[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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