[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9846-9847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-3503]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6943-7]


Science Advisory Board; Notification of Public Advisory Committee 
Meeting

    Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Public Law 92-463, 
notice is hereby given that the Environmental Models Subcommittee (EMS) 
National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) Review Panel (hereafter, 
``NATA Review Panel'') of the USEPA Science Advisory Board's (SAB) 
Executive Committee (EC) will meet on the dates and times noted below. 
All times noted are Eastern Standard Time. All meetings are open to the 
public; however, seating is limited and available on a first come 
basis.

    Important Notice: Documents that are the subject of SAB reviews are 
normally available from the originating EPA office and are not 
available from the SAB Office--information concerning availability of 
documents from the relevant Program Office is included below.

1--EC/EMS NATA Review Panel Teleconference--February 21, 2001

    The Agency is planning to conduct an initial, national-scale 
assessment of the potential health risks associated with inhalation 
exposures to 32 air toxics identified as priority pollutants by the 
Agency's Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy, plus diesel 
emissions. While a number of the elements of this assessment plan 
have already undergone scientific peer review, the entire assembly 
of these elements and application of the full assessment approach 
have not. Therefore, the Agency is asking the NATA Review Panel to 
comment on the appropriateness of the overall approach, including 
the data, models, and methods used, and the ways these elements have 
been integrated, as well as to suggest ways to improve these 
approaches for subsequent national-scale assessments.
    As a first step in this review, the NATA Review Panel will 
conduct a public conference call on Wednesday February 21, 2001 from 
11 am to 1 pm (Eastern Standard Time). The call will be hosted out 
of the EPA Science Advisory Board Conference Room (Room 6013), Ariel 
Rios Federal Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20004. Interested members of the public may attend in person or 
connect to the teleconference by phone. The purpose of the call is 
to provide Panel Members with the opportunity to clarify the Charge 
questions (see below), request any supplemental materials from the 
Agency, ask questions on materials already received from the Agency, 
and discuss preparations for a public meeting of the NATA Review 
Panel on March 20-21, 2001 in Durham, NC (see below for details on 
the March meeting).
    Providing Public Comments--The NATA Review Panel will not be 
accepting oral or written public comments at the conference call, 
since this is an information-gathering meeting. Public comments in 
both formats will be accepted at the meeting on 20-21, 2001 (see 
details below).
    For Further Information--To obtain information concerning this 
teleconference, please contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, Designated 
Federal Officer (DFO) (see contact information below). To obtain 
information about how to participate in this teleconference, please 
contact Ms. Betty Fortune (see contact information below). A draft 
agenda for the teleconference will be posted on the SAB website 
(www.epa.gov/sab) approximately 10 days prior to the teleconference.

2--NATA Review Panel Meeting--March 20-21, 2001

    The NATA Review Panel will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 
20-21, 2001 at the USEPA Environmental Research Center (ERC) Annex 
Building, Room S-23, 79 T.W. Alexander Drive, Durham, NC. The 
meeting will begin at 9 am and end no later than 5 pm each day.
    Purpose of the Meeting--The NATA Review Panel will review and 
receive technical public comments on the EPA Document entitled 
``National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment for 1996'', (EPA-453/R-01-
003), dated January, 2001. The Panel will respond to questions in 
the Charge (see below) that has been negotiated with the Agency: The 
Panel is free to address additional questions, as it sees fit.
    Charge Questions--Keeping in mind the stated goals and 
preliminary nature of this assessment, EPA asks the NATA Review 
Panel to generally comment on the appropriateness of the overall 
approach, including the data, models, and methods used, and the ways 
in which these elements have been integrated. Also, EPA solicits 
suggestions on ways to improve these approaches for subsequent 
national-scale assessments. Specifically:
    1. Given the nature of the National Toxics Inventory (NTI) and 
the methods by which it was developed and reviewed, have available 
emissions data been appropriately adapted for use in this 
assessment? Can the Panel suggest improvements to EPA's application 
of the NTI for use in future initial national-scale assessments?
    (a) Can the Panel suggest improvements to the treatment of 
compound classes (e.g., chromium and compounds), given the nature of 
the information available in the inventory?
    (b) Can the Panel suggest improvements to the methods used to 
spatially distribute area and mobile source emissions?
    (c) Can the Panel suggest improvements to the methods used to 
specify default point source emission characteristics in lieu of 
missing emissions data?
    2. Is the approach taken for the geographic aggregation of 
ambient and exposure concentrations generated by the ASPEN and 
HAPEM4 models appropriate in light of the limitations of the models 
and of the available emissions data?
    3. Has available dose-response information (e.g., different 
sources of information, a different prioritization scheme) been 
appropriately used in this assessment? Can the Panel suggest methods 
that could improve upon the use of available dose-response 
information?
    4. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of the overall 
conceptual approach to risk characterization used in this 
assessment? Given the underlying science and the intended purposes 
of the assessment, can the Panel suggest ways in which the risk 
characterization could be improved?
    (a) Is the method used to aggregate cancer risks appropriate? 
The aggregation of carcinogenic risk within two categories, based on 
weight-of-evidence classifications, is of particular interest.
    (b) Is the method used to aggregate non-cancer hazards 
appropriate? The summation of hazard quotients within target organs, 
the categorization of sums by ranges of uncertainty factors, and the 
inclusion of all target organs (as opposed to only the organs 
associated with the critical effect) are of particular interest.
    5. Although EPA has concluded that available data are not 
sufficient to develop a reliable quantitative estimate of cancer 
unit risk for diesel emissions, it is clear that this pollutant 
class may be of significant concern in a number of urban settings. 
The risk characterization in this report includes a discussion of 
diesel particulate matter to help states and local areas frame the 
importance of this pollutant compared to the other air toxics. In 
the context of this assessment, is the discussion in this report 
regarding making risk comparisons among other air toxics 
appropriate? Can the Panel provide any suggestions that would 
improve upon this approach to comparing the toxic health effects of 
diesel particulate matter with other pollutants?
    6. Given the limitations inherent in this preliminary 
assessment, have uncertainty and variability been appropriately 
characterized?
    (a) Can the Panel suggest ways that the characterization of 
uncertainty and variability could be improved, made more 
transparent, or integrated more effectively into the risk 
characterization?
    (b) Can the Panel suggest methods for quantifying individual as 
well as composite uncertainties associated with the emissions 
inventory, dispersion modeling, exposure modeling, dose-response 
assessment, quantitative risk estimates, and accumulation of risk 
across air toxics?
    7. Have the results of the assessment been appropriately and 
clearly presented? Can the Panel suggest alternative methods or 
formats that could improve the presentation and communication of 
these results?
    8. Does the Panel have suggestions for research priorities that 
would improve such air toxics assessments in the future?

[[Page 9847]]

    Availability of Review Materials--To obtain a copy of the review 
document (National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment for 1996, EPA-453/R-
01-003, dated January, 2001) and supporting appendices, please 
contact Ms. Barbara Miles at U.S. EPA, OAQPS/ESD/REAG (MD-13), 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711; telephone (919) 541-5648; 
facsimile (919) 541-0840; e-mail [email protected]. Please 
provide the title and the EPA number for the document, as well as 
your name and address. The document will be dispensed in CD ROM 
format unless the requestor requires a paper copy. Internet users 
may download a copy from EPA's National Center for Environmental 
Assessment's (NCEA) website (http://www.epa.gov/nata/).
    Following the meeting, the NATA Review Panel will draft a 
publicly available report that will be forwarded to the SAB 
Executive Committee for final review and approval, prior to 
transmittal to the Agency. This review will be announced in a 
subsequent Federal Register notice.
    For Further Information--Members of the public desiring 
additional information about the meeting should contact Dr. K. Jack 
Kooyoomjian, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), Environmental Models 
Subcommittee, National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment Review Panel, US 
EPA Science Advisory Board (1400A), U.S. EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460 (FedEx address: US EPA Science 
Advisory Board, Suite 6450, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC 20004); telephone/voice mail at (202) 564-4557; fax 
at (202) 501-0582; or via e-mail at kooyoomjian.jack @epa.gov. The 
draft agenda will be available approximately two weeks prior to the 
meetings on the SAB website (http://www.epa.gov/sab) or from Ms. 
Betty Fortune at (202) 564-4534; fax: (202) 501-0582; or e-mail at: 
[email protected].
    Providing Public Comments--Members of the public who wish to 
make a brief oral presentation at the meeting must contact Dr. 
Kooyoomjian in writing (by letter, fax, or e-mail--see previously 
stated information) no later than 12 noon Eastern Time, Wednesday, 
March 14, 2001 in order to be included on the Agenda. Written 
statements will be accepted in the SAB Staff office up until two 
days following the meeting (by close of business, March 23, 2001).

3. NATA Review Panel Contingent Teleconference--April 24, 2001

    The NATA Review Panel, may, depending on progress achieved in 
developing its report from the March 20-21, 2001 meeting, convene in 
a public teleconference on Tuesday, April 24, 2000 between 1 and 3 
pm. The meeting will be coordinated through a conference call 
connection in Room 6013 in the US EPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004. The public is 
encouraged to attend the meeting in the conference room noted above, 
however, a limited number of the public may also attend through a 
telephonic link. Additional instructions about how to participate in 
the meeting can be obtained by calling Ms. Betty Fortune prior to 
the meeting (see contact information given above).
    Purpose of the Meeting--The NATA Review Panel is planning a 
teleconference for the above noted date on a contingency basis. The 
teleconference will be convened only if, in the opinion of the Panel 
Chair, it is needed to address issues that require further 
discussion prior to completion of the Committee's report. A decision 
as whether or not the teleconference [announced in this meeting 
notice] will be convened will be made by close of business, Friday, 
April 13, 2001, 11 days prior to the tentatively scheduled date. The 
decision on the teleconference will be posted to the SAB website 
(www.epa.gov/sab); or members of the public may call or email Ms. 
Betty Fortune at the telephone and e-mail address previously given.
    Availability of Review Materials--If this teleconference is to 
be held, a list of the issues to be discussed, along with a draft 
meeting agenda, will be posted on the SAB website (www.epa.gov/sab) 
under the ``Agenda'' heading on or about April 13, 2001. If the 
meeting is canceled, a notice will be posted on the SAB website to 
that effect, as well.
    For Further Information--To obtain information concerning this 
contingent teleconference, please contact Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, 
Designated Federal Officer (DFO) (see contact information previously 
given). To obtain information about how to participate in this 
teleconference, please contact Ms. Betty Fortune (see contact 
information previously given).

Providing Oral or Written Comments at SAB Meetings

    It is the policy of the Science Advisory Board to accept written 
public comments of any length, and to accommodate oral public 
comments whenever possible. The Science Advisory Board expects that 
public statements presented at its meetings will not be repetitive 
of previously submitted oral or written statements.
    Oral Comments: In general, each individual or group requesting 
an oral presentation at a face-to-face meeting will be limited to a 
total time of ten minutes. For teleconference meetings, 
opportunities for oral comment will usually be limited to no more 
than three minutes per speaker and no more than fifteen minutes 
total, unless otherwise stated. Deadlines for getting on the public 
speaker list for a meeting are given above. Speakers should bring at 
least 35 copies of their comments and presentation slides for 
distribution to the reviewers and public at the meeting.
    Written Comments: Although the SAB accepts written comments 
until the date of the meeting (unless otherwise stated), written 
comments should be received in the SAB Staff Office at least one 
week prior to the meeting date so that the comments may be made 
available to the committee for their consideration. Comments should 
be supplied to the appropriate DFO at the address/contact 
information noted above in the following formats: one hard copy with 
original signature, and one electronic copy via e-mail (acceptable 
file formats: WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text files (in IBM-PC/
Windows 95/98 format). Those providing written comments and who 
attend the meeting are also asked to bring 25 copies of their 
comments for public distribution.
    General Information--Additional information concerning the EPA 
Science Advisory Board, its structure, function, and composition, 
may be found on our Website (http://www.epa.gov/sab) and in The 
FY2000 Annual Report of the Staff Director which is available from 
the SAB Publications Staff at (202) 564-4533 or via fax at (202) 
501-0256. Committee rosters, draft Agendas and meeting calendars are 
also located on our website.
    Meeting Access--Individuals requiring special accommodation at 
this meeting, including wheelchair access to the conference room, 
should contact Dr. Kooyoomjian at least five business days prior to 
the meeting so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

    Dated: February 1, 2001.
Donald G. Barnes,
Staff Director, Science Advisory Board.
[FR Doc. 01-3503 Filed 2-9-01; 8:45 am]
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