[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42125-42127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19905]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6411-6; Docket No. A-99-24]
Petition To Delist Ethylene Glycol Butyl Ether From the List of
Hazardous Air Pollutants
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of receipt of a complete petition.
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SUMMARY: This document announces the receipt of a complete petition
from the Chemical Manufacturers Association's (CMA's) Ethylene Glycol
Ethers Panel requesting EPA to remove the chemical ethylene glycol
butyl ether (EGBE) (CAS No. 111-76-2) from the list of hazardous air
pollutants (HAPs) contained in section 112(b)(1) of the 1990 Clean Air
Act (Act). We have determined that the CMA's original petition dated
August 29, 1997 and the supplemental materials provided by CMA through
December 21, 1998 will support an assessment of the human health
impacts associated with people living in the vicinity of facilities
emitting EGBE. In addition, the data submitted by CMA will support an
assessment of the environmental impacts associated with emissions of
EGBE to the ambient air and deposited onto soil or water. Consequently,
we have concluded that CMA's petition is complete as of December 21,
1998, the date of the last supplement, and is ready for public comment
and the technical review phase of our delisting evaluation process.
[[Page 42126]]
This document invites the public to comment on the petition and to
provide additional data, beyond that filed in the petition, on sources,
emissions, exposure, health effects and environmental impacts
associated with EGBE that may be relevant to our technical review.
DATES: Comments and additional data will be accepted if received on or
before September 2, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Documents. A copy of the complete petition is contained in a
docket available at the Air and Radiation Docket and Information
Office, 401 M Street SW, Room M-1500 (6102), Waterside Mall, Washington
DC 20460. The docket number for this action is A-99-24. The docket is
an organized file of all the information received and considered in
making the decision on the completeness of CMA's petition. The main
purpose of the docket is to allow you to readily identify and locate
documents that record the process we followed in making our decision.
You may inspect the petition and copy it for offsite review between
8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. In addition, CMA
will make copies of the petition available upon request. To request a
copy from CMA, you may call Dr. Susan A. Lewis at (202) 879-5042 during
normal business hours. A reasonable fee may be charged for copying.
Comments and Data Submissions. Comments and additional data should
be submitted (in duplicate if possible) to: The Docket Clerk, Air and
Radiation Docket and Information Office, 401 M Street SW, Room M-1500
(Mail Code 6102), Waterside Mall, Washington DC 20460.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Palma, Emission Standards Division
(MD-13), Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711,
telephone (919) 541-5470, electronic mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
A. What Is the List of Hazardous Air Pollutants?
Hazardous air pollutants include a wide variety of organic and
inorganic substances released from large and small industrial
operations, fossil fuel combustion, gasoline and diesel-powered
vehicles, and many other sources. The HAPs have been associated with a
wide variety of adverse health effects, including cancer, neurological
effects, reproductive effects, and developmental effects. The health
effects associated with the various HAPs may differ depending upon the
toxicity of the individual HAP and the particular circumstances of
exposure, such as the amount of chemical present, the length of time a
person is exposed, and the stage in life of the person when the
exposure occurs. The list of HAPs, which includes the pollutant
category ``glycol ethers,'' of which EGBE is a member of this category,
can be found in section 112(b)(1) of the Act. The HAPs list provides
the basis for research, regulation, and other related EPA activities
under section 112 of the Act.
B. What Is a HAP Delist Petition?
A HAP delist petition is a formal request to the EPA from an
individual or group to remove a specific HAP from the HAPs list. The
removal of a HAP from the list eliminates it from consideration in
EPA's program to promulgate national, technology-based emissions
control standards. This technology-based standards program is commonly
referred to as the maximum achievable control technology (MACT)
program.
Petitions to add or delete chemicals from the HAPs list are allowed
under section 112(b)(3)(A) of the Act. The Act specifies that any
person may petition the Administrator to modify, by addition or
deletion, the list of HAPs, and the EPA Administrator is required to
either grant or deny a petition to delist a specific HAP within 18
months of the receipt of a complete petition.
To delete a substance from the HAPs list, section 112(b)(3)(C)
requires that the petitioner must provide adequate data on the health
and environmental effects of the substance to determine that emissions,
ambient concentrations, and bio-accumulation or deposition of the
substance may not reasonably be anticipated to cause any adverse
effects to human health or adverse environmental effects.
C. How Does EPA Review a Petition To Delist a HAP?
The petition review process proceeds in two phases: a completeness
determination and a technical review. During the completeness
determination, we conduct a broad review of the petition to determine
whether or not all the necessary subject areas are addressed and
whether reasonable information and analyses are presented for each of
these subject areas. Once the petition is determined to be complete, we
place a notice of receipt of a complete petition in the Federal
Register. That Federal Register notice announces a public comment
period on the petition and starts the technical review phase of our
decision-making process. The technical review involves a more thorough
scientific review of the petition to determine whether the data,
analyses, interpretations, and conclusions in the petition are
appropriate and technically sound. The technical review will also
determine whether or not the petition satisfies the necessary
requirements of section 112(b)(3)(C) and adequately supports a decision
to delist the HAP. All comments and data submitted during the public
comment period are considered during the technical review.
D. How Is the Decision To Delist a HAP Made?
The decision to either grant or deny a petition is made after a
comprehensive technical review of both the petition and the information
received from the public to determine whether the petition satisfies
the requirements of section 112(b)(3)(C) of the Act. If the
Administrator decides to grant a petition, a notice of proposed
rulemaking is published in the Federal Register. That notice proposes a
modification of the HAPs list and presents the reasoning for doing so.
However, if the Administrator decides to deny a petition, a notice
setting forth an explanation of the reasons for denial will be
published instead. A notice of denial constitutes final Agency action
of nationwide scope and applicability and is subject to judicial review
as provided in section 307(b) of the Act.
II. Completeness Determination and Request for Public Comment
On August 29, 1997, we received a petition from the CMA's Ethylene
Glycol Ethers Panel to remove EGBE (CAS No. 111-76-2) from the HAPs
list. After our initial review of the petition, we determined that
additional information was needed to determine ecological risks as well
as on the derivation of the safe human exposure level for EGBE. The
petitioner submitted several additional documents in September and
December of 1998 to address the information gaps. After reviewing all
of the supplemental information, we have now determined that the
essential subject areas have been addressed and that the petition is
complete and ready for technical review. The CMA's last supplement
which occurred December 21, 1998 marked the start of the 18-months
decision period. Today's document initiates our comprehensive technical
review of the petition and invites public
[[Page 42127]]
comment on the substance of the petition as described above.
III. Description of the Petition
The complete petition provided by CMA contains the following
information:
A. Background information on EGBE, including chemical and physical
properties data, synonyms, atmospheric residence time, solubility,
information on atmospheric transformations as well as production and
usage information.
B. A hazard identification and dose-response assessment to
determine whether exposure to EGBE is capable of causing adverse health
effects in humans. Further, CMA provided supplemental materials
addressing the results of the National Toxicology Program mouse and rat
cancer bioassays of EGBE.
C. An inventory of the releases of EGBE to the atmosphere. The
inventory was developed by examining Federal, State, and local data
sources. In addition, the inventory development included direct contact
with industrial and trade associations and review of other chemical
databases.
D. ``Tiered'' air dispersion modeling that provides estimates of
the ambient concentration of EGBE for comparison with inhalation health
criteria. Tiered modeling involves the use of successive modeling
techniques to move from conservative ``worst case'' estimates of the
ambient concentrations of a substance emitted from a source toward more
``realistic'' site-specific estimates of the ambient concentrations.
E. An evaluation of the ambient measured concentrations of EGBE and
estimates of typical urban ambient levels.
F. An evaluation of the environmental fate and transport of EGBE to
surface waters.
G. A risk characterization study presenting an assessment of
potential air inhalation exposures and surface water ingestion
exposures to humans. Further, the petition included an assessment of
the quality of the study data and uncertainty associated with the
analysis.
H. An ecological risk assessment to determine if adverse
environmental effects may occur as a result of predicted ambient air
quality levels and deposition to soil and water resulting from air
releases of EGBE.
The petition describes EGBE as the largest volume glycol ether used
in the U.S. It estimates that the 1995 total U.S. consumption of EGBE
was between 285 and 310 million pounds. The vast majority of EGBE is
produced at five plants located in Michigan, Texas, and Louisiana.
Approximately 90 percent of the EGBE consumed in the U.S. was used as a
solvent in paints, coatings, industrial and household cleaners,
adhesives, and inks. The remaining 10 percent was used as a chemical
intermediate. As described in the petition, releases of EGBE to the
environment are primarily to the atmosphere.
In support of the delisting effort, the petitioner conducted a
comprehensive emission inventory examining potential air emissions
sources of EGBE as well as glycol ethers. Evaluating a cross-section of
the industry, the petition collected data and conducted its ``tiered-
type'' air quality assessment on over 3,400 facilities with inventoried
air emissions of EGBE.
The hazard identification and dose-response assessment in the
petition presents a summary of recent health criteria studies performed
by a steering group comprised of CMA and EPA scientists. The petition
suggests that an inhalation reference concentration and ingestion
reference dose ranging from 3 to 73 milligrams per cubic meter and 3 to
23 milligrams per kilogram per day, respectively, are appropriate
health criteria for the risk and exposure assessment.
The risk assessment compares model predicted air quality data with
proposed health criteria information to conclude that air releases of
EGBE are not anticipated to cause adverse effects to human health. An
ecological risk assessment, to determine adverse environmental effects
to nonhuman receptors, further concludes that air releases of EGBE are
not likely to cause nor contribute to adverse environmental effects.
Dated: July 26, 1999.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 99-19905 Filed 8-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P