[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70126-70127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33631]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-34158; FRL-6052-6]


Increasing Transparency For the Tolerance Reassessment Process; 
Availability of Preliminary Risk Assessments for Four Organophosphates

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of documents that were 
developed as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's process for 
making reregistration eligibility decisions for the organophosphate 
pesticides and for tolerance reassessments consistent with the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) as amended by the Food Quality 
Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). These documents are the preliminary 
ecological risk assessments and related documents for ethoprop, methyl 
parathion, temephos, and terbufos and the preliminary human health 
assessment for the methyl parathion. This notice also starts a 60-day 
public comment period for the preliminary risk assessments. Comments 
are to be limited to issues directly associated with the four 
organophosphates that have risk assessments placed in the docket and 
should be limited to issues raised in those documents. By allowing 
access and opportunity for comment on the preliminary risk assessments, 
EPA is seeking to strengthen stakeholder involvement and help ensure 
our decisions under FQPA are transparent and based on the best 
available information. The tolerance reassessment process will ensure 
that the United States continues to have the safest and most abundant 
food supply. The Agency cautions that these risk assessments are 
preliminary assessments only and that further refinements of the risk 
assessments will be appropriate for some, if not all, of these four 
pesticides. These documents reflect only the work and analysis 
conducted as of the time they were produced and it is appropriate that, 
as new information becomes available and/or additional analyses are 
performed, the conclusions they contain may change.

DATES: Written comments on these assessments must be submitted on or 
before February 16, 1999.
ADDRESSES: By mail, submit written comments in triplicate to: Public 
Information and Records Integrity Branch, Information Resources and 
Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person, 
deliver comments to: Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis 
Hwy., Arlington, VA.
    Information submitted as a comment concerning this notice may be 
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as 
Confidential Business Information (CBI). Information so marked will not 
be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR 
part 2. A copy of the comment that does not contain CBI must be 
submitted for inclusion in the public record. Information not marked 
confidential will be included in the public docket without prior 
notice.
    To request a copy of any of the preliminary risk assessments and 
related documents listed in this notice, contact or visit the OPP 
Pesticide Docket at the addresses given in this unit, or call (703) 
305-5805. The Docket staff will inform callers as to which of the 
documents can be sent directly from the docket and which need to be 
requested from the Freedom of Information Act Office due to their bulk. 
The public docket is available for public inspection in Rm. 119 at the 
Virginia address given in this unit from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: opp-
[email protected]. Follow the instructions under Unit II. of this 
document. No CBI should be submitted through e-mail. Copies of the 
preliminary risk assessments for the four organophosphate pesticides 
may also be accessed at: http: www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Angulo, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (703) 308-8004; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    EPA is making available preliminary risk assessments that have been 
developed as part of EPA's process for making reregistration 
eligibility decisions for the organophosphate pesticides and for 
tolerance reassessments consistent with the FFDCA as amended by the 
FQPA. The Agency's preliminary ecological effects risk assessments for 
the following four organophosphate pesticides are available in the 
individual pesticide dockets: Ethoprop, temephos, and terbufos. The 
Agency's preliminary human health and ecological effects risk 
assessments for methyl parathion are also available in the docket.
    Included in the individual pesticide dockets are the Agency's 
preliminary risk assessments. As additional comments, reviews, and risk 
assessment modifications become available, these will also be docketed 
for the four organophosphate pesticides listed in this notice. The 
Agency cautions that these risk assessments are preliminary assessments 
only and that further refinements of the risk assessments will be 
appropriate for some, if not all, of these four pesticides. These 
documents reflect only the work and analysis conducted as of the time 
they were produced and it is appropriate that, as new information 
becomes available and/

[[Page 70127]]

or additional analyses are performed, the conclusions they contain may 
change.
    As the preliminary risk assessments for the remaining 
organophosphate pesticides are completed and registrants are given a 
30-day review period to identify possible computational or other clear 
errors in the risk assessment, these risk assessments and registrant 
responses will be placed in the individual pesticide dockets. A notice 
of availability for subsequent assessments will appear in the Federal 
Register.
    To provide users with the most recent information on the four 
organophosphates, EPA has also included in each docket the Agency's 
July 7, 1998, ``Hazard Assessment of the Organophosphates'' and the 
Agency's July 9, 1998, ``FQPA Safety Factor Recommendations for the 
Organophosphates.'' In general, these two documents were completed at a 
different time than the four individual pesticide preliminary risk 
assessments discussed in this notice. The Agency notes that where the 
preliminary risk assessments are inconsistent with the Hazard 
Assessment and FQPA Assessment, these Assessments will supersede the 
relevant portions of the preliminary risk assessments and will be 
incorporated into the revised individual pesticide risk assessments. 
The Agency also notes that these documents reflect only the work and 
analysis conducted as of the time they were produced, and as new 
information becomes available and/or additional analyses are performed, 
the conclusions they contain may change.
    The Agency is providing an opportunity, through this notice, for 
interested parties to provide written comments and input to the Agency 
on the preliminary risk assessments for the chemicals specified in this 
notice. Such comments and input could address, for example, the 
availability of additional data to further refine the risk assessments, 
such as percent crop treated information or submission of residue data 
from food processing studies, or could address the Agency's risk 
assessment methodologies and assumptions as applied to these specific 
chemicals. Comments should be limited to issues raised within the 
preliminary risk assessments and associated documents. EPA will provide 
other opportunities for public comment on other science issues 
associated with the organophosphate tolerance reassessment program. 
Failure to comment on any such issues as part of this opportunity will 
in no way prejudice or limit a commenter's opportunity to participate 
fully in later notice and comment processes. All comments should be 
submitted by February 16, 1999 of the Agency record for each individual 
pesticide to which they pertain.

II. Public Record and Electronic Submissions

    The official record for this notice, as well as the public version, 
has been established for this notice under the following docket control 
numbers. When submitting written or electronic comments regarding the 
four organophosphates, use the following docket control numbers:

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Chemical                          OPP Docket No.
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Ethoprop                                    OPP-34144A
Methyl parathion                            OPP-34161
Temephos                                    OPP-34147A
Terbufos                                    OPP-34139A
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The official record is 
located at the Virginia address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of 
this document.
    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. Comment and data 
will also be accepted on disks in WordPerfect 5.1/6.1 file format or 
ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic form must be 
identified by the appropriate docket control number OPP-34158. 
Electronic comments on this notice may be filed online at many Federal 
Depository Libraries.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Chemicals, Pesticides and pests.

    Dated: December 14, 1998.

Jack E. Housenger,

Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 98-33631 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F