i.e., over 100 Megabytes.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: EPA has contracted with Eastern
Research Group, Inc., (ERG) to manage the peer review and prepare a
summary report to EPA. To attend the meeting, contact ERG's conference
registration line at (781) 674-7374, by May 20, 1998, and reference the
``EPA Dioxin Inventory Review.'' Members of the public who cannot
attend the meeting may submit brief written comments for consideration
by the Panel. Written comments should be submitted by no later than
Friday, May 29, 1998, to: Susan Brager Murphy, Attn: Dioxin Inventory
Review, Eastern Research Group, Inc., 110 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA
02173-3134. A limited amount of time will be set aside for members of
the public to present brief oral comments to the peer-review panel on
the first day of the meeting. Oral presentations will be limited to a
maximum of 5 minutes, and the number of people giving oral comment may
be limited by the time available. Opportunity for making oral comment
[[Page 20628]]
will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore the
public is encouraged to register in advance to present oral comments by
contacting ERG's conference registration line at (781) 674-7374.
For questions about the overall dioxin exposure assessment, contact
John Schaum, National Center for Environmental Assessment--Washington
Office, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Washington, DC 20460; telephone (202) 564-3237,
Facsimile number: (202) 565-0076; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In 1992, EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) began an
effort to reassess the exposure and health effects associated with
dioxin. As originally conceived and drafted, the exposure portion of
the Reassessment did not include an emissions inventory component. ORD
was concerned that there were inadequate test data to construct an
inventory, and that the time and resources needed to conduct an
extensive testing program were outside the scope of the Reassessment.
In 1992, special workshops were held to provide expert review and
comment on early drafts of both the exposure and health components of
the Reassessment. Reviewers of these early drafts strongly urged EPA to
attempt an emissions inventory using the available data. Responding to
this suggestion an inventory was developed and first published in
September 1994 as part of the overall draft Reassessment. The draft
Reassessment underwent reviews by both the public and EPA's Science
Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB supported the general approach used to
produce the draft inventory, but suggested several changes. Most
notably, they recommended that the inventory be specific about the time
frame it represents. The SAB did not suggest that any of the exposure
chapters including the emissions inventory be resubmitted for SAB
review. In addition to the SAB comments, EPA received a number of
public comments regarding the emissions inventory. In response to all
of these comments and the availability of additional data, a number of
changes have been made to the inventory since the 1994 draft. These
changes have resulted in significant revisions to both the inventory
structure and actual emission estimates. Consequently ORD has decided
it would be prudent to conduct an additional round of peer review of
the revised inventory before incorporating it into the final
Reassessment.
Dated: April 10, 1998.
William H. Farland,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 98-10864 Filed 4-24-98; 8:45 am]
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